Hi Leah, Your thread has generated a remarkable amount of discussion.
Before I get wordy: you said you didn't know what your 'standover' height was... it's your PBH minus whatever margin you're comfortable with. I've ridden bikes where that margin was zero, and didn't worry about it, but I'd go for around an inch of clearance if I started from scratch. Taller frames make it easier to get the bars to saddle height without looking goofy, so somethimes a cm is fine, too. I'm chiming in because I've been on a similar bent for some years now, where every year I grab a bike or frame, fit it up to suit me, and then ride it throughout the season, looking for light & fast. I would second (third?) Bill's suggestion to look for a used road bike to figure out what you like. Nothing wrong with aluminum, either, though steel is always classy. If steel, stick with the good stuff, Reynolds 531 or Columbus SL/SLX or Tange #1 or ... Riding drop bars takes getting used to, but I want nothing else for long days in the saddle. Three separate hand positions on top, leading to the three levels of 'bent over' is good for the back, plus you can hit the drops to get out of the wind somewhat. Before you get locked in on a specific type or model, I would pick a few criteria first: fit, meaning how bent over do you want to be, and where do you want the saddle in relation to he crank? Next, tires. I'm not far from you in Michigan, and I really like tires that are 30+ mm for our crappy roads. I would not ride 23s, though 28s are ok on pavement, if marginal for light dirt. Weight is a distant third consideration; lighter is better, but other than avoiding boat anchors, I wouldn't worry too much about it. No gas pipe, no full-on tourers. I'm a touring bike guy, but my recent experience includes a '97 Cannondale R200 (26 mm tires, measured), a 1987 ST600 (30 mm), and a 1981 Motobécane Grand Touring (30 mm). The R200 was the lightest, and I liked riding it despite the reputed twitchy/criterium geometry, but the ST somehow seems the most eager of all the bikes I've tried. Lightweight and stiff frame, 'sport touring' geometry, traditional steel fork, and the 700x32 Conti GP5000 tires are comfortable and fast and have given me no flats in a few thousand miles of riding. The Moto is fun but seems a little slower; I think it's the tires -- Pasela 27x1 1/4 vs. the Continentals. Once you know what you like, you can then properly size whatever Rivendell you would like for fast road rides. Given the expense, you wouldn't want to guess and do it twice. My touring bikes are super stiff, as they should be, and while I like riding them, the lively feel of a road bike makes for a different experience. I have nothing measured, and I have a hard time describing it, or even understanding it. It's not like my Cannondale ST frame isn't stiff; maybe it's the fork on the ST that gives it its ride, but a lot of people prize them. Alu frames with steel forks were common around 1990, and are a good choice. Get thee to bikeforums.net, and you'll find any number of models described -- and for sale -- in the classic & vintage forums. I'm in the process of building 1978 Trek 710 as this year's bike. I have high hopes. cheers -mathias On Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 11:42:48 AM UTC-4 Johnny Alien wrote: > *- "Would they love it as a road bike? Or is it kind of all-purpose? > Thanks!"* > > Rivendell makes stuff to be pretty flexible so even the Roadeo "could" be > built out to be kind of all-purpose but the geometry and intent of the > Gallop is to be a road frame that replaces the Roadini. My prototype is > pretty light and very lively. I assume the production ones will be as well > because the geometry should be the same it just has a straight bar vs a > swoop. I think while its not a step through the angled bar will allow it to > be more flexible with fitting. > > On Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 11:07:13 AM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > >> Hi Leah! >> >> I think you would dig a Crust Canti-Lightning Bolt as a complementary >> addition to your wonderful stable of Rivs - not only for the ride quality, >> but you can get a cool Lilac (with pink graphics) or Light Sea Green frame >> in your size now. I own this bike, and it is light, quick, and fun to >> ride, and can easily accommodate up to a 650B x 48 tire. But wait there’s >> more….in older Riv road bike style, the Canti-Bolts have flat top tubes, >> threaded headsets, and a gorgeous curved fork. This is a low-trail Rando >> bike for sure - even the 650B wheels, etc. This is a fun bike! I’m a Riv >> head for sure, but I really enjoy a long faster road ride on the Crust >> every now and then. >> >> Crustbikes.com >> >> >> Good luck in your search, >> >> Guy >> On Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 7:01:14 AM UTC-6 David Hays wrote: >> >>> Good morning Leah, >>> I’m not sure where I read it but apparently Grant had at one point been >>> a fan of Mercians. >>> A few years after I bought and built up my 650B Homer I found a used >>> Mercian KOM on Craigslist. I’ve since picked up another off the list and >>> had one purpose built for me. Very comfortable and fast. Some thing to >>> consider. