Hi Beth, Your note resonates with me. I am also recently more in touch with what I like to ride and what style works best for me now.
I sold 4 bikes last summer, all 700, 3 of them Rivs. My wife asked me to reduce the fleet and those were the bikes that I believed would bring the most return and some of them were similar to each other and to bikes that I still have so I didn't lose anything unique - except my QuickBeam. It has gone to a good home nearby where it is fully appreciated. I can visit if I want. I have made my peace with that but I missed it immediately and started riding my 26" single speed RedLine MonoCog, which had sat mostly idle for a few years. https://plus.google.com/photos/111838829033930119881/albums/5708720188748611345/5728705989593648738 I put on new bars, pedals, Dos Eno cog, Schwalbe Fat Franks 26 x 2.35 and re-cabled and it seemed like a new bike. The fat 26"s are a treat. Obviously not a QuickBeam but a good single speed ride. I liked the result of that revival so much I redid my 26" 1991 Bridgestone MB-1 with Schwalbe 26 x 2.15 Big Apples, new bars, new saddle, new pedals, V-brakes, new cables and new wheels with a switch from freewheel to cassette, still 7 speed triple. https://plus.google.com/photos/111838829033930119881/albums/5724265447661313041/5724604809168276370 The Bridgestone cleaned up better than I thought it would and it seemed like another new bike. Wow. I had two (new) bikes in my garage waiting to be (re)discovered. Cool. I knew these were good bikes but it was only by letting some other bikes go that I appreciated these 26" bikes more. These bikes may be more my present style than a Rivendell. I mean no offense to anyone by that statement and I personally consider the MB-1 to be the Father of Rivendell and therefore a sacred device. The statement is not about Rivendells, which are the finest bikes available, but about me and what I like now. It was a little tough to take the MB-1 so far from its stock parts but I am happy I did it. In making these changes I realize what you implied - a person's bicycling style, needs and preferences are not fixed. They are changing as time goes on and when the opportunity presents itself, and if the funds are available, certain changes, even to less expensive and less refined bikes, can be rewarding. I am in complete agreement with you and also with Charlie. John On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 10:33 AM, b hamon <periwinkle...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Fellow Riv-freaks: > > As my life and my bicycling style both evolve, some things have become > evident. Chief among them is that, of all my bikes, I tend to ride just two > the most: > > 1. My Surly Big Dummy (no matter what BQ says, I really like mine); and > 2. My 1999 Riv All-Rounder (an acquisiting from another Riv-freak several > years ago). > > The former is absolutely necessary for hauling my guitar and amp to gigs, > not to mention groceries. > The latter is my daily transportation. I had promised the previous owner > that I would "ride the crap out of it", and that is basically what I've > been doing since I set it up for city riding. > > I have two other bikes that I don't ride so much anymore. > One is the singlespeed mountain bike I've raced on for the last three > years, and since I'm fairly certain I won't be racing anymore (my knees > can't really handle singlespeed and I don't want to race anything else) the > former bike will probably go this year. > The latter is my 700c-wheeled LongLow, a bike I've had since 1999 and > which I ride less and less as my style and needs change. I am more > emotionally attached to this bike than practically so, and I'd like to hear > from other folks who have become fans of an all-26"-wheeled stable. When > did you do it and why? > > Beth in PDX > > http://www.reverbnation.com/bethhamon > http://beth-hamon.blogspot.com/ > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > -- John Blish Minneapolis MN USA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
