On Aug 16, 5:04 am, Steve Palincsar <[email protected]> wrote: > On Sun, 2010-08-15 at 21:18 -0700, Jim Cloud wrote: > > I'm sure that we're not going to find an agreement on the RBW Owner's > > Group site.. I think, however, that this snip I took from Sheldon > > Brown's site pertaining to various sizes of tires that are available > > relates to my statement about the 650B tire size. > > > "584 mm, 650B, is the focus of this article. This size, also known as > > 26 x 1 1/2", is most popular in France, where it was the traditional > > size for loaded touring bikes and tandems, as well as general utility > > bikes." > > > I stand by my comment that the traditional 650B size tire, as it was > > used by the French was generally for "loaded touring bikes" - which > > they often referred to as the "Camping" model. > > Certainly it was the traditional size for tandems and loaded touring > bikes. Nobody's disputing that. But you went a lot farther than that: > you said it was not a randonneuring size, and that is just plain wrong. > > Consider this Rene Herse > randonneur:http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/images/herse52-whole2.jpg > I imagine you are familiar with this bike. You might also recall that > the Technical Trials /mandated/ a 650B wheel. Then, you might look at > the Herse and Goeland catalogs reproduced in BQ, where you will find > 650B randonneurs as well as campeurs. Or, you could look at The Golden > Age of Handbuilt Bicycles, where again you will find many 650B > randonneurs represented. > > > If some today are > > using the size for a Randonneur, so be it, I really am not trying to > > state that the 650B cannot be used on a Randonneur (nor that it wasn't > > ever used on a French Randonneur model, but it wasn't the norm). > I don't get it what's with all the randonneur worshipping? I know people here consider "racing" to be a bad word as it represents all that is supposedly wrong with bicycling. Yet, randonneur is consider good?!
What I don't understand is both racing and randonneuring require massive amount of time, commitment and training. You can't do either well without putting in the time. Further, it also appears to require bikes that can be costly. *True* racing bikes can cost in excess of $5K to 10K or more, i.e., think top of the line Trek Madone, Specialized S-Work Tarmac or even something like a Pegoretti Love #3...OK, the last is suppose to be a joke as I know there's a bunch of controversy about it :_P. Similarly, a *true* rando bike can be just as costly, especially if you ache for something French like a Herse or Singer. Is the attraction that you can ride a bike that is custom fitted for things like racks, lights, fat tires and fenders? Couldn't a cross style bike with fenders, lights and racks work just as well? After all, you can race/train/rando on just about anything, right? Thanks! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
