Originally Posted by
paulb_in_bkln
More about that Lake Pepin Rider, which I guess is the new Lenton Tourist I was so taken with last week from that old catalog: "The geometry, based on an early ‘60s Raleigh Superbe, was tweaked to accommodate 650b wheels,..." Am I correct the rim diameter difference from stock is 6 mm? I wonder if that blog post writer invented the tweaking. No mention of the rim type; they'd have to be alloy, right? You couldn't buy chrome steel rims in that size if you wanted to, I don't think.
Why would you even
want to, if the intended purpose is to ride moderate-to-long distances? I rode my DL1 on my first Lake Pepin Tour. Fully kitted out with a rack, panniers, and saddlebag that beast weighed in at 72 lbs. Steel wheels are completely appropriate for that application. But for light touring with only a small load, alloy is the obvious choice. I weighed my Raysport Turismo / Light Roadster just before I left on Saturday morning, and it came out to 42.1 lbs. Of course I've learned to pack lighter these days, and it was a
lot easier to pedal this one up the notorious 2.5 mile Bay City Hill. But those alloy Soma "Iggy" wheels felt quite solid over all types of road surface.
As for tweaking the geometry to account for a 6mm difference in wheel diameter, I wouldn't be surprised. After chatting with Jeff for many miles, the impression I got was of a very precise, highly skilled craftsman who would not let a detail like that go without due consideration.
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