Rambouillet fender clearance

[rcnute]

Wondering if the 30mm Grand Bois tires will fit. Not sure what size
the Honjos are (picking up a used pair). Thanks for any tips.

[Gino Zahnd]

They wouldn't fit on my Rambouillