57 vs 61 Roadini

[Dave Grossman]

Attention Roadini owners.....can I have some feedback????

I am debating grabbing a Roadini frameset in the near future to fill the road bike void in my life.  

According to the Riv charts, I am basically at the top end of the 57 and the bottom end of the 61.  I have a 89.5-90ish PBH and generally run a 78-79cm saddle height.  Reach seems to be pretty negligible between the two and I like the idea of running less stem height on the larger frame.  However, I don't necessarily want a larger frame for road riding (seems counterproductive) but I have a lousy low back for the permanent future and long and low aint gonna cut it no more.

So those of you that have a Roadini in the larger sizes, tell me what you think.  I will put in a call to the RBW at some point when I am ready to get it going.  I was debating grabbing a BMC Road but I want more stack than those offer.

[Lester Lammers]

*I* would go for the larger frame for long term comfort and confirm the size with Riv.

[iamkeith]

How tall are you overall? From pbh/sh measurements, it sure seems like the bigger one is correct. I wouldn't think you'd be at risk of being too stretched out unless you're 6' or less.

(I'm extrapolating from experience with other frames, though - not Roadini.)

[Mojo]

I have a 89.2cm PBH and am 6ft. When I ordered a Riv custom road, Grant put me on a 61.5cm frame. I can't imagine why you would ride a 57.

Joe in GJT

[James Warren]

Because the customs have a top tube that slopes about 2 degrees, and the Roadinis have a top tube that slopes up 6 degrees (what Riv called the Expanded geometry.) It’s a different sizing strategy.

My experience with the expanded versus classic Riv geometry is that my expanded frames tend to feel like a classic frame whose seat tube is about 3 cm larger.

-Jim W.

> On May 20, 2018, at 10:06 AM, 'Mojo' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> I have a 89.2cm PBH and am 6ft. When I ordered a Riv custom road, Grant put me on a 61.5cm frame. I can't imagine why you would ride a 57.
>
> Joe in GJT
>

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[Joe Bernard]

I would just email Grant @ Rivbike.com. It's about a sale you'll eventually make so it's not like you're just picking his brain.

[Bob Lovejoy]

I do not have anything very useful to add but I am also at or around that 89 pbh number, usually have a 78cm saddle height and have studied (studied being a little overstated) the Roadini numbers.  

Like you said, the reach difference, as far as I can tell, is minimal, at least workable.  I will say the mid-tube top tube height is ~34.12" (right at my theoretical limit) on the 61, which might be fine or maybe not... The 57cm shows to be ~32.56cm mid top tube (lower than I would like).  Also, I believe the Roadini has a relatively high stack, and my very amateurish calculations came out as 630mm for the 57, 671mm for the 61.   Someone please correct that as needed as I would love to know the true numbers.

Anyway, I am very curious if others report or if you get more information from Rivendell!

For now, I have decided to not decide.  I had opted for a Sam (58cm) but delays and life timing happened (a house sale and move, then travel) so I ended up cancelling that for now.  We shall see...

Let us know of anything you find or hear!

Bob Lovejoy

Galesburg, IL

[Deacon Patrick]

Aye, 95% sure you’ll love the 61, but talk with Grant and Co., this is what they do. Grant sized me non-standard (I’m a 90 pbh riding a 62 Hunq and 66 QB) and I love the ride of the larger frames.

With abandon,
Patrick

[Bob Lovejoy]

+1 to what Patrick says...  I know I prefer a little too large of a frame rather than a little too small.  That said, other (younger and racier) folks prefer the opposite.   Still, I would be leaning to the 61 though the conversation with people at Riv should be really helpful.  If they have a demo 61 built, it could be they would set the saddle height, maybe measure few other things and send you info and pics? 

There is also a picture of a 57cm Roadini somewhere here...

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/YrobKUozAHk/koR_zTiRAgAJ

It is a 57cm with, I believe was reported, saddle height at 76cm 

Bob

[Dave Grossman]

I'm 6'1".  For Riv refernce, I own a 58cm Hunq with Albatross bars and its fits well.  

It sounds like you all believe in sizing up, which I figured would be the response.  I will surely contact Riv when I am ready to pull the trigger but just wanted to get an opinion from all of you like minded junkies.

[LBleriot]

+1. Call/write to Grant. I ordered 57 based on my Soma San Marcos sizing and Grant called me to switch it to a 54 which fits perfectly. The geometry is unique to that frame.

[lambbo]

I was on the fence, went with 61 (91PBH, 6'1") and think a 57 would be too small. About 360 comfortable miles on it so far, mostly long stretches at a time.

[Austin B.]

