So interesting what you say about accomplishing unnatural feats with geometry to make your bikes the same. I've done this too, but I was always starting from an imperfect place (a bike that is not ideal fit), but I didn't know it at the time. I wasted so much time and money.
On Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 7:50:46 PM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > I always end up having bike overlap because I slowly manage to massage all > my bikes into exactly the same bike. Sometimes I do so by accomplishing > completely unnatural feats with geometry. A couple of years ago, I finally > realized this and sold most of my bicycles. Everything I have left at the > point is a dedicated swept bar ATB. I finally stopped the urge to own > aspirational bikes that I will end up not wanting to ride as much. I love > almost every bike in the Rivendell catalog, and I’d like to own one of > each, but I realize the only one that really works for me at this point > would be a Clem. It’s only taken me half a century to come to this > realization. > > On Sun, Oct 19, 2025 at 7:42 PM Jay <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I like the conversations that are musings about a variety of bicycle >> related themes. Here my take on it. >> >> I've ridden 5 days in a row (more below on why that's meaningful), all >> involved a good dose of local trails and so far, 13/19 days in October. I >> think a lot while riding, including a lot about riding and bikes. Here are >> some thoughts I recall from the last week. >> >> *Nature* >> - Fall is when mother nature gets all dolled up and heads out to her >> annual party. The colours, changing temperatures and weather conditions, >> no ride feels the same. In contrast, when it's the middle of a hot and >> humid summer, all the rides seem more similar >> - Where I live, this was "the" weekend for fall colours. I witnessed >> this while riding through town, on the streets and trails. I also had to >> drive very carefully when heading to my lbs on Saturday as it's situated in >> a very popular area for changing leaves and the instagrammers were out in >> full force. I'm sure there selfies all look unique, right? ;-). On a busy >> road with an 80km/h speed limit, one lady riding an old mountain bike, no >> helmet, decides she wanted to cut across the road and didn't bother to look >> any way. Thankfully no one struck her. >> - Fall was on my mind today, the colours were exploding everywhere >> >> *Comfort* >> - For me, comfort on the bike is by and far, #1. It's usually degrees of >> comfort and I'm always hopeful when something clicks, even if things are >> still broken. Lately, though, I have my saddle woes solved (thank you >> Brooks B17). I've been cutting out the chamois on some of my 10+ bike >> shorts recently, as I only ride with some long compression boxers and bib >> shorts as I find them comfortable, without the chamois. Those red spots >> that were on my butt for years, all year long, are suddenly gone :-) >> >> *Tires* >> - I picked up RH Hurricane Ride tires last Saturday and have ridden on >> them 7 days since. I love these tires. I've heard people say a smooth >> tire is just as good, better? on gravel trails; something about how you >> just push the gravel on top of one another. Maybe. I guess it depends >> where you ride. I'm cornering with confidence, climbing steep (20%) gravel >> trails and no rear tire slipping out. I really like these. I may go buy a >> 2nd set for when these wear out. >> >> *Flow* (being dialled in for a ride) >> - Not sure if this is flow, but when I'm riding my local trails, which >> are curvy and hilly, I sometimes really focus on the ride, thinking of my >> line choices during cornering, braking before steep descents, little ramps >> to catch an inch of air, curbs to hop on making it look easy. When I get >> through one of these sections, I think I smirk, knowing I nailed it. My >> body and mind feel really good on and after the rides. This morning was >> such a ride >> >> *Bike overlap* (not toe overlap ;-) >> - I love my Roadini. In two weeks I'll have 3 wheel sets for it. It >> does almost everything I need it to (fast road rides with nice light wheels >> and fast rubber; all-road rides with 43mm smooth tires for comfortable road >> rides, rail trails, and more when I want it spicy; and trail >> rides...nothing crazy - no rocks, drop offs or anything) >> - I don't always love my Salsa Fargo. This is my only other bike. I >> recently removed the cables from the swept-bar set up to go back to drops. >> But in the end, I didn't want the overlap with Leo and his drops. I want >> something different when I reach for this bike. So I'm putting a longer >> stem on it to hopefully be more comfortable, new cables/housings. I've >> also ordered an Albatross bar to see how I like that over the VO Granola Bar >> - I thought of buying a Sam Hillborne. But I feel like this is too much >> overlap given the riding I do. Leo with 3 wheel sets is more than enough. >> Fargo has a wheel set with Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro tires for winter. I >> hope I'm set and don't go down any rabbit holes >> >> *Appreciation* >> - Above all else, really feeling a sense of appreciation lately. I >> appreciate that I can ride a bike, that I have the $ to afford a nice bike, >> the health to ride for hours, safety where I ride, and many other things. >> My goal is to do this into my 70's, 80's even. >> >> What's on your mind lately, when you're on your bike? >> >> -- >> 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/4636edde-e61a-4606-acd5-0b4b4075bc8cn%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4636edde-e61a-4606-acd5-0b4b4075bc8cn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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