My Riv story and my Surly Pacer 650b conversion

[Toshi Takeuchi]

Well, the event that led me to my first Rivendell bike was the
unfortunate death of a local rider on Grizzly Peak Rd. in Berkeley
when he hit a crack in the road and lost control into oncoming
traffic. Since I'm not a racer (although I like doing endurance
events), I decided that it made sense for me to find a road frame that
accommodates wide tires to increase safety and comfort, while probably
not losing too much in terms of performance. It just so happened that
someone listed a "52 cm" Rambouillet on a board I read and I decided
to buy it since it allows for 32mm 700c tires while still allowing
fenders.

I'm sure some of you are already saying, "Whoah, that's not a 52 cm
Ram (which uses 26" wheels)." It turns out I got a 54 cm Rambouillet,
and while the standover height doesn't leave much for room for error,
I'm done having kids and the bike is super comfortable and has great
handling.

The problem with having such a comfortable bike is that it makes your
other bikes look that much worse. My previous widest tire bike is my
Surly Pacer that allows 700x28c tires with fenders. I use it mostly
for commuting and shopping runs (it used to pull trailers, but my kids
now pedal!). It's a fine bike and quite comfortable. My friend said
it rides like a Cutlass Supreme (as opposed to a high performance
sport car). This bike has my lowest gearing with a Sugino XD (ramped
and pinned version) with 48-38-24 chainrings and 11-34 cassette--low
enough to tow my kids up most of the big East Bay hills in a trailer.

Anyhow, the 28 mm are OK, but after enjoying plush, not OK enough. My
wife would kill me if I tried to get yet another bike, when the pacer
works fine, but I remembered that 650b conversions allow you to use
fatter tires with the same frame. I didn't really want to use 650b
because all my wheels are 700c, but taking safety, comfort and
practicality in mind, the Surly Pacer conversion to 650b made a lot of
sense (plus I'm going all in on the wheel size with my dream brevet
bike and my wife's new Betty Foy!).

In terms of parts, all I had to do was get some Tektro long reach
brakes and some 650b wheels/tubes/tires. Rich built up a front dynamo
hub for me and I built up the rear wheel (and a couple other wheels
for a "Legolas blue" AHH I have on order--my dream brevet bike!). I
used Soma Express 38mm tires and silver SKS Longboard fenders. The
conversion was pretty easy and the fender installation went great,
thanks to the nice video on the Riv website.

If my 700c pacer was a Cutlass Supreme, this version definitely has
the hydraulic lifts for that extra groove.

Here's a pic I posted on another forum:

http://forums.mtbr.com/9160950-post149.html

Best,
Toshi

[cyclotourist]

Hi Toshi, sounds like a GREAT conversion. I've said before that the Pacers should be built around full 57mm brake reach so they could fit larger tires. Good bikes other than that detail! BTW, the MTBR link doesn't show the bike unless you're signed in.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.

--
Cheers,
David
Redlands, CA

**
“I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.”

[Toshi Takeuchi]

Here's the flickr uploaded pic of the Pacer:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42771204@N00/7037147233/in/photostream

[Mike]

On Apr 1, 6:02 pm, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I've said before that the Pacers
> should be built around full 57mm brake reach so they could fit larger
> tires. Good bikes other than that detail! BTW, the MTBR link doesn't show
> the bike unless you're signed in.
>

Hey David, they adjusted the space on the 2012 Pacers. From the Surly
Blog last year:

"We've also updated the crown and rear tire spacing to allow for true
700x32 tires or 700x28s with fenders. This also means that the frame
will no longer work with any short reach (read: Dura-ace, Campy, 105,
SRAM Rival, etc) brakes - only standard (47-57mm) reach calipers
baby."

I imagine that this change makes for even smoother 650b conversions.
But then again, maybe not. I like that it'll now take a "true" 32. I
wonder if a Pacer with Tektro Big Mouths, not the Silver version but
the standard reach version (57mm) can take a Jack Brown. If that's the
case then the Pacer makes for a great budget road bike for folks
looking for something similar to a Roadeo.

--mike

[Toshi Takeuchi]

For my build, there is tons of clearance all around in the rear, but
in the front, there is clearance above the tire, but not much on the
right and left sides of the tire. If they widen the fork a little bit
to allow for true 32s, then that should help the clearance in a 650b
conversion. For a frame under $500 and cheaper on sale, it is a great
budget bike. Compared to a Rambouillet, the Pacer's handling is not as
quick as the Ram, but still lively enough and good for long events.

Toshi

[cyclotourist]

I soooo have a future in product design!!!

