Originally Posted by
Chris Pringle
Glad to see an update on this beautiful Rodriguez!
Definitely like it better with the black saddle/black tape combination. As far as the fork goes, looks good, too. With the Hetres now in, will you still have enough clearance for fenders? BTW, fenders in stainless steel or shiny aluminum (as opposed to black) will look great, imo.
Woody rack - hmmm not sure if I like it. Must be the honey color on the wood platform not matching anything else on the bike. It might look better if it matched better the red color on the Hetres. Otherwise, a similar rack (all silver) might look better. All in all, this is minor though.
Now, the million dollar question after all these changes, tell us HOW DOES IT RIDE?
I plan on getting these since they are on sale:
http://store.velo-orange.com/media/c...e-0043_1_1.jpg
You are right regarding the rack. I have a nitto rack sitting on my other bike that I might swap out. Alternatively, I can also remove the wood bed from this.
The ride is awesome. Super cushy + quick handling since this bike was built as more of a race build. The MKS grip kings are really nice and give you very secure footing. It doesn't come close to clipless pedals, but I think it's nice to have at least 1 bike in the stable that you can take anywhere at any time. I took this on a short gravel trail and the hetres aren't as secure offroad as I hoped they would be. CLDV's do much better on gravel since they have a little bite to them. One thing I don't like about 650B is climbing in them. Although the low pressure and high volume soaks up bumps on flats and rides very quickly, the tire compression when climbing slow you down on the hills, especially if you like to mash.
Originally Posted by
Road Fan
I seem to be late in this thread (hey, wait for me!), but ...
Even better would be a flat or forged crown with eyelets!
Depending on how one likes the bike to ride, it might be worthwhile to get a fork that will deliver the trail the frame was originally designed for. You can measure that off the original fork, or perhaps Rodriquez could look it up or give you good advice. Having a custom fork built is not always super $$, and you can get it nailed for blade length, brake type, rack or low-rider mounts, lighting mounts, offset, flexiness, tire clearance, headlamp wire guiding, generator mounts, or ... can't think of anything else. Buying forks you're essentially rolling the dice each time.
The fork on there rides really nicely. It is a little dated for this frame, but it matches up closely in terms of rake and A-C length. Down the line, I will get a fork built to match and possibly build up a dynamo. For now, I will outline the fork lugs in gold to at least give it a little more semblance to the frame.
Originally Posted by
Road Fan
The radial and lateral clearances on that frame are starting to become tight with those 42's. Heine and Peterson agree (!!!) that it's desirable to have 15 mm or more radial clearance between the tire and the chainstay bridge, seatstay bridge, and fork crown underside in order to have good clearance (8 to 10 mm) between the tire and the fender. If you don't have enough clearance here, road debris could cause the tire to jam while you're riding, leading to fender failure or a crash. Or careful riding.
The issue with tight lateral clearance is intolerance of misalignment. If a spoke or two fails and the rim springs out of true, it might not be possible to ride the bike home.
There is about 3mm on each side of the the chainstays. So it's close, but it's not awful. If I pop a spoke, I deserve to walk home because it would have been me who didn't properly tension these wheels
At 145lbs and 32 spokes + low pressure/high volume tires, I don't think I'll have any problems. The pictures don't show it, but there is ample room between the tire/crown and tire/brake bridge. It will be fine for fenders.
A warning to everyone regarding 650B tires. It can be a huge pain getting the bead to seat properly in the hooks. Even with adequate seating, you can still get a relatively large wobble in your tire. I have tried 3 or 4 times to get a tiny wobble out, but it's pretty difficult. Jan Heine has talked about this and there is also currently a thread about it in the 650B group... Time to whip out the soapy water or talc.
Next up - Finding a new seatpost for this. Not really feeling the American Classic. Also trying to get some compact silver 26.0 bars. Some is out of stock for now. If you know anyone with a set or have any, speak up!