Hi all - apologies for resurrecting this thread, but wanted to know if most of you CHG owners ended up buying the bike sight unseen w/o a test ride? Was it a leap of blind faith? On Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 4:14:41 AM UTC-6 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:
> Chester, > Yes, a camera would be nice. The Varia had some version of that for $400 > but there was a bunch of drawbacks I briefly read about so didn’t purchase. > One of the gals in my club said her friend has VR glasses or whatever they > are called these days and she would turn her head to look at the license > plate and command the glasses to take a photo. Worked brilliantly! > > Drivers seem to have less patience this time of year. We are only riding > in daylight hours now, of which there are not many. And snow is in the > forecast this weekend. Sigh. > > On Nov 4, 2025, at 9:37 PM, Chester <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > On Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 4:37:18 AM UTC-7 Ryan Fleming wrote: > > Yikes Leah! What's up with these guys?!...yes I've had similar things > happen to me...too bad you didn't get his license plate and report the son > of a bitch. If that Varia helps to keep you and your riding buddies safe, > it's a good investment...a camera app would be nice :) > > > Ryan: not sure if you're bringing up having a camera in addition to, or > in, a Varia, the Varia RCT715 model has radar, light, and camera integrated > in it. 1080p/30fps. > > https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/721258/ > > And earlier this year, Garmin released the Garmin Varia Vue, which is a > front headlight with integrated camera that can do up to 4K/30fps. > > Both units can be controlled from a compatible Garmin Edge computer, as > well as mobile app. > > Cycliq has been doing camera/light combos for a while, but their > rear-facing unit doesn't have radar like the Garmin Varia. And the front > light is not as bright as the Garmin Varia Vue. > > Chester > SF Bay Area > > > > > > > On Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 6:01:52 AM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > > Oh gosh, I hope you find a way to love those bars, Jay because upright > bars have been so good to me. I always see my friends lifting hands off > drop bars and shaking the numbness out of them. My bars cost me in > headwinds, but otherwise I find myself unlimited by them. > > The Varia. Let me tell you a story. We’ll depart from the Charlie content > for a moment. > > I was at the MNR (Monday Night Ride) one fine September night. The > participation has dropped way off now that we’re losing the light. That > left only Linda and me in our group. We had only gotten to the stop sign > out of the park and a woman in a minivan was screaming at us. We were > confused - had we done something? Was she really screaming at *us*? I > watched her through her rear window (she had passed us and we were now > stopped at the stop sign behind her) and she definitely was directing it at > us. > > We rode on, got honked at. Rode another mile, got honked at again. I > turned to Linda and said, “Geez, what’s with the aggression tonight?” > Usually the Michiganders are the nicest people. > > But soon after, we had our first vehicle pass us closely. It’s a rare but > terrifying tactic drivers use to make you feel like they might hit you as > they pass by. And shortly after, a 2nd vehicle pulled the same stunt. We > were only the two of us. We are far right in our lane and easy to pass. We > are obeying the law. > > But the grand finale came on a quiet, 2-lane, paved, rural road. I heard > the threat before I saw it. An aggressive-sounding engine belonging to the > biggest black pickup with hugest mirrors turned onto our road. It revved > its engine. “Linda, I have a bad feeling about this guy,” I said. “I’m > going to single up.” There is no one on that road but us. We are single > file. We are on the shoulder of the road. We are not impeding this driver > in any way. He can easily pass us because we’ve left him room and there are > no other vehicles around. > > He guns it. Rushes up in the passing lane, cuts in in front of us and > absolutely coal rolls us. Thick, black smoke. What a big, tough guy, > harassing two women on bicycles who had done him no wrong. I was shook. Not > once did we yell, gesture or retaliate against anyone. Since our manners > mattered not, we cut our ride short and went back to the park. It just felt > like a bad night to be out after 22 miles with that many encounters. I > wrote on the club social media about it. Asked if anyone else had > aggression and one group had. A small tan pickup had cut in front of them, > came to a complete stop and they only barely managed to avoid a collision > by hitting their brakes. That guy got reported to the police. > > The next morning at work I was recounting the tale to an anesthesiologist > who also rides, and he said one of the CRNAs had just told him the same - > he’d been harassed last night, too. That doc said, “Do you have a Varia?” I > said no, I have a Garmin but no radar, and he said, “Leah, you really > should get one. It is the best thing I’ve ever bought for my bike.” And > then he pulled it up online and showed it to me. “I really think you need > this,” he said. I was skeptical. That day my bike shop sent their > e-newsletter and guess what was on sale? I rode my Platypus to the shop the > next day and got a Varia for $50 off. > > So now Charlie is sporting a radar/tail light and I really like it so far. > Did you know you can let your friends hook up to it, too? So now some of > the other girls who don’t have them have connected to Charlie’s Varia and > we are all better off for it. > > On Oct 8, 2025, at 10:15 PM, Jay <[email protected]> wrote: > > You're great with the flowery