SF RB-1 looking very nice

[Brenton Eastman]

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-57cm-time-capsule-1993/7688650100.html

The seller said he’d go as low as $1600. There’s gotta be some opinions here. I have debated 90s road bike vs Roadini in previous threads and I’m still considering both. Building a Roadini would cost me $2000-$2200. The yellow 93 RB1 is my favorite, aesthetically speaking, but I’ve never ridden one. 

I’ve had a 92 Fuji Team with similar geo and loved it, but sold it. It was a 56 and a hair too small. 

[Joe Bernard]

It's a lovely bike in rare shape, 30 years on these aren't coming up in this condition every day. I believe the advertised max tire size was 28mm but that was in the era of over-promising on size by tire manufacturers, I'd only buy this if I was sure I could live with a 700x25 tire. 

[Bill Lindsay]

A 1990's road racing bike and a new Rivendell Leo Roadini are two VERY different animals.  Like, practically different species, even if they are the same genus.  Step 1 is decide which of the two you want, and then buy the one you want.  If it turns out you really want one of each of those two very different bicycles, then you've got something else to deal with.  

If the real problem is you want one of each, know that they are completely different bikes, and can only afford one.  If that's the issue then you need to go back to Step 1 and decide which of these two types of bikes you want FIRST.  Buy that one and save up for the other.  They are going to fit MUCH differently.  They are going to ride a lot differently.  They will have much different levels of comfort, stability, agility, etc.  They have completely different vibes from one another.  I have both of those types covered in my stable, so the appeal of having one of each type makes perfect sense to me.  :-)

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

On Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 11:48:22 AM UTC-8 brenton...@gmail.com wrote:

[Brian Cunningham]

Hey Brent,

I know that we've already gotten to chat about how much I enjoy my Roadini. I have owned an RB-1 previously, and would argue that if you could only own of those two bikes, the Roadini is a clear winner from the standpoint of utility. I've been commuting on it and taking it on mixed surface rides. Even in terms of weight, it's going to be a fairly negligible difference depending on how you build it up. I don't imagine it's easier to squeeze much beyond a 28mm tire on the RB-1 so it's not going to be as comfortable on rougher streets or fire roads. The shorter chainstays of the RB-1 are probably going to make it a little bit faster, but I doubt you'd be as happy on that bike on other than nicely paved roads. I also think that there's a little bit of market inflation when it comes to the top-model Bridgestones. If you want a zippy lightweight pure road bike of that era, you can probably find equally good ones that don't have the Bridgestone name attached. And if you're a strong rider, you can be nearly as fast on the Roadini with some plush wider tires with lightweight casing. 

That seller of the Bridgestone seems to specialize in very nice bikes with attractive photos and appears unconcerned with letting the market decide the value. He's had a Davidson Discovery up for eons with a caveat that he's "not desperate to sell" it and it shows. The price hasn't moved and nor has the bike. When I sold my RB-1, supposedly at the peak of bike scarcity in the early days of the pandemic, I still only asked $400 thru my local CL. I got my price within a day or two, no haggling. I'll concede that mine wasn't in nearly as nice condition, but still. 

my $0.02,

Brian

Glendale, CA

[Ian A]

If you disregard the Bridgestone/early GP provenance, it's just another 90's road bike with limited clearance for tires. I would be inclined to value it for much the same as your previously owned  Fuji Team. The Fuji may have had lighter tubing than the RB1 so the bikes may ride quite differently, despite the similar geometry.

So many good modern Rivendell options for fairly similar money. Maybe cast a net for a used Roadini (or even a Black Mountain Cycles Road+ for example).

Not meaning to denigrate  the RB1 though! And that one linked is a nice example. Just a lot of $$ for what it is.

IanA Alberta Canada

[Piaw Na]

I owned a Red '93 RB-1 and it died in a car crash that put me in the hospital for days and in rehab for months. I loved that bike and should have been more aggressive about using it so that when it died it wouldn't have hurt so much.

Having said that, it's nowhere as versatile a bike as my current Roadini. The default gearing on the RB-1 was way too high for most cyclists, and there's some toe clip overlap while the Roadini has none.  The Roadini would probably have withstood Richard Mlyrnarik's pedaling for longer than a season (he cracked his RB-1 in a year of riding) The longer chainstays of the Roadini means it descends better, and the Roadini won't climb any worse. The yellow RB-1 came with STIs and I've killed the 8-speed STIs once and won't ride them again (indexing doesn't agree with me). Despite the Craiglist declaration, I believe the yellow RB-1 came with Suntour Superbe Pro brakes rather than Shimano 600 ones. But the Shimano 600 dual pivots are better, so that's not an issue.

All in all, if I had the opportunity to exchange my Roadini for a '93 RB-1, I wouldn't. The RB-1 was a nice bike, but not as nice as what I've built up my Roadini to be.

On Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 11:48:22 AM UTC-8 brenton...@gmail.com wrote:

[Irving]

If you're looking for something:

- 57cm-ish

- steel frame

- wide tired, rim brake

- in San Francisco

- something along the lines of a Roadini or RB-1

- cheaper than both of the aforementioned frames

You may be interested in this neat Waterford that popped up: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-57cm-waterford-gravel/7697225437.html

Irving

SF, CA

[Brian Cunningham]

Must've been too good of a deal. In the 90 minutes since your post, Irving, the listing has been removed.

[Ryan]

Iirc I thought it was the yellow rb1 that 

came with sti while the red had those superbe brakes in 1993

[Piaw Na(藍俊彪)]

That very well could be. I'm sure there's a '93 Bridgestone Catalog somewhere out there with the full specs. For some reason I thought that the Superbe Pro were spec'd on both red and yellow versions but it could just be the red one.

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[Armand Kizirian]

I'd say the "1" in the RB-1 and "Bridgestone" in the name Bridgestone is about the most desirable things out of that bike. Do a blind test with it and any of the exceptionally similar roadbikes from the era and I doubt you can tell the difference.

I'd take the bike that the designer made with an additional 35+ years of experience (Grant).

[Patrick Moore]

Now this is an interesting challenge. The RB1 had a good reputation amongst the competition for its performance.

Is it better than many other mid-level road bikes of its period? If yes, why? (Formal and not agent or material causes; that is, what do you feel when you ride it that makes it better?)

Now I'd agree with Armand's sentiments if applied to the XO-1 (and cousins) (and I don't disagree with him about the RB-1; I have never ridden a RB-1.) But as to the XO series, I did ride a 1992 XO-1 extensively, and I do think it was a very innovative design but an immature execution compared to later 26" wheel customs Grant designed and to the, say, Sam (owned a first-ed) and, I expect, to other later Rivendell "all 'round" or country bikes.

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Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Jim M.]

Here's the '93 catalog page showing Superbe Pro brakes: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/1993/pages/26.htm

What I remember is that the RB-1 had good performance at a lower price than Colnago, Paramount, Medici, LandShark, Pinarello, Olmo, Basso, Cinelli (among others) that I would see at USCF races in California back in the late 80s to early 90s.  

As to RB-1 vs Roadini, do as Bill said, buy the one that appeals the most and save up for the other.

jim mather

walnut creek, ca

[Michael Connors]

This one is being offered for $1600 and has a little history

[awalton]

Not to drift too far, since it is neither a Roadini nor an Bridgestonini, but the o.p. might also consider – in the same size and possibly even from the same seller – this Davidson Discovery: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/d/san-francisco-57cm-davidson-discovery/7698196809.html (which will take 35 or 38mm tires and ride dreamily).

Alex (no relation to seller)