25 miles today, all errand riding with detours,15 miles on the Fargo of which 6 miles of very sandy dirt (23 miles combined dirt/pavement on the Fargo yesterday). The acequia road between Paseo del Norte and my house has for some reason dissolved into a deep powder puff of very fine ex-river silt -- probably Conservancy District trucks and machines. Fargo shod with 800 gram SnoCat "Super**lite**" rims, 1/2 lb tubes, and 850 gr 60 mm (actual, labeled 50/55) Weirwolfs (finally picked all the residual goatheads out of the casing) with minor knobs at 12/17 (the wide rims support the sidewalls even at these pressures), versus the '99's 390 gram 650C Sun ME14A rims shod with sub 190 gram Michelin Pro Race 3s over 70 gram Conti (Michelin?) lightweight tubes @ ~90/95. Over the same pavement and hills, man, what an incredible difference. The Michelin Pro Race 3s are very narrow and good only for smooth roads, but they are supple and fast (next time will get the 25s instead of the 23s; the latter were on sale last spring). My cadence on the fixed 75" gear was as fast as or faster than with the Fargo's 65" cruising gear, and I climbed the same short section of 25%+ grade standing easier than on the Fargo in the outer ring's bottom gear of 32".
No racing, mind you -- far too old and indifferent in condition for any pretence at that. Just smooth, brisk riding on a beautiful fall day. Both bikes fit wonderfully, with the Riv fitting wonderfullier: Fargo's Noodles about even with saddle, Maes Parallels on '99s ~3 cm below but closer. Butt back, torso relaxed, hands draped over bar, knees well behind pedal spindle. Days like this make me realize that it's nice to have a gofast! -- ------------------------- Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM, USA 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.
