Just after I impulse bought my 2nd Cross Check frame, I impulse bought a complete Rivendell Roadini road bike. I've been doing a little more road riding this summer, getting out of my usual Dublin loops. My thought was a real road bike would be more appropriate for this.
At least in these crazy times, I could sell me CC at a slight profit... if I close my eyes and ignore the parts that I used to build the frame. I'm cleaning out my parts bin, at least.
Here's the Roadini on my initial ride up north:
I mostly bought the Roadini for the massive head tube (and the orange paint). I'm hoping that big stack will make the drop bars more comfortable for me.
So far, I have mixed feelings about this orange cat. Looking at the drawing for the frame, I was worried the tubing would be much too stout for me. The top tube and down are 31.8~28.6 tapered tubes. That's one or two sizes over traditional road bikes, and even bigger than my CC, etc. Despite this, it doesn't ride too stiffly, but it's not a planer by any means. It feels in a class with my CC.
The fat tires and long wheelbase give it a very smooth and stable ride. I'm still not comfortable on the bars. The VO parallel bars don't have any flare in the drops, which I miss when I'm down there. I spend most of my time on the ramps behind the brake levers, which is OK, but not as good as the main position on a swept, Jones type bar.
Some day, I'll have to admit that drops just aren't for me. I love the power feeling down in the drops, but I can't ride there consistently.
The Roadini is positioned as a sporty road bike, but with the stable handling, heavy tubing, and plush tires, it feels more like an old school touring bike. I need to give it some more miles this summer and fall to see how much I like that.
any chance you'd sell it? if you haven't already? brenton.eastman@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteSorry, long gone.
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