This is turning out better than I'd hoped. Seeing as how I regret getting tid of my Clem H... AND have a sets of single-speed (and 3-speed) wheels left from my Quickbeam, I don’t think there's a scenario where I don't at least try to get one of these. Starting to save pennies now.
Some nerd observations and questions. (Hopefully some of you locals can check these out in person, and get some detail):
- Do we know if these will be 120 OLN rear spacing?
- Why in the world would they not just use the Frank Jones Sr. track ends? Wonder what "found' [an existing product] means. Has anybody else ever done the sloped dropout thing that allows the brakes to work regardless of wheel position, the way Riv does?)
- Which fork crown do they usually use when there's a target of 55mm tires? I'm guessing it will not be the Hunqapillar / Clem crown, but that would be great. Maybe it'll actually be the Appaloosa fork. (I only wonder because I'm a detail dork and because my favorite-ever tire - the super moto - is a little bigger than 55mm.) Still, if limited to 55, I'm sure there'll be good options)
- if this one is a 54, and Will says there's a 61 too, then it sounds like they ARE in fact the same size increments as the Roadini, which means there's a 57 too. That's the best news of all, for me! The reason I got rid of my 60 clem was that it was a smidge too big in terms of standover height. 57 should be spot-on, especially if they follow the longer top tube path of the clem L evolution.
Gonna be a long couple of years..