Rosco Bubbe

[Joe Bernard]

This name resurfaced on the BLUG yesterday. Its original proposed incarnation was a child's bike, which Grant determined to be too expensive to sell. The reintroduction specifies "adult bikes" with a seat-clamp intended for the new tandem. Hmm...

[Grant @ Rivendell]

Right, Joe. Here's the whole short story: When somebody buys a bike, we have to account for the possibility that they'll smash a fork in a wreck. We don't keep statistics on this, but it's got to be way less than 1 percent, and way more than zero (as the bent Roadeo fork in the current BLUG shows).
Over the years our accumulation of forks has reached 184. Some raw (unpainted), some painted, and all of them specific to one model and size. Betty forks painted Betty blue with the red detailing; orange Sam forks, and lots of raw Sams and Simpleone forks. A few Hunqa forks.
They all have threaded steerers that require head tubes of a certain length (plus/minus 2cm, depending how many head tube spacers used). Or, they could be cut and converted to 1-inch threadless, but we've opted to minimize the work on them, and just use them as they are.

We've counted and separated the forks, and in the last few days I've been designing frames around them. The beacon is head tube length. If I determine that a fork requires a HTL of 235mm, that steers some aspects of the design. The frame can be small, with a radicaly upsloping Top Tube, or it can be bigger, with less upslope. It can be a mixte or not.

We can't afford to do these bikes with normal joint lugs, so we'll tig 'em and sort of modify the CLEM way. There will be mini lugs, and the fork crown is a lug, but the tubes will be tigged together. This gives us more flexibility and reduces cost, and the idea is ten of these, eight of those, fourteen of something else, in a variety of styles. We may offer frames only, we may offer whole bikes only---that depends on a number of things that nobody in the real world out there has access to, so there's no need right now to build a strong case either way.

Rather than create a new model for each variation--and the decals and badge to go along--we gunna callemall ROSCO - BUBBE, a catchall name for these few-of-a-kind bikes that allow us to put the fantastic forks to good use, and heaven forbid, clear out some shelf space in the warehouse and make some pocket money.

I'm having fun designing the bikes. I'm taking advantage of the inherent flexibility and the low numbers to -- from my POV-- have a little fun with them. The designs will make sense, but may offend classicists. One idea that really turns me on also makes me nervous, but it'll affect twelve frames, and they'll be unique and spectacular, and it's a smart way to go.

Waterford may build some. Some will definitely be MIT<--made in Taiwan. We may offer a "name it yourself" option with the leftover separate letter packs that never got used on the CLEMs.

Overall,  it's better to make killer bikes from the languishing forks than to enable their languishing, so that's what we're going to do. No more details are available at this time, but we'll make it fun and good.

G

[EGNolan]

BUMP. This sounds like a wonderful thing & I hope everyone reads this.

[Joe Bernard]

Sweet! I really like this semi-TIGed direction you guys are taking so there can be more design flexibility, plus the ability to provide a lower point of entry for Riv frames. Of course the fancy fully-lugged frames will always be the cat's pajamas of Rivendell, but I think it's fair to say that steel tubes connected in the correct geometry is more important than the joining method. Every time I get on my new CLEM, the first/only thing I notice is how great it rides. The only time I ever think about which parts are welded and which parts are lugged is when it's sitting in the living room. And most of THAT time is spent looking at the bendy stays and thinking, "I don't care what anybody says, I'm SURE they're shock absorbing." Bring on ROSCO! ;-)

JB

[Patrick Moore]

Tigging, lugging, filleting, it'sall good. Hell, makem outof carbonfiber. Just keep the signature Rivendell fit/handling combination -- that's what makes a Riv a Riv (IMO).

Oh, and put a removable face plate on that threadless, upjutting 1 1/8" steerer stem! I could use one of those for the Race Lite and a flared drop bar. (And make the larger grabsack big enough for a 15" laptop.)

