Originally Posted by
kingston
I use a 50/39/30 triple for randonneuring, but the guys I have ridden with using a 46/30 leave it in the big ring most of the time and only drop to the bailout ring for big hills. The 46 just gives up a little top-end that you don’t really need for randonneuring so you can just leave in in one ring most of the time.
I can understand that. So it's like an old-school half-step plus granny 5-speed, except it's a 1x10 plus granny. Or something like that.
Personally, I'm heavy (#250) so I found myself using the 30 ring much more often when I had a 46/30 on a Rivendell Roadeo. I couldn't climb hills in 46 x 28, so I'd have to drop to the 30t chain ring halfway up a hill; it just seemed like a huge drop in gearing unless I shifted 3 cogs at the same time.
But part of that feeling was the limit of a 28t cassette (limited by RD I was using, part of a vintage 8s Campy Ergo setup). If I'd used the 46/30 with a wide range 32-36t cassette, maybe I would have been more comfortable with that crankset.
As it stands, I've since sold the Roadeo and traded the crank. C'est la vie.
Originally Posted by
unterhausen
I rode my All-City Macho Man Disc for a SR series. It worked well. It's very similar to the Diamondback, except that it will only accept smaller tires. Never thought of doing a 650b conversion, that might go well. I think the Diamondback would work well for some people. It will take fenders and has some provisions for racks.
I think the Diamondback is an interesting mix of enduro/rando and dirt/bikepacking. The Trek 920 has some similarities, though that bike has an Aluminum frame and 29er tires.
The Haanjo is definitely more dirt oriented than a traditional steel randonneur bike (though they can handle a good bit of dirt).
I could definitely see it used in brevets wearing the 650x47 WTB Horizon or 650x48 Compass Switch Back Hill tires, and bikepacking style frame bags.
Regarding a 650b conversion of your Macho Man, it would probably allow you to fit an even wider tire, like maybe 42-44 mm. You can do a quick measurement of the stays and fork: 2 cm below the current widest part of the tire and see how much clearance you'd gain. (It's 19 mm difference in rim radius, but that's good enough for a quick measurement).