I have two, customized, very comfortable and lightweight bikes; Rivendells, as it happens, both fixed. The gofast (am debating whether to get it customized into a gearie analogue to the fixed commuter -- we'll see) is indeed fun with its sub 18 lb weight: man, there is nothing like pushing a 75" gear up a hill with the bike so ligh, and I generally ride in rolling and windy conditions. The question here is whether this fun will outweigh the alternative fun of a light, gearie commuter to complement the fixie one -- one regrets having only one gear when the winds gust to 40 as they have been.
The fixie one weighed about 23 lb when I weighed it on a rather doubtful hanging scale, this with Kojaks, frame pump, lighting, rear rack and kit but no panniers. It sure feels fast and easy to ride after I get off my Fargo or the trike! The Fargo, with fenders, heavy kit bag, lighting and pump and the SnoCat/Big Apple wheelset weighs north of 30 lb but my scale won't go that high; it feels -- heavy, particularly on hills but the low gear makes hills feel easy. I guess that the Kojak (folding)/Sun Rhyno wheelset (also dynamo) saves some 3 lb at least, so with that wheelset I'd guess 30 lb with the heavy kitbag on the bar, again, no panniers. The fun of the tank-like Fargo is of course that I can ride it over everything: if my vertigo (inner ear problem leading to dizziness and nausea for the last couple of days) gets better, I want to go for another extended dirt ride in the Bosque. The trike is about 28 lb I estimate with lighting, pump but no bags or kit -- the kit goes in the Hoss. The Herse was a tank but felt fast, tho' hill climbing was hard to gauge as low gears meant that climbing felt so easy. The light bikes are ceteris paribus more fun to ride; one ceterum is the fit: the Rivs just fit better than the Fargo and trike (tho' the Herse fit as well), but leaving that aside and getting back to the para, they feel more nimble in accelerating and certainly when climbing; the also are easier to throw around, as much as one can do this on fixed gears, and tho' of course other factors probably trump here. The Rivs are also far more expensive than the others but for me, the extra cost is worth having the best of customization, comfort and light weight. To sum up my experience (over 50 years of riding, 35+ as an adult) I'd say that weight does matter: more than some things but not as much as other things. On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 9:41 AM, Patrick in VT <[email protected]> wrote: > not sure i agree - lightweight, uncomfortable and uncustomizable > aren't tied together. I'm sure a Roadeo could build up into a very > comfortable, sub 20lbs bike. and light bikes are fun! don't need to > be a "top rider" (what is that anyway?!) to appreciate a bike that's > easy to push around. > -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW http://resumespecialties.com/index.html -- 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.
