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Old 10-27-07 | 09:57 AM
  #173  
froze
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,761
Likes: 3
From: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Bikes: 84 Trek 660 Suntour Superbe; 87 Giant Rincon Shimano XT; 07 Mercian Vincitore Campy Veloce

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy
This is my first post on this board. I recently stumbled on the Riv site too. I don't agree with everything espoused there but there is a common sense message that is hard to argue with. I used to race years ago (was not very good but it was a lot of fun) and have been through the too small frame game too. I have a Jamis Exile 29er ordered from my LBS that will be morphed into a 1x9 with dropped bars, B-17 etc. I was looking for a comfortable fun bike for fire trails and hard sandy stuff. Did this B4 I saw the Riv site...but bought a Bleroit frame for a decent price on the big auction place because I think it will be a great, comfortable road ride.....and I like steel. :-) I'll get a lot of parts from Riv because the prices are pretty competitive..though it may be a little while till it happens.

This looks like a nice ride too: http://kogswell.com/index.html
I have a similar background as you and it appears we're about the same age. I use to race and my first bike was a Trek TX900 that used the top of the line columbus tubeset but found the tubing to flexy. I sold the bike to buy a better car because the girls didn't appreciate a fine bike and a junker car!! But I race it for a couple of years and faired well considering I was working full time and attending college full time which meant my training hours were limited whereas the guys I raced with trained full time because their parents supported them. I never bought into the smaller frame BS that the LBS's tried to sell me on.

I just bought a Mercian Vincitore with touring specs and 853 tubing that was completly customed built English made bike for just about the same price as the production Atlantis which I had considered. The Mercian is a very comfortable ride even after having them use 3" long spearpoint lugs to beef up the bottom bracket and fork crown (I did this because I felt the longer wheelbase could lend to flexing the bottom bracket more then I would be willing to accept when cranking hard). I had other options I customed for the bike too that the Atlantis would not have been able to do. Like you, I too went with the B17 saddle because for touring and long rides it would be the most comfortable-once broken in which right now it isn't.

Personally I hate the looks of the Kogswell it looks too industrial, like something I would see riding in China by the masses!!!

There was better touring bike then the one I got or the Atlantis but I couldn't afford it so passed on it made by Robert Beckman called the Sakkit Expedition, I think this is the best one on the market from any manufacture but it's just too much to justify purchasing it then watch it get banged up on a tour. http://www.coinet.com/~beckman/bikeframes.html
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