Damn, forgot about Boulder. Their 650b lugged offering is amazing looking.
On Wed, May 8, 2013 at 4:19 PM, Philip Williamson < philip.william...@gmail.com> wrote: > Boulder <http://renehersebicycles.com/> and Box > Dog<http://www.boxdogbikes.com/products-the-bdb-pelican/>bikes both sell > off-the-peg randonneuses. Some older bikes are low trail > (my old Ross), or a used Kogswell, or re-raking a fork on an under-used > bike are some low-cost ways to try out the idea. > > Philip > www.biketinker.com > > > > On Wednesday, May 8, 2013 8:53:22 AM UTC-7, Peter M wrote: > >> I have never read BQ, but it is my understanding that they are >> recommending a type of bike that isn't off the peg or readily available, >> the "Classic Randonneur" so as pointed out on the Lovely Bicycle blog it >> might be hard for a lot of us to make a comparison. Maybe the VO >> Polyvalent? >> >> >> On Wed, May 8, 2013 at 11:41 AM, James Warren <jimcw...@earthlink.net>wrote: >> >>> >>> Very thorough description. Describing the mission is a good way to >>> highlight a point that has already been made: Rivendells are designed for >>> riding that doesn't resemble that description. So comparing Rivendells to >>> BQ bikes is an apples/oranges thing. >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> >From: Steve Palincsar <pali...@his.com> >>> >Sent: May 8, 2013 8:03 AM >>> >To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.**com >>> >Subject: Re: [RBW] Re: Interesting discussion: Riv bikes v. BQ bikes >>> > >>> >On Wed, 2013-05-08 at 07:39 -0700, Michael wrote: >>> >> What actually is a Randonneur frame? >>> > >>> >> Meaning, what is it about its geometry and materials that makes it >>> more suited to this activity over other traditionally styled road bikes - >>> fenderability and tire width and ad- ons capability excluded? >>> > >>> >Think about the mission. >>> > >>> >You need a bike that's comfortable for long distance riding, that won't >>> >fatigue you because it rides roughly. You can expect that the rider is >>> >going to be tired and inattentive at some point (inevitable if you're >>> >riding through the night) so you can't tolerate hair-trigger handling >>> >that will get away from you if you're slow and inattentive. >>> > >>> >You can expect to start at 7 am and, for the longer rides, ride through >>> >the heat of the day, past sundown, and into the chill of night. In some >>> >places, that can mean as much as a 25-30 degree temperature range. You >>> >can't do that with a pair of arm warmers and leg warmers that you can >>> >stick in a jersey pocket, so you're going to have to be able to carry >>> >the clothing you needed when it was cold during the heat of the day. >>> >"More than you can stick in a jersey pocket" means you're going to have >>> >to carry bags of some kind. The more accessible those bags are when >>> >you're riding (so you don't have to stop and park the bike to put on a >>> >pair of sun glasses, for example) the better. >>> > >>> >On the longer rides you will have to ride at night. That means you'll >>> >need a lighting system. The really long rides will outlast the range of >>> >battery-operated systems, so either you'll need to replace batteries or >>> >will have to rely on bicycle-powered systems that don't need batteries. >>> > >>> >Randonneuring is a spring-time sport, and in most areas of the country >>> >spring is a rainy season. You can't skip out on a ride because it >>> >rains, so the bike is going to have to go in bad weather. The worst >>> >part about riding in the rain is getting chilled because you're wet, and >>> >to deal with that you'll not only need suitable rain clothing, you also >>> >should find a way to keep the worst of it, spray from the road, off you. >>> >That means you'll need to mount fenders, and that in turn means the bike >>> >should have the room to fit them and the attachment points to fit them. >>> > >>> >All that said, it's a sport that is run against a time limit. Time >>> >allowed is based on distance, with no consideration for terrain. Go too >>> >slow and you won't finish in time. Also, the rides are typically in >>> >mountainous country, so the bike is going to have to be set up so you >>> >can climb long, steep hills. >>> > >>> >Basically, any bike that can meet those functional requirements will do. >>> >Many bikes can't meet them all but can do some, and often compromises >>> >will be made. In fact, the rules used to mandate fenders but since so >>> >few bicycles made recently can actually fit fenders, they relaxed the >>> >rules to make them optional. Some people do without them. >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> >-- >>> >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 rbw-owners-bun...@**googlegroups.com. >>> >To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.**com. >>> >>> >Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/** >>> group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-**US<http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US> >>> . >>> >For more options, visit >>> >https://groups.google.com/**groups/opt_out<https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out> >>> . >>> > >>> > >>> >>> -- >>> 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 rbw-owners-bun...@**googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.**com. >>> >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/** >>> group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-**US<http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US> >>> . >>> For more options, visit >>> https://groups.google.com/**groups/opt_out<https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out> >>> . >>> >>> >>> >> -- > 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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