We connected off-list but since Franco also just went through a Roadini sizing journey, I thought I'd share my take-aways from Mike Varley here which is not groundbreaking for anyone here but interestingly I did *not *put to use until *after *setting up my roadini..
With the size 53 which has a 575mm ETT, I could run a 100mm stem with 6° rise, and my saddle tip to bar distance would be 532mm. With the size 56 which has a 595mm ETT, I could run a 90mm stem with a negative 6° rise, and my saddle tip to bar distance would be 535mm. The calculations between the 54 roadini and the 57 roadini are very similar to the Mod zero, but in both cases I'm glad I sized up. On each I'm just barely able to get my bars below my saddle height by slamming the stem, but there's ample room to raise the bars higher should I ever want to be more comfy by raising them up. Hopefully that's helpful to someone, sometime! On Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 3:49:55 PM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > mind sharing Mike Varley’s tip on sizing? > > Thanks! > > Franco Rinaldi > c: 646.403.0661 <(646)%20403-0661> > > -Pardon any typos, Siri typed this message- > > On Feb 1, 2026, at 4:53 PM, Christian B-H <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Early last year, intent on getting stronger and racing a little and doing > some bigger road rides, I got the idea in my head to buy a new road bike. > Specifically the beauty and attention to detail of the Fairlight Strael. > Due to financial, political, and marital 😅 factors, I thankfully did not > buy another bike on that whim, and waited. Despite being disenchanted > mostly with bike road racing by the end of the summer (I did one or two, > they were stressful, there was enough stress between work and global and > national politics…) but I still wanted a roadbike that wasn’t my > father-in-laws titanium Merlin from 2000 which fits 25mm tires barely. > After much obsessive debate between Crust Malocchio, Black Mountain Cycles > Road, and the Leo Roadini, I decided since I was going to sell my Platy to > fund the new bike that I needed to stick with Riv (plus the dark gold paint > and the Riv overall was just so much more beautiful than the others). So i > sold my platypus locally to a nice guy from Arkansas and bought LA Adrian’s > delightful CubHouse built Roadini. With Flat bars it was fun but the bars > were too flexy and I was too upright for the faster roadier rides I wanted > to do with it. > > So, I bought some 46 noodles from Shawn in SD and set the Roadini up with > drops and a 130stem from my Platy. It suddenly felt so big I panicked and > wanted to sell it! Thank goodness for Daniel G’s review from Australia, I > realized I needed a 7cm stem and looking back to my correspondence with > Mike Varley at Black Mountain Cycles about sizing, I remembered his focus > on seat tip to handlebar reach being determinant of “fit”. So once I had > that at the 52/3cm distance my other bikes are at, i was stunned. Suddenly > it was perfect and almost as sporty feeling as my low-trail, short wheel > base titanium Merlin hand-me-down road race bike from 2000. A final > adjustment of the saddle angle which had confounded me previously (saddle > still angled “too high for me” in the photo), it was ready for riding > comfortably while slightly bent over in the drops. > > The roadini feels Slightly heavier of course than the titanium road bike > but much more stable and confidence inspiring with good tire clearance and > the steel fork (versus old aluminum+ carbon on the Merlin). And, that > weight pretty much disappears while riding. I finally got it out with the > drop bars for a two hour, 30mile ride on road, bike paths and dirt roads > today along with a buddy on his Rivendell Legolas. > > It felt smooth and agile but also sturdy, and as is the mark of many a > comfortable ride, it sort of disappeared beneath me at many moments and I > was not thinking about my bike or my body but focused on pleasant > conversation and scenery. Towards the end, the chatter of dirt road > “washboards” brought me back to the physical sensations, and we finished > the ride with 20more minutes of road and bike paths. > > I ended the ride with the distinct pleasure of feeling like there was > nothing about the fit that i would change. I have to fiddle with the > position of the front derailleur (it hits the crank slightly when in the > big ring- but that’s a limit screw or position problem) and then maybe set > the limit screws in the rear or change the cassette (I frequently feel like > the gears skip or are hard to “find” in friction mode). But overall, I am > just so pleased with the Roadini as a roadbike! > > I am indebted to the aforementioned rbw bunch members for easy and > pleasant transactions and engaging and insightful write ups, in addition to > folks on here like Piaw and Bill and others who’ve written about and > compared their Roadini's previously. This is a helpful Bunch to be a part > of! > > In an effort to assist any other Roadini curious riders out there, I'm 6ft > / 183cm tall with an 88/9cm PBH riding a 57 roadini from 2023/4? with a 7cm > Nitto Talux stem slammed and 46cm Nitto Noodle bars. Saddle tip to bar > distance is about 53cm with a brooks b17. > > Happy riding for 2026 to all. > > Christian in Boulder, CO > > -- > 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/85fd4c82-5612-4fda-8b94-fa21c54448c0n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/85fd4c82-5612-4fda-8b94-fa21c54448c0n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > <image0.jpeg> > > -- 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/e7891a15-12d7-4256-b3a3-6ac78b19577bn%40googlegroups.com.
Mod Zero 53.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document
Mod Zero 56.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document