Dave, don't know if you have an aversion to disc brakes, but the forthcoming BMC Road+ (disc) has a higher stack height than the rim brake BMC Road. Geometry below, and according to the sizing chart based on PBH, you'd probably be on a 56cm frame. I still think the Roadini will be easier to get the bars up with a higher stack + quill stem, but it might be worth a call to Mike at BMC to pick his brain.

http://blackmtncycles.com/tech-info/mcd-road-frame-geometry/

Austin

Sykesville, MD

[Dave Grossman]

I will surely give him a call.  I have a feeling the 61 is going to be the way to go.  Every time I find a frame that I think will work for me stack and reach wise I go back to thinking, why am I looking around when the Roadini already exists.  It is so ridiculous that such a simple steel road bike with standard threadings and parts can be so outside the box for sizing these days.  And when I find something in the price range of the Roadini, like the barrage of used titanium road frames on eBay, I come back to three main points:

1  Max clearance on most of those is at best, a 28, which is nothing on the Roadini.

2.  I will really be pushing the limits of what I want for stack and reach and compromising perhaps the most important aspect of a bike for me these days, comfort.  Seems kind of silly.

3.  I am not going to crit race anytime soon.  Nuff said.

The BMC road disc is pretty sweet.  Not opposed to discs at all, but honestly, it still doesn't have the all day stack and reach comfort of the Roadini.  Seems like I keep coming back to that.  I've owned enough bikes over the years to know that I've been on too many ill fitting bikes to make that compromise again.  

[CapNMike]

Hello Dave,

I think we are close to the same size. I am 6' 1" ,my PBH is 90.5 cm and my saddle height is 77 cm. I chose a 61 cm Roadini. I have about 9 cm of seat post showing. I went with 48 cm Nitto Noodles and a 9 cm stem.

I have Jack Brown Green tires on A23 rims. I haven't measured the tires since mounting them so am not certain of the actual size but there is room. I have Tektro Brakes, the 539 model, I think. I will need a different brake option if I decide to go with a wider tire. I seem to recall someone mentioning that they used center pull brakes and were able to fit 38 mm Compass tires and I may try that in the future as I am quite please with the Barlow Pass tires on my AHH.

I set the bike up as a single speed with a WI ENO Eccentric hub build by Rich at Rivendell. I have a DOS 16/19 freewheel on one side and a 16 tooth fixed gear on the flip side. I don't have many miles on the fixed gear as I haven't quite gotten used to it.

If I can offer any other measurements please let me know. If you live near Lansing, Michigan I am happy to let you take it for a test ride.

Please excuse the quality of the photos. I took them in the rain after work today.

-Best of luck,

Mike

[Bill Lindsay]

This may or may not be a helpful datapoint in your search.  I have/had two Black Mountain Road bikes in 59cm.  One was at my home and the other lives at my Mom's house.  There was a semi-desperate WTB post recently on iBob and I went ahead and sold one of my two 59cm Black Mountain Road frames.  That freed up a spot in my stable for a Leo R.  I was between a 54 and a 57.  I'm 5'10" with a ~86cm PBH.  I consulted with Cory and he set the 54 and the 57 demo bikes up with my saddle height and emailed me photographs of both.  The 54 looked weird, in my opinion and the 57 looked like a nice civilized setup.  The stack is about an inch higher than what I normally run, so I might end up with my stem slammed, or I might end up more comfortable than ever before.  I'm picking up my Leo Roadini on Wednesday.  It will be wearing a pretty light build kit, so it'll be interesting to see if it's feasible to have a 20 pound Leo. 

Data point of one.  Between sizes, I chose to go bigger

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA 

[tc]

I'd guess 61, which is what I ordered, but haven't received yet, so hoping I'm right!

I'm 6'-1", 90.5 PBH.  My only Riv with drop bars is a 58 Sam (8cm Tallux stem, 46 Noodle) which I really like the fit of.  I totalled the [ETT + stem reach + bar reach] to come up with a similar measurement for the Roadini ... which caused me to order a 6cm stem for it.  Riv didn't have a 6cm Tallux.  So I ordered a 6cm Technomic Deluxe from Ben's Cycle, which has the brushed finish of the Tallux but is 190mm tall vs. 225 for the Tallux, but I figure with the tall head tube of the Roadini, that should offer more than plenty of height extension.  You can actually get a 5cm Technomic Deluxe if you need something shorter.

Good luck with your decision!

Tom

[Dave Grossman]

Thanks for all of the feedback guys!

Mike, I am in Chicago but otherwise would love to take you up on your offer.  I will be coming through Lansing to go to Ontario in August so if I haven't pulled the trigger yet I will take you up on the offer.

Bill, I like the idea of seeing it at a specific setup.  You were kind enough to do that for me when I was interested in your Gunnar.  Not a bad idea at all.

Tom, seems like we are also close in size, similar to Mike as well.  With Bill being a bit shorter and going for the 57 and you both taking the 61, I think that is probably where I will end up.  A conversation with RBW crew for sure will happen.  And I like the idea, like Bill said, of using the extra stack and headtube length to potentially "slam" the stem if it is too tall.  As someone who mostly rode long and low bikes, the idea of a perched up road bike like a Riv is still a bit weird for me to work with.  My back and hands will thank me once I am on it and I will forget about any short headtubes and cut steerers.