Ben, that's a great example of the rewards of sticking to what you know and ignoring unsolicited input of others. I rode my Rambouillet across the country with a Carradice Nelson Longflap and some SKS fenders the day after it arrived. The trio of Serotta riders I was with smirked a bit until they saw the aplomb with which my bike handled the situations and conditions at the edge of the envelope in which we rode.
Back in my shop days in the Ozarks I had a group of customers who bought MTBs and rode trails any time they could. One was selling his car and old bike on the way to architecture school asked if there was any way that he could buy a new bike on lay-away but take the bike and ride since it would be his only transportation. I went to bat with the owners on his behalf since we'd known him for four years. He chose the red Bridgestone MB-4 and a nice rear rack for a set of Jandd panniers for his travels, commuting and shopping over the next years. The next couple years that group reunited at Canaan, WV from the places life lead each of them. They met to ride the 24 Hours of Canaan, an endurance mountain bike event as a team. They regaled me with the story of the starting line introductions where the six of them were followed by a shorter red haired guy with a beard, also riding a Bridgestone, the announcer naming as a team but all the names were permutations of John Stamstad. When looking over at him, Stamstad looked back and said "yeah it's all me". He rode solo for 24 hours and lapped the group of friends by the finish. They enjoyed that experience as much as their gathering and ride through the night that year. Not that long ago I hosted my sister's kids for a week here in this area and we did all sorts of things but when it was time to meet their parents at the halfway point, Louisville, their father (not my sister's husband anymore) said "he wasn't going to be able to do that" and I had to fly the two kids and their stuff to Little Rock via a five hour drive to DC, an overnight with my sister-in-law and an out and back to LR from BWI. My niece and nephew's dad was dismissive, at best, of the effort and expense I went through to get them home on time and I had three hours to stew in the airport after carrying all their luggage out to extended parking on the 100° afternoon. I got in the ticketing line to get my boarding pass and as I stood there I heard my name yelled. Not registering it at first since I hadn't lived or frequented the area in a decade, I looked around when I heard it again and in the queue at another airline's counter was that architecture student, Blake. He came over and first thing said while reaching out his hand and shaking mine was "Thank you for helping me get that Bridgestone, it got me through school in more ways than you'll imagine." He'd graduated, took a job in Denver, rode extensively in the front range, raced and was a CO Masters MTB champ. His daughter and he were taking long road rides together and his wife couldn't be happier. Stay true and it all plays out in the end. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 3:43:23 PM UTC-4 Ben Miller wrote: > Jason, nice bike! Looks like a great ride :) > > Yeah, to quote Uncle Ronaldo Benedict Ultra Ronnie Romance, "Where are you > even going without a bag?" Even Jan says a "performance" bike should be > fully outfitted: "[It's] ironic: Even the most exotic sports cars are > equipped for driving at night and in the rain." Even though he's focused on > going fast on "performance" bicycles, he believes bikes should be equipped > with fenders, lights and luggage. > > I live in SF, where it rains infrequently, so I only have 1 bike that > remains fully fender'ed. But all my bikes have luggage and lights. My > Roadeo is my most road-only focused bike, with STI levers, higher gearing, > and 38 mm slicks. It has always had a dynamo hub and a Swift Rando bag > (which I don't even think they make anymore?!?), but I can go just as fast > on it as I could with my carbon fiber "race" bike that it replaced. That > bike would only fit 23 mm tyres and had a tiny little saddlebag from the > bare minimum of tools/repairs. > > A few years back, I did the Kokopelli Bicycle Relay Race with 3 friends. > It was ~530 miles from Moab to St George (It's since been retired, but here > is the link: https://kokopellirelay.com/moab-st-george/) I rode my Riv > Rambouie for my segments, which was ~150 miles. You need to complete it in > under 24 hours. We weren't there to win it, but it does mean you need to > average >22 mph to finish, not a slow pace. When I showed up with my Ram, > with its leather wrapped handlebars, downtube friction shifters, flat > pedals, and (comparatively) giant handlebar bag, the other teams laughed > and thought I wasn't serious. But as the race went on, and we showed we > could hang, all the jokes stopped and they starting respecting us. Sure we > did finish last (My team was the definite goofballs, the rag tag underdogs. > But we had waaaay more fun than anyone else). But when we finished, the > race organizers admitted they didn't think we would and were clearly > impressed that we had. Which to me felt like a win! > > Anyways, one of my segments during the Kokopelli ride was a nighttime ride > up to the summit pass near Boulder Mt before descending into the town of > Boulder, UT. The climb was ~1000 ft and the descent that followed was >3000 > ft. It was 2 AM and the moon was nearly full on a cloudless sky at 7000 ft. > The ride up was a decent gradient, so I was pretty warm, but the ride down > was freezing. To have a bike that I could carry all those extra clothes, > plus food and water, and have a dynamo hub meant I didn't need anything, I > was on my