I can't speak to how you'll love a bike. But I have a Riv Road Standard myself, and I love it.
I love how it rides on 650 x 38 tires -- but a 650b conversion will lower the frame considerably (smaller overall wheel diameter). Watch for pedal strikes. Unfortunately, I couldn't fit a wider/taller tire to mitigate that frame drop. Yours may clear 640 x 42, but mine does not. The smaller diameter tires leaves clearance for metal fenders. I tried moustache bars on it for a while, and I didn't love those. No perfect hand positions, just several compromised ones. I prefer drop bars (my favorites are Nitto Randonneur B135). I do have an Albatross cockpit, but I've never tried it. To convert to 650b, you would need long-reach brakes (Tektro R559, Paul Racer, Dia Compe centerpulls, etc), the "medium" reach brakes you have aren't long enough. If you are seeking a softer ride on 700c wheels, try a more supple tire than the Ruffy Tuffy or JB. Compass, Soma Supple Vitesse, even Panaracer Gravel Kings are probably lighter/flexier than the Riv tires. But, any supple tire will be more susceptible to punctures than the Riv tires. Compromises. I've been riding Barlow Pass tires from Compass on my cross bike, and I just got my first flat since May. Not a big deal. On Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 10:45 AM Keith Weaver <keith.wea...@gmail.com> wrote: > I found a Riv Road Standard frame on the SF Bay Area Craigslist 3 or 4 > years ago, and found myself compelled to pick it up. I had seen on the Riv > website Grant describing the Albatross bar, and saying if you don't have a > bike with these bars, you need one. I didn't really need another road bike, > so I decided to build this up as my Albatross bar bike > > I built the bike fairly light, Albatross bars with cork grips and Silver > bar end shifters, Velo Orange Grand Cru brakes, VO 50.4 BCD cranks, > Velocity Synergy O/C wheels from Peter White, 28 mm Ruffy Tuffy tires, > Campy Record front derailleur, Deore XT rear, wide range 10 speed cassette, > Nitto stem and seatpost, Riv gripster pedals, Sella Anatomica saddle. I > love the way this bike looks, sorry I don't have an easy way to link to a > pic right now > > My problem is that the narrow (for a Riv) tires are transmitting a lot of > road shock to me, especially because I'm sitting upright with these bars. > It feels nicely light and responsive, just a bit rough. I tried to put Jack > Brown 33.3 mm tires on and found they didn't fit at all in the rear, it > immediately rubbed on the chain stays. I didn't even try the front, > although the clearance looks a little better. I don't know if a 30 mm tire > would feel much different than the ruffy tuffys. > > I'm hesitant to move to 650B, mostly because I like these parts, > especially the new wheels and the VO brakes. I'm guessing the brakes > wouldn't work for 650B, as they're listed as 47-57 mm reach. I have the > pads at the top of the slot now with the 700c rims, but it sounds like the > reach would change by more than 10 mm when going to 650B. > > Can anyone give me some input on whether I'll love this bike with 650B and > the Albatross bars, or should I just put drops on it and look for another > frame to be my upright bike? > > Thanks in advance, > Keith > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