That's really a smart move on Surly's part, as the the bike is so much more versatile now.

On Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 8:35 AM, Mike <mjaw...@gmail.com> wrote:

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.

[James Warren]

This bike is awesome. This is the bike that Specialized failed to make a couple of years ago when they re-released the steel Allez. They blew that one with super-high racing gearing and downtube shifters, a combo that few potential customers would be interested in.

On Apr 2, 2012, at 10:05 AM, cyclotourist wrote:

Interesting ad copy... sounds inspired from somewhere.  Hmmm, where have I heard things like this before...???

"We decided to offer it as a complete bike to make it easier for folks to try one.  It's laterally stiff but vertically compliant, which is just a fancy way of saying it's comfy but responds when you push hard on the pedals.  It's got plenty of tire clearance for larger tires than is normal for road frames because larger tires are more comfy.  Since tire casings flex before the frame, higher volume tires to take the edge off the bumps and jangles which otherwise can harsh your ride.  We gave the complete 28mm tires, a good all around size that will still allow you to add fenders if you like.  As you might expect, we built it up with a parts kit that is more than capable but not snobbish or unnecessarily expensive.  No, the Pacer will not impress people who live for the next replica team ‘kit.’ The Pacer reminds us, quietly, that there is a road bike out there for the rest of us."  http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pacer

James Warren

jimcw...@earthlink.net

- Remember, my friends, it is better to feel fast than to be fast.

[rcnute]

If the idea of a carbon fork doesn't give you the howling skitters you
might try a Bontrager Satellite fork.
http://www.bikeman.com/bikeman-blogs/650blog/1897-surly-pacer-650b I
copied Ed Braley's 650b Pacer conversion and the fork offers more room
on the sides. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30684316@N08/4822675226/in/set-72157624509640944

Ryan

On Apr 2, 8:54 am, Toshi Takeuchi <tto...@gmail.com> wrote:
> For my build, there is tons of clearance all around in the rear, but
> in the front, there is clearance above the tire, but not much on the
> right and left sides of the tire.  If they widen the fork a little bit
> to allow for true 32s, then that should help the clearance in a 650b
> conversion.  For a frame under $500 and cheaper on sale, it is a great
> budget bike. Compared to a Rambouillet, the Pacer's handling is not as
> quick as the Ram, but still lively enough and good for long events.
>
> Toshi
>

[cyclotourist]

Interesting ad copy... sounds inspired from somewhere.  Hmmm, where have I heard things like this before...???

"We decided to offer it as a complete bike to make it easier for folks to try one.  It's laterally stiff but vertically compliant, which is just a fancy way of saying it's comfy but responds when you push hard on the pedals.  It's got plenty of tire clearance for larger tires than is normal for road frames because larger tires are more comfy.  Since tire casings flex before the frame, higher volume tires to take the edge off the bumps and jangles which otherwise can harsh your ride.  We gave the complete 28mm tires, a good all around size that will still allow you to add fenders if you like.  As you might expect, we built it up with a parts kit that is more than capable but not snobbish or unnecessarily expensive.  No, the Pacer will not impress people who live for the next replica team ‘kit.’ The Pacer reminds us, quietly, that there is a road bike out there for the rest of us."  http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pacer

On Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 9:54 AM, cyclotourist <cyclot...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Seth Vidal]

On Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 2:55 PM, rcnute <rcn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> If the idea of a carbon fork doesn't give you the howling skitters you
> might try a Bontrager Satellite fork.
> http://www.bikeman.com/bikeman-blogs/650blog/1897-surly-pacer-650b  I
> copied Ed Braley's 650b Pacer conversion and the fork offers more room
> on the sides.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/30684316@N08/4822675226/in/set-72157624509640944
>

okay - I'm reading this and I'm thinking:
0. I'd like to try out a 650b bike
1. does anyone make a low-trail fork for the pacer such that I can
kill 2 birds w/one stone and if they do - whom should I talk to?
2. my need to bike-tinker is massive sometimes.

-sv

[rcnute]

Check out the Rawland owners' group on Google and the Rawland website--
low trail forks coming out soon at a nice price.

Ryan

On Apr 2, 12:58 pm, Seth Vidal <skvi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 2:55 PM, rcnute <rcn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > If the idea of a carbon fork doesn't give you the howling skitters you
> > might try a Bontrager Satellite fork.
> >http://www.bikeman.com/bikeman-blogs/650blog/1897-surly-pacer-650b I
> > copied Ed Braley's 650b Pacer conversion and the fork offers more room

> > on the sides.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/30684316@N08/4822675226/in/set-721576245...