On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 11:46 AM, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

Sweet! I really like this semi-TIGed direction you guys are taking so there can be more design flexibility, plus the ability to provide a lower point of entry for Riv frames. Of course the fancy fully-lugged frames will always be the cat's pajamas of Rivendell, but I think it's fair to say that steel tubes connected in the correct geometry is more important than the joining method. Every time I get on my new CLEM, the first/only thing I notice is how great it rides. The only time I ever think about which parts are welded and which parts are lugged is when it's sitting in the living room. And most of THAT time is spent looking at the bendy stays and thinking, "I don't care what anybody says, I'm SURE they're shock absorbing." Bring on ROSCO! ;-)

JB

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[Joe Bernard]

Not to derail the topic - that means I'm derailing the topic while denying it - but why do people still drag laptops along on a bike? I've gotten to where I use my smartypants phone for most web stuff at home..I can't see where I would need the huge version on the road.

[Rod Holland]

One use case for that (lugging a laptop) is commuting...

rod

[Ryan Fleming]

ummmm software developers on-call who need to haul their laptops back and forth to work? that would be me...PITA as it is....thank goodness it's not every week but it works out to about one week in 4 or 5

[Joe Bernard]

Ah. I guess it was a stupid question..I know nothing about IT stuff. Back to bikes!

[islaysteve]

Interesting concept to use the spare forks. I wouldn't have thought that small runs/ semi custom would be economically feasible. The things you learn here!

[Ron Mc]

Saw this one on the latest Blug 

I really, really, really don't get 40t rear cogs.  

Biggest one around my house is a 32, and I could get by with 29 forever

  

  

	25	68.0 %	42
29	23.6		39.6
20.8 %
24	28.5		47.8
14.3 %
21	32.5		54.6
16.7 %
18	37.9		63.7
12.5 %
16	42.7		71.7
6.7 %
15	45.5		76.5
7.1 %
14	48.8		82.0
7.7 %
13	52.5		88.3
8.3 %
12	56.9		95.6

I also really like the Roscoe Bubble idea, and will be anxiously awaiting the cavalcade

[Lungimsam]

I can see 40t, 11 speed for a 1x.

[Ron Mc]

I don't get 11sp, either.  Adding, weight, complexity and bad chain-line.  

[Lungimsam]

Is it pronounced "Boo-bay" or "Buh-Bee"?

[Steve Palincsar]

On 02/13/2016 08:13 AM, Ron Mc wrote:
> I don't get 11sp, either. Adding, weight, complexity and bad chain-line.

How is the chain line for 11 speed any worse than for 8, 9 or 10?

[Patrick Moore]

Or even a 1X9 or 1X10. I may go that route myself one day if a derailleur hangar extension will allow a 9 speed XT rd to accommodate a 40 t cog. A 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-40 X 32 might be good for steep singletrack.

On Sat, Feb 13, 2016 at 6:02 AM, Lungimsam <john1...@gmail.com> wrote:

I can see 40t, 11 speed for a 1x.

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[Grant Petersen]

As designers and manufacturers, we like (and have some kind of obligation) to try things ourselves that may or may not work on our customers' bikes. We're often asked about parts we haven't tried, and a lot of the time have no interest in trying---for reasons good or bad, but usually good. Keeping in mind that, despite the furor we sometimes inspire and the price of our bikes, we are a small and cash-poor business that can't be all things to all riders. And, often we have friends who let us try their bikes with something.

It's not always a matter of "does it work?", because most things do work in their intended limited applications, and in the right circumstances.

The thing I LIKE about the 40, is that on my Cheviot, at least, it worked with my $30 much beloved Altus derailer. It required a few more links of chain--as it turned out, one more than what I put on it when I was thinking I'd never make the goof of riding the 46 x 40 combo.    Sometimes when I'm feeling super frisky, I climb in the big ring THINKING its the middle ring, and that's what happened here. Then it got harder or I got tireder, and shifting up in back and broke it.     It's not something I'm ashamed of, it's just part of life on bikes. It's kind of neat being the guy who owns a bike company but hasn't gotten beyond doing dumb stuff. It makes me feel like a kid again, or something.

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[Ron Mc]

The smoke-test answer is totally acceptable.  My custom-cassette compact double above came from percolating the ratios of a half-step + bail-out wide-7 on another bike, that from chain-ring trials had become perfect for my rolling hills and the 400' steep climb to get home at the end of the ride.