Leah, I encourage you to try and avoid getting wrapped up in frame weight worries. Though I'm not immune to bouts of weight weeniesm (I've got a sub 19lb black mountain and my AHH is under 21lbs) I think bike weight is at best a third order effect, and frame weight is only part of total bike weight. Choice of components tires etc, let alone bags with stuff in them can add up to more than the difference in frame weights. Bike weight is most noticeable when maneuvering the bike before or after a ride. I.e. up or down porch steps, on or off a car rack, etc. If your not bothered doing those sorts of things try to forget about it. If you are bothered by it, buy light parts, don't opt for the larger frame if you've got two options, and think about tubing last. I also don't subscribe to the "too stiff" frame school. If you like feeling your fame flex when you stand on the pedals fine, but I don't care for it myself. Decades ago I was racing on a Nobilette sport touringish frame and between one weekend and the next I changed to a Gios Torino (italian race frame). The Gios was noticeably stiffer and quicker handling. I liked the ride better for racing but it did not make me slower or faster (note, that frame is in my garage rafters now). I think you would be better served by focusing on the ride and handling you want and let GP and co worry about the tubing. I'm convinced that the ride and handling of a bike are dominated by the geometry and the tires. Unless the tubing is really light and you like bottom bracket flex under power, the effect of tubing is way down in the weeds. I don't believe substituting roadeo tubing into the cheviot geometry would result in a mixte that rides like a roadeo. When Riv "steered you toward production" did you tell them you wanted a mixte that rides like a Roadeo? Is that what you want? If it is I expect GP would say that is a custom. If you want a bike that rides like a Betty, Cheviot or Clem L but faster, buy a production bike and put easier rolling more fragile tires, lower narrower bars, and light components on it. Custom frame (4K) minus cheviot frame (1.4K) leaves $2600, you can buy a fair number of fancy parts upgrades with that much money. Unless you have $$ to burn, I think a custom Riv only makes sense if the geometry you want isn't available any other way.
On Sunday, March 29, 2020 at 9:51:12 AM UTC-7, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > > Ugh, I know that Melanie and Mark make excellent points. Points I weighed > when I was trying to decide custom mixte vs. production mixte. I knew that > Riv would steer me toward production, and they did, and it seemed like I > could get enough of what I wanted with a Cheviot. But the more I think > about it, I wonder if I should just pay the extra money and get in > Nobilette’s line. > > I also wonder if I’m making up problems I don’t have. I *can* pedal a > Rivendell just fine; it’s just that a custom could be mo’ better. Is that > worth the extra money? I do have kids to put through college, you know... > > How light is Roadeo tubing? If, and it’s a big if, I were to make a mixte > out of it, I wonder if it would be strong enough... > > But the other really big factor here is if the Cheviots are being > extensively delayed. I was hoping to have one in April (that was the > rumored drop date) but then Rivendell said June or July. Then they said > Cheviots would ship in July so not until mid to late August. And that was > BEFORE the COVID crisis. > > If the delay is worse than August, maybe I should try to get a flyweight > mixte via the custom route. Hopefully THAT line is not so long... > Leah > > > > Sent from my iPad > > On Mar 29, 2020, at 7:33 AM, Melanie <myo...@gmail.com <javascript:>> > wrote: > > > I agree with Mark Roland. You need a Roadeo-weight mixte. The weight of > my Roadeo is perfect for my under-125 lbs. body. > > -- > 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/E1ezDPhtnSk/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/03fa168c-328b-4cb0-97fc-913963abd330%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/03fa168c-328b-4cb0-97fc-913963abd330%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- 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/6047fb25-30f2-4640-8287-dc83e0ec361b%40googlegroups.com.
