Well, after an impromptu 24-ish mile night-time ride with @
ctak turned into a ~40 mile ride for me (new record post-knee injury) and a 47 miler for him, I am blown away by the 620. Holy cow, people. If you aren't in on this 47cm chain stay stuff and you appreciate an uncannily smooth, stable, yet responsive and fast ride, you need to be!! If you're an in-saddle-only kind of rider that doesn't push the performance envelope, I'm confident the original 27" wheels will do fine as you'll reap the considerable rewards that are those long chain stays. If you want to increase the performance and enjoyment envelope further, get a decent set of 700C wheels and tires. Leave Paselas behind and go for the Somas and you'll get the great ride and handling without the Rene Herse price or puncture-proneness (depending on who you talk to or your personal experience). MA2 rims came laced to anything from Dura-Ace to RX100. It's all good.
I found myself laughing at just how well the 620 handled some really crappy stretches of industrial Seattle roads. Stuff that my '74 Paramount would have bucked me off on were absorbed and contained superbly. On smooth roads, the bike just flies. Sprinting when 'feeling it?' Great! Out of the saddle mashing to get up a hill or barely make a yellow light when you're dead tired? It's got you covered! That last scenario is particularly significant as no bike has cooperated with a tired leg mash session like the 620 has. Usually, the effort is met with a 'flatness' (and thus futility) in any other bike, pretty much. The dang thing is magic.
The only bike that could have given me any preview as to just how good The Long Chain Stay Life could be was my '83 Expedition with its 45cm chain stays. That remains a fantastic bike, even if it didn't fit me anywhere near as well as the 620. Speaking of fit, the slightly higher and nearer stem/headset position was
perfect during the ride, both when fresh and when fatigued. So wonderful!
We hit some really rough pavement that necessitated "riding light" or just lifting out of the saddle. Due to a combination of a very polished seat post, well greased seat post and seat tube; the seat post slid down a whopping 1.5", likely toward the end where we encountered the rough stuff. I had the binding bolt sufficiently tight before, but perhaps that wasn't enough. I still need to swap rear cassettes to a 11-28T as I miss the extra flexibility (especially as I build endurance), as well as a longer chain to go with it. But to have a slowly slipping seat post be the only thing "wrong" that went on during a 40 mile ride (the second only of my 620 tenure)? That's fantastic.
Heretical take-aways:
47cm chain stays are for real, and are game-changers. I am pretty much spoiled now as I get to have both incredible speed and comfort in one bike, with no compromise. I'd say the lower limit, set by the Expedition, is 45cm. Anything less is just...I don't want it, especially on city roads. My Paramount, with its 44cm stays, is a great bike! The 620 is next level, period.
Why do I look for other bikes? They aren't the 620 or anything close, apart from maybe a 720. But even then, how much better, if at all, is a 720? [I suppose I will have to do the hard work of finding that out!]
The 620 is my Accidental Grail Bike and I am fully in love with it.
Do I even care about road/race bikes any more, apart from looks and (now, past) desire?
I am beyond happy with just
one bike. Crazy? Crazy. But not. Sure, with a brace of Dura-Ace, it makes things nicer, but honestly: RX100 / MA2 wheels + your favorite 'regular' triple crankset, 'regular' FD and RD + saddle, and the aforementioned Soma tires, and you have my bike at a cheaper price point. Which means you have an epic bike for non-epic prices.