Paul: that picture is from the top of Stelvio pass. While it is long (48 switchbacks) and about 6000' of climbing, it's actually a steady 7-10% grade, and nowhere as fearsome as some of the steepies here in the Bay Area. I did drag my 10 year old and 7 year old over the top of that pass last summer, and we did it over 3 days (the ebike didn't have enough battery to do it in one day while carrying luggage anyway). It felt like a lot of work, but having ridden it on my single it's an easy day ride for most bay area cyclists. The steepest thing Jobst regularly did in Europe was the Gavia, which was indeed a fearsome 16% grade on the south side on a one lane dirt road. I'm too terrified to descend it on the tandem or triplet, but have done it a few times on a single. One thing to keep in mind is that on these Italian passes there are hotels all the way up and down the mountains with plenty of places to stay so you never have to do the whole thing in one day if you don't want to. And my (then 6-year old) son taught me in 2018 that that hotel on the 22nd hairpin on the Stelvio that I always either rode past or only stayed in bad weather had the most gorgeous hiking trails behind the hotel that made it worth a visit even in good weather, so now we don't do the Stelvio without stopping there.
On Thursday, February 2, 2023 at 7:08:40 PM UTC-8 Bikie#4646 wrote: > Eric, > > Great sleuthing to find that 2008 blog post by Brandt. Wonderful stuff. > I'm not used to seeing him with grey hair like that. > By the way, am I crazy? Is that his chain hanging loosely between the FD > and the RD? I guess if I had just ridden up all those switchbacks I might > have finished by shifting into the wrong gears too. (Though he does not > look winded like I would be, ha.) > > Paul Germain > Midlothian, Va. > > On Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 12:21:11 PM UTC-5 eric...@gmail.com wrote: > >> Interesting discussion topic, Andrew. I picture Jobst today on a bike >> very similar to what he ran most of his life. Steel frame, no racks, rim >> brakes. Maybe a frame that would accommodate wider tires. >> >> Here's a picture of Jobst from his last Alpine tour in 2008 (read more >> here >> <https://www.trentobike.org/Countries/Europe/Tour_Reports/Tour_of_the_Alps/2008/index.html> >> ). >> >> [image: xnemj6.jpg] >> >> I'm not sure what make of frames he was riding in this era. But after 50 >> years of touring thousands of miles every summer in Italy, Switzerland and >> France (in addition to the long rides in California) I can't see him >> switching up and running racks or a rando build. He was famously ornery and >> I think he had his system right where he wanted it. He'd tour with a >> Carradice and stayed in hotels along the way (many with friends and >> families he'd met in the 1950s). >> >> As for frame material, this is of course a guess, but I'd wager he'd >> stick with steel. He rode well into the carbon era. As Tom shared in the >> Radavist article today Brandt would get a new frame every few years, >> worried about damage or fractures. He chose yellow paint for his bikes >> because he thought it was the best for highlighting damage. I could see his >> familiarity with steel keeping him on steel frames. And I could see the >> possibility of catastrophic failure keeping him from carbon. >> >> Regarding helmets, I don't think Brandt ever wore one. He probably shared >> an explanation for this back on rec.bicycles.tech but that's way before my >> time. >> >> On Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 11:55:43 AM UTC-5 George Schick wrote: >> >>> True. I remember those days. The most you see in one or two of those >>> photos are riders wearing "leather hair nets," except for one who looks >>> like he has a mountaineering helmet. Another thing I notice is much >>> shorter cycling shorts, probably all wool with a natural chamois crotch. >>> >>> >>> On Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 10:31:48 AM UTC-6 Steven Sweedler wrote: >>> >>>> Those pictures were taken before helmets were commonly available. >>>> During Bikecentennial helmets were rare. Steve >>>> >>>> On Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 4:20 PM lconley <lco...@brph.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>> One thing I notice in those photos is that no one was wearing a helmet. >>>>> >>>>> Laing >>>>> >>>>> On Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 10:49:25 AM UTC-5 andyree...@gmail.com >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> I'm in the process of building a JB-inspired road bike but with a nod >>>>>> to current bicycle trends: mainly wider tires and spinnier gearing. As a >>>>>> result, it's made me wonder what he would be riding today if you spliced >>>>>> his timeline and moved his prime days to current day. >>>>>> >>>>>> Today's Radavist >>>>>> <https://theradavist.com/conversations-with-tom-ritchey-part-two-the-influence-of-jobst-brandt/> >>>>>> article >>>>>> really fueled that question so I'd like to open it up to this group who >>>>>> likely have much more insight into the man and his bike(s). >>>>>> >>>>>> What are we thinking? Rim brakes or disc? Carbon? Steel? Ti? I see a >>>>>> lot of similarities between him and Jan Heine as far as a desire for >>>>>> performance and reliability, so perhaps he'd lean towards a rando build? >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Take it away if you wish, >>>>>> Andrew >>>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> >>>> 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-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/085f1c7e-704b-4295-aac8-c57596035b15n%40googlegroups.com >>>>> >>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/085f1c7e-704b-4295-aac8-c57596035b15n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>> . >>>>> >>>> -- >>>> Steven Sweedler >>>> Plymouth, New Hampshire >>>> >>> -- 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/2116b311-b484-4119-9502-99597b5d6f71n%40googlegroups.com.