own. But everyone else needed to have their team to meet them at > the summit to provide clothes and a good number of them also had their > support vehicle shadow them done the descent to provide additional > lighting. I did the whole thing solo, and it was one of the most magical > bicycle experiences I have ever had. Just me, my bike, the moon, and the > mountain. > > Below is a photo from the Kokopelli ride, but during the day when it was > pushing 95+ F :) The freezing temps would come later! > > [image: IMG_1481.JPG] > On Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 11:44:15 AM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > >> I hate bar shims more than any other component. I finally figured out >> that the best thing is a swept bar with a BMX stem. I run a steel copy opt >> of a Crust Ortho on my Gus with a 70mm Paul Stem. It’s not the most >> aesthetically pleasing setup but the bars absolutely do not move. >> >> On Wed, Mar 19, 2025 at 10:23 PM Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> I just want to talk bikes for a little bit. Threads with subjects are >>> great and all, but so is talking shop. And we are about to hit a spate of >>> cold weather here in SW Michigan and I am a little morose after a few days >>> of Pretend Spring. I did get 25 miles in today and Monday, but now I want >>> to talk shop. >>> >>> I don’t know what you all have been up to, but I have been fighting with >>> and fidgeting with my bikes. >>> >>> Recently, I went through a great stem swap where I changed over most of >>> my bikes to Faceplater stems. I even put one on my college boys’ big old >>> Clem with Bosco bars. I even used my new torque wrench, and…the bars >>> slipped! So now I have new Albatross bars and stem and shims because Riv >>> believes this 31.8 clamp will grip 25.4 bars better. I have little >>> experience with shims. And what I have learned about them is that they will >>> set you to cussing. You want the bars centered, but then the shims slink >>> out of their spot. When you want to nudge them just a bit, they have bitten >>> into the center of the Albatross bar and you must find a way to knock them >>> loose. Then the whole bar moves and you have to re-center and line up the >>> gaps in shim/clamp. When you knock the shims loose a few times you realize >>> there are metal shavings on your fingers, which means you are damaging >>> stuff. And every time you decide to adjust the position you have to fight >>> with the shims AND loosen and re-tighten 4 bolts with your torque wrench. I >>> have emailed 2 people about this, badgering them to check my work and say >>> it’s safe. I made peace with the shims being a millimeter uneven because at >>> least the bars are centered. Then I went to wash the metal shavings off my >>> hands. >>> >>> Shims. In short, I hate them. >>> >>> During the Great Stem Swap of ‘25, I managed to drop a hex wrench. I >>> heard the ping of it striking the top tube of my raspberry Platypus on its >>> way down. Ah, my first real paint chip, and right in a place I’ll see every >>> day. Tonight, I painted that chip with nail polish I found in a close color >>> match. It’s passable, but sad. >>> >>> I turned my attention to the mermaid Platypus, which I have no good >>> excuse to have anymore, and noticed the rear tire is flat again. This is >>> because on Monday, I decided I would top off the sealant, and could not be >>> bothered to put the bike in the stand. The clamp on the stand needs more >>> seatpost and I didn’t want to raise my saddle. So I did it with the bike on >>> the kickstand and was never able to recover the seal between rim and tire. >>> I have gotten by with this in the past. Got cocky and have now been brought >>> low. Every week, and you can set your watch by it, I do the walk of shame >>> into the shop. I fling open their door, the cowbell rings, and I announce, >>> “Guys! A terrible thing has happened!” I will go there again tomorrow >>> because a terrible thing has happened - that seal did not hold and we are >>> back to flat tire and dripping sealant. They are sick of me at this point >>> but they are Michiganders, good folk through and through, and they do not >>> let on. >>> >>> Meanwhile, Charlie. I’ve been running away with Charlie on club rides. >>> High winds have really cramped our style. Charlie and I are on a learning >>> curve. I try and find out if the sounds he’s making are benign or >>> malignant. There was a screeching pedal (a terrible thing that happened!) >>> that my shop addressed. But now there is ghost shifting and something >>> whirring when I stand to climb and toss my weight on the drive side of the >>> bike. Charlie had been denied his accoutrements because I tried to make him >>> Pure Road Bike and keep his accessories minimal. We failed miserably and >>> I’ve junked up the bars just like Charlie’s a Platypus. The final piece, >>> his German mirror, arrived today. I still don’t know if Charlie is any >>> faster than a Platypus. Nothing is fast in these winds. We are out there >>> shredding our thighs, trying to brave winds and get fit for the season with >>> Charlie and his junked-up non-aero bars. >>> >>> What have you all been up to? Are you having the same struggles? Who >>> else is wanting to throw up their hands and just talk shop? >>> 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 visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5175834e-31c3-4cea-87cb-37ee34020bdan%40googlegroups.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5175834e-31c3-4cea-87cb-37ee34020bdan%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 visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/376767de-55d4-4d93-83f1-7fa76fbf6a9bn%40googlegroups.com.