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> David >>> >>> On Apr 21, 2024, at 12:17 AM, Josiah Anderson <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>> Hi Leah, >>> >>> I'm also excited to hear about your journey towards a road bike; you >>> probably don't know it but your writing on this list was one of my main >>> influences towards ending up with a Riv. Drop bars and pavement are very >>> familiar, comfortable territory for me, and – like others have said here – >>> I still enjoy that type of riding at times. >>> >>> You're probably already familiar with him, but if not, I'd recommend >>> checking out some of Jan Heine's work – Bicycle Quarterly, *The >>> All-Road Bike Revolution,* his blog, etc. Bicycle Quarterly was my >>> point of departure from "mainstream" bike culture, and I came around to >>> appreciating Riv a bit later and now enjoy both approaches for different >>> rides. Jan is much more focused on speed than Grant is, but in what feels >>> to me like a healthy way. This is an old blog post that I think may be >>> worth a read, as it's an articulation of the same sort of perspective you >>> seem to be arriving at: >>> https://www.renehersecycles.com/riding-fast-is-fun/. Jan also wrote >>> somewhere (can't find it right now) about how he and Grant are good >>> friends, and he wanted to make it clear he's not dissing Riv by promoting >>> what he likes. >>> >>> I currently have two of what I'd call "really nice" bikes, a Gus >>> Boots-Willsen and a Crust Lightning Bolt (alongside moderately nice bikes >>> like a Bridgestone MB-3 and a dumpster-find Bianchi Volpe). The Gus is >>> "full-Riv" – friction shifting, Carradice saddlebag, weird bar wrap, etc – >>> and the Crust is full Bicycle Quarterly, with 42mm extralight tires, >>> low-trail geometry, Gilles Berthoud handlebar bag, and all that. (Jan is >>> not affiliated with Crust, but Crust designed the Lightning Bolt with his >>> preferences in mind). The two bikes are a perfect combination for my >>> current riding: there is enough crossover that both work great for >>> doubletrack rides, and the Gus is ideal for riding singletrack while the >>> Crust excels at long, fast road and gravel rides. Rivendell doesn't make >>> randonneur bikes like my Crust, as it sounds to me like they don't like the >>> lighter-gauge tubing and the handling optimized for drop bars and moderate >>> front loads, but Grant has written (quoting from memory, so hopefully I'm >>> pretty close here) that he's glad companies like Crust exist and do >>> different stuff from Riv. I don't feel like riding my Crust is an insult to >>> Rivendell, just an expression of the fact that my riding conditions are a >>> bit different from theirs, though I totally get it if that's how it feels >>> to you. >>> >>> I've never ridden a Roadeo or Roadini, but I've ridden a LOT of road >>> race and "sport-touring" bikes from the 1960s through 2000s, many of which >>> (like early 80s Trek sport tourers, one of my main rides for a long time) >>> have a lot of similarities to the Roadeo. I prefer my Crust for several >>> reasons: it's designed for bigger tires, which when they're René Herse >>> Extralights are just as fast as 23mm tubulars and far more versatile; it >>> can carry a big handlebar bag for long rides without compromising handling >>> at all; and it feels more "alternative" when showing up to group rides, a >>> feeling we're all used to with Rivendells - but it's still just as fast as >>> the carbon bikes, unlike my Gus. And the biggest factor is that it's made >>> of superlight steel tubing, which I like not for the weight savings (less >>> than a water bottle) but for the flex characteristics – it flexes with each >>> pedal stroke and feeds it back into the drivetrain, taking away the >>> pushing-against-a-brick-wall feeling of hammering up a hill on a stiff >>> bike. Jan calls this "planing," and it's pretty controversial, and others >>> call it a lively frame, a somewhat less controversial term. My personal >>> experience says it works – take that however you want. I do not believe the >>> Roadini would "plane" or be particularly "lively," based on what I've >>> heard, and the slightly lighter Roadeo might or might not depending on how >>> much power you're putting down. >>> >>> A classic road bike like the Roadeo is also an aesthetic choice, though, >>> not just a practical one, and if that's the sort of bike you want, I don't >>> want to be the one to argue against that! Those sorts of bikes are very >>> well-proven for many use cases, and fast-paced, shortish (~30 mile) group >>> rides are certainly one of those. >>> >>> Basically what I'm hoping to say here is that "road bike" can mean many >>> things, and that Jan Heine's writing has been a huge positive influence on >>> my riding and maybe could be for you too. Best of luck with the process of >>> contemplation and decision! >>> >>> Josiah Anderson >>> Missoula MT >>> >>> Le sam. 20 avr. 2024 à 13:33, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! < >>> [email protected]> a écrit : >>> >>>> I’m starting to wonder about a roadbike. But it has to be a Rivendell >>>> roadbike because I’m loyal and all that. Anyway, I don’t know that the >>>> Roadini really offers enough of a change for me. I have no idea what is >>>> going on with the Gallup. Then there’s the Roadeo - that one looks great >>>> but there’s a 2 year wait, unless I can find one used. Which would be >>>> ideal. >>>> >>>> Who rides their Rivbike in club rides and what do you ride? Who has a >>>> Roadeo that never gets ridden and wants to sell it? I don’t even know what >>>> size I’d be but I’m an 81 PBH. Must I ride drop bars? I never have before. >>>> I know nothing about any of this. Clearly. >>>> >>>> Note: I still like my raspberry Platypus for club riding but it does >>>> take a toll on me in wind. I recently got a shorter-height, longer-reach >>>> stem which marginally helped, but our high spring winds are taking it out >>>> of me. I did a club ride yesterday with my women’s group and my heart rate >>>> was in the 170s the whole 26.3 miles. It was brutal. Everyone else agreed >>>> it was a hard ride, but I felt like it was harder on me than them, and I’m >>>> the youngest and probably the most fit. >>>> >>>> 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 [email protected]. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/fab5132f-e8ca-4a76-842d-9b994853e099n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/fab5132f-e8ca-4a76-842d-9b994853e099n%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 [email protected]. >>> >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CADqZWjNYi_kUNDFPDz6S9m8NuJBdBs_jJK3J4pTskW3fggiEWA%40mail.gmail.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CADqZWjNYi_kUNDFPDz6S9m8NuJBdBs_jJK3J4pTskW3fggiEWA%40mail.gmail.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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6f0bd8d0-df76-411c-baca-ea8f1dd73c3dn%40googlegroups.com.