language, Leah! > > > The Varia is the single best accessory I ever bought for cycling. I ride > on the road a lot, and I'm so relaxed having this companion behind me, > letting me know with an audio and visual cue that a car is coming, I stick > out my hand to wave, easing over to my right without slowing down or > looking behind me. Close to half of the drivers wave, most getting way > over to the left. > > Charlie looks to be a great bike, if you like swept bars. I have them on > another bike and I'm still trying to figure them out (6 months later). I > think there is a huge potential for more road bikes with good tire > clearance, tall head tubes, and short top tubes to allow for drop bars. My > Roadini is my baby, but there is potential there for more! > > On Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 5:42:59 PM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > > Aw, thanks, friends. I have had a ball on these bikes and I wish everyone > else got to experience the same. And lots of other RivSisters will echo > what I wrote. And it’s not hard to romanticize about bikes. The flowery > language comes easy! > > I have little bits of conversion I didn’t mean to make. I got dyno > swearing that I’d never be a slave to charging my lights. But now I have a > Garmin and a Varia that get charged anyway, because suddenly, I can’t live > without either of those. So Charlie is looking a little odd, running around > here with his Garmin up front and his Varia on his rear. > > But he’s still pure Rivendell. > Leah > > On Oct 8, 2025, at 10:03 AM, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > > Leah, you should really be getting paid by Riv. No post on this forum has > ever made me want a bicycle more than you're description of Charlie here! > > > > On Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 8:52:16 PM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > > Well they’re all missing out, Piaw! Charlie and I are in LOVE. We’ve been > running off together allll summer and we have thousands of miles together > now. Charlie is What Women Want. Long wheelbases…we are into them. Pullback > bars? Say less; we’re sold. Oh, the racers in the group say Charlie isn’t a > Real Road Bike? Hold my earrings. > > I came home tonight from yet another club ride and my husband met me at > the door. We did the schtick where he pretends to be suspicious of me and > Charlie’s activities and confess Charlie and I were out in the night > together again but it didn’t mean anything. > > Charlie is a looker and a *scoundrel.* And those racers don’t know any of > this joy. > > On Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 1:06:17 PM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > > On Mon, Oct 6, 2025 at 10:26 PM Joe Bernard <[email protected]> wrote: > > I think it's a very cool frame (your build is AMAZING) but definitely a > niche within the Riv niche. The road bike world is still quite conservative > and getting them to accept pullback bars to match the long toptube is never > going to be an easy sell. The dropped toptube is also a quirk some will > balk at. > > > It's certainly true that the Charlie Gallop isn't a conventional road > bike. To be honest, though, there are plenty of reasons non racers won't > pick the Charlie Gallop as well. For instance, the ultra long chainstays > mean that the Charlie Gallop would be difficult to fit into a bike box to > get onto a plane to do a bike tour far from home. (That's also what turned > me off the Homer as well) That long wheelbase also can make it hard to fit > into trains or vans or cars. (I've done it with a tandem which is even > longer, but let's just say that I've had evil stares from fellow > passengers, and obviously some bus drivers are more helpful than others) > > The pullback bars also are much much wider than narrow drop bars. So for > instance, while I can easily fit 2-3 drop bar bikes into the back of a > Honda Odyssey with the rear seats down), my wife's Cheviot would take up so > much room that I'd have to move it onto the roof rack instead even when I'm > planning to only move 2 bikes. In fact, a pull back bar at a crowded school > bike rack would necessitate that you'd park the bike backwards with the > rear wheel first, and in many cases a standard cable lock would have a hard > time reaching the rack in those situations, and don't even start talking > about a U-lock! > > Don't get me wrong, I like my Roadini (my wife shot this video on > Saturday's ride: https://youtu.be/6hBpmSL6lRc?si=v7gIUKY-4WelAjk3), but > the additional weight is definitely felt when I lift it, and even with its > relatively short chainstays (still 2cm longer than my touring bike!), I > find that when I have to stand up and sprint it just doesn't accelerate the > way more touring bike does. > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/0NEP_PxVtP8/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [email protected]. > > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/312d96d5-48aa-48f6-aca8-e4c89f7eb639n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/312d96d5-48aa-48f6-aca8-e4c89f7eb639n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/0NEP_PxVtP8/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [email protected]. > > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/13dcf91e-69c1-4200-8f66-201d51783a45n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/13dcf91e-69c1-4200-8f66-201d51783a45n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/0NEP_PxVtP8/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [email protected]. > > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ac358455-d854-4706-8139-3e1bb3e9db7dn%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ac358455-d854-4706-8139-3e1bb3e9db7dn%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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