"Lots of folks make the assertion that the frames look too large/wheels look too small as an explanation for why makers such as Riv switch to 700C on the larger size frames."
Well if you show me somebody who thinks your Saluki or your M.A.P. look out of proportion, I'll show you somebody who needs to have his/her head examined. Those both look dynamite. "If Grant has ever explained his shift to this position I don't recall it. " I'm not sure I can tell which position you are referring to. The position that wheelsize should in some way track with frame size goes back to the first Rivendell model that came with multiple wheelsizes across it's size range, which would be the Atlantis? That bike had and has 26" wheels in one end of the size range and 700c in the large end. I don't know about pre-Atlantis bikes. I think of the Road Standard being strictly 700, and the All Rounder being strictly 26", but I don't know for sure. Variable wheelsize is a standard part of Riv, and as far as I know is still completely unique to Rivendell. How many Riv models have only been one wheelsize? The Roadeo, the Legolas, the pre-Atlantis models, and I think that's all. Heck, the Betty Foy came with three wheelsizes! Is there another model of bicycle anywhere in the world that comes with different wheelsizes as a function of framesize? I don't count the Long Haul Trucker, because that's a choice between wheelsizes in almost every frame size. If you mean the position that the cut-off between 650B and 700 should be at 58cm, then yeah I don't think he's ever explained that. I'm about your height Steve (75.5 SH), but bought a 58 Hilsen and put a longish stem on it to stay 650B. Your 'Luki would have fit me great, and you are still free to ship your M.A.P. to me for evaluation anytime you like. The idea that there is a line and that wheelsize should grow with frame size is an opinion that I would call a Riv exclusive in production bikes. Where the cutoffs are seems to be more arbitrary from my perspective and Grant places those by instinct. I still suspect that if there were a motivated customer who really wanted a 62cm 650B A Homer Hilsen, that Rivendell could make that happen, just like a 64cm Atlantis could be made to happen and an anysize Legolas could be made to happen. I sometimes toy with the idea of selling my Hilsen and leaning on Rivendell to get me a Canti-Hilsen. I bet I could make that happen, also. -- 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 [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
