Hey, Leah, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about keeping up or pace for that particular 2-day ride. It’s flat (no real hills) and mostly a laid-back ride at your own pace. That said, some folks will be riding quicker than others and you will find folks to ride with at any pace. Will you have Michigan club rides starting up before June to try out the 48s with a faster pace group?
On the basket rack safety issue, you could possibly do a more permanent belt and suspenders approach with an extra set of 2 daruma bolts and 2 extra stays attached to the mid-fork braze ons, which would replace the backup safety feature of the strap. That way you’d have attachment points at fork crown, mid fork eyelets and drop out eyelets. As to maybe the other question of are belts and suspenders really necessary?: it’s hard to answer for other people. Making sure bolts are tight and inspecting fork crown attachment for damage before big rides or on a maintenance schedule could help relieve some of those anxieties. I get rivs cautions about being thrown by jammed fenders or failing rack attachments: you’d never choose to have these things happen to you, so why not add some extra fail-safes. Best, Leif in Chicago On Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 8:10:14 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > I have had some of the same questions tumbling about in my brain as I wait > for the last of the parts for my Gravel & Travel Platy. I just got back > from a warm and delightful weekend of cycling in Philadelphia. I, a newly > minted Michigander, was happy to return to the shire, and for that, I was > welcomed with Second Winter. > > Michigan is over here, doing me dirty. > > I’m prevailing upon you to humor me and answer my questions, because a lot > of you are having spring and flowers and sunshine, so this is the least you > could do! > > I got the 50 cm Platy to take on trips. Will fit in the van better, will > fit on Amtrak, be easier to shove in elevators, that sort of thing. But the > tires I have on hand are 48 mm Gravel Kings. They are almost new. I’m > considering taking a train to a ride this summer, but that means no Racing > Platypus, only the purple one can fit. Can 48 mm tires do a 15-17 mph road > ride pace? I have 42 on all my other bikes. Would 48s be slow? The ride is > a 2 day event, 100 miles total. I’d like to keep the tires if I could, > because they’re new and they are fat enough to also double as gravel tires, > should I decide to do a gravel ride again. But I do more road rides than > anything else, and if those 48s will cripple me, I’ll go back to 42s. > What’s the consensus? > > Basket straps. I have the Nitto Basket Rack and even though I’ve disliked > it in the past, I figure it’s pretty and I already own it and I might need > a front rack for travel. But do I really have to put the ugly strap from > bar to basket? Is the Nitto Basket Rack safer than the Mark’s Rack? I know > Sergio was thrown when his Mark’s Rack loosened and hit the front tire and > he’s missing significant chunks of front teeth! What is everyone doing > about their front racks? > > Lights. I have an Edelux light. It’s not the right color for this build, > but it’s perfectly good. But sometimes I think, “wouldn’t it be nice to > have a light that would charge your phone?” The Sinewave Beacon 2 will do > just that, but it sounds like it’s not a great road light. What are people > using to charge phones on long rides away from home? > > I ordered my wheels today. This, because J at the Velocity booth in Philly > talked me into them when he heard about the theme of my build. Here’s a > sneak peek. > > And thanks for helping me out here! It’s good to hear people’s experiences > and points of view! > Leah > > > -- 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/9626f06d-3fa3-4e3f-9301-8641dd2e8b16n%40googlegroups.com.
