Hi BBDD, Happy New Year! And thanks to you and RBW contributors for this thread.
Riv recommends larger size to enable handlebars to-be set in a higher position relative to the saddle. (Larger frames have longer head tubes, which means the stem is necessarily higher. Extra-long stems might not look so great and are could be easier to break.) Sounds like you're adjusting to the different Clems and they ride well for you (albeit slight ride differences)? Tailwinds, Shoji On Friday, January 10, 2020 at 2:39:05 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > > Thanks for this! I do think your confidence is a little misplaced in me as > that Velouria character is really someone at whom to marvel (I wanted to > say ‘marvel at’ but I think it’s poor form to end a sentence in a > preposition). I know only enough to be dangerous, which is why I go out to > the garage with hex keys and leave things worse than before I came. At any > rate, I know a good deal more than nothing, and that I owe largely to the > good people of the List, as you have all shared inexhaustible wealths of > information with me and with great patience and goodwill. ❤️ > > One question: Why does Rivendell like us to ride the biggest size of bike > we can fit? I have no opinion one way or the other and am likely to take > their recommendation; I just want to know why. > > I have never seen the chameleon green Clem in the sunlight, and now that > I’ve seen yours, I love it. My sister has your bike, and I got my first > look at it over Christmas break. The weather was snowy and overcast and > that pretty green paint looked brown in her garage. See below, which is a > photo I took to spoof Instagram that it was New Bike Day for me (Clem #5!). > Given my proclivity for Clems, I’m sure most people fell for it. Can you > believe that brown Clem is same color as your green Clem? It’s really a > cool effect. > > As of right now, I’m pretty happy with my Clem. I went out again last > night, and after one final saddle adjustment, I think I’ve got my Clem > pretty well dialed. I had a very happy commute with my sons this morning, > and I am now deciding the bike is perfect. I am excited to know what the > new Cheviot is going to be like. Hopefully a little shorter and lighter. > Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll be discussing it... > > > > Sent from my iPad > > On Jan 9, 2020, at 7:34 PM, Mark Roland <absolut...@gmail.com > <javascript:>> wrote: > > > caution, rambling reply ahead, thoughts I've had that were triggered by > this thread. Don't Thread On Me. > > On Thursday, January 9, 2020 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > *Mark Roland - you might be our best hope here. When your 2019 52 Clem L > is built, you’ll have it to compare to the 2015 OC. Also, what is taking so > long? How can you treat us this way? We need answers. MY CLOTHES ARE GOING > OUT OF STYLE OVER HERE MARK HURRY UP. * > > First of all, we know your clothes won't go out of style because we can > see your photos of you and Betz from what, 7 years ago? Perfectly stylish > as of 3 minutes ago. And while I appreciate the confidence, I don't think > my experience will directly translate to help you figure this out. And > sorry, but you are now a more experienced cyclist than 98.7 percent of all > U.S. citizens. More Americans probably know where Iran is on a map (about > 28 percent) than know where a chainstay is on a bicycle. At this point your > observations are completely valid and certainly as useful as mine--much > more so of course to your particulars. You've trusted them and they've > gotten you here, a good place to be! > > Also, I'm not all that good at this bike vs. that bike, for several > reasons. > > The main one is, I've only ridden a few bikes that I just could not like, > or judge better or worse than the next. Part of this is having a feel for > what will work beforehand, but part of it is that I am more of the idea > that, as the software part of the equation, it's kinda our job, assuming > proportions not way out of the means, to fit the hardware. > > Yes, there are slack bikes, and tight bikes, heavier bikes, lighter, > planing bikes, bikes that track and bikes that twitch, bikes with long > stays and bikes with short stays, bikes with high trail and bikes with low. > But all these parameters are actually within a fairly narrow range as well, > and all add up to Bicycle. Sure, I notice differences among my bicycles, > even ones that are kinda close on paper. And as some have mentioned, I like > the one I am on best. But I'm genuinely happy on any of them, and I suspect > I'll be happy on my Clem L. Especially because it will look so pretty (I'm > very superficial about my bicycles.) > > I don't say all this in some kind of deep zen way, just as a fact about me > and bikes. I get that others are more particular, that's cool. As I said in > an earlier post on this thread, I did not have a problem with the handling > on my Big Dummy, which had 80+cm chainstays. I did park it in the hall > downstairs, as at the time i owned it, I was living in a 3-story walk-up > with the last flight being very very narrow and steep. > > <big dummy with package, side.JPG> > > <big dummy with package, rear.JPG> > > Big Dummy with Original Clementine > > Grant is a bicycle designer. His job is to design bicycles. The designs go > in a certain direction based on his riding, his ideas of what bikes are and > what they can be, etc. He sells them to people who know about them. I am > sure he is just fine knowing that people ride non-Rivendell bicycles with > "short" chainstays. Also, to make money, you need to have differentiation. > And as consumers, in product areas where we have more than a passing > interest, we like to have opinions, and preferences, and sometimes whole > philosophies regarding various stuff. I like mostly old bikes, rim brakes, > leather saddles, wide tires, steel. (All of these things, by the way, kept > alive and actively promoted by Rivendell, even when it wasn't "cool.") > > As far as 54.5cm vs. 52cm chainstays. If there were no bicycles in the > world, and then suddenly everyone in the world was issued a Clem L that fit > them, and half got chainstays an inch or so longer than the other half, > would only half the world be happy? > > I will say that Riv likes to embiggen--biggest frame possible, big tires, > OS tubing, big baskets, big bags, big shirts. They often recommend the > biggest size you can handle, especially so with the Clem L--no top tube > issues. But as far as I know, most of the testers are male, and generally > females have longer legs, shorter torsos. So if the front gets longer but > the seat tube size stays the same, even with bars that go way back, you'll > likely want a shorter stem, especially if the position is substantially > different than the one you are coming off. > > I think you are finding out lots of interesting things about bicycles. > Your journey reminds me not a little of Constance at the Lovely Bicycle > blog, who started out I think riding around town on an old 3-speed and > ended up building her own bicycle before she quit LB and went on to > dominate the world of yarn and knitting. > > <IMG_20191207_132818191.jpg> > > <IMG_20191207_132830785.jpg> > > > > > > ******************************************************************************************************************************* > >> >> I’ve put nearly all of my January miles on my Clem L, so today I decided >> to see what my old bikes feel like. I took the Clementine out first. And I >> liked it. It rode very nicely, just like I remembered, only now...the front >> end (I cannot call it a cockpit as it’s not an airplane) feels cramped. Not >> uncomfortably so, and I’m sure I’d get used to it again if that was my only >> bike. My rear was closer to being over the pedals. Hmmm...I’m not sure how >> I feel about that. Still, a comfortable bike, but is it as perfect as I >> once said? >> >> Next, I tried the Betty. That was unfair because something is rubbing on >> that bike and heaven knows what it is - I certainly don’t - so it was >> aggravating and I parked it. The Betty was quite light, even with a rear >> rack - that was definitely discernible. >> >> Finally, the Clem L. It felt good. I should have a wider saddle on that >> bike (the other two have wider Brooks and are more comfortable but less >> beautiful) but it otherwise was comfortable and easy to steer. I didn’t >> feel cramped in it, nor did I feel stretched out. Did I get used to the >> bike? Who knows. Did I make improvements that forced the bike into >> compliance with my body? I don’t know. I have no photographer to show you >> how the bikes fit until after the boys get home; I’ll have them see what >> they can do. >> >> Lastly, a lesson in leaving well enough alone. I could hear a little >> noise in the rear fender; the noise was irksome to me because I like a bike >> to be quiet. Fiddling around with the rear tire and fender, it looked to me >> like I could fix the noise if I could just adjust this bolt over here. I >> was pleased because it required a hex key and I am an ardent fan and user >> of hex keys. You’ll be interested to know that the fender now makes ten >> times more noise as it is infringing on the tire and I, naturally, cannot >> get it back the way it was. >> >> And so it goes, >> Leah >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/5oPT7SuztEQ/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/57177320-e8a2-4947-bde0-5b0508d3aac1%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/57177320-e8a2-4947-bde0-5b0508d3aac1%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > <big dummy with package, side.JPG> > <big dummy with package, rear.JPG> > <IMG_20191207_132818191.jpg> > <IMG_20191207_132830785.jpg> > > -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ac89a98c-5940-45de-b85f-2c40be69191c%40googlegroups.com.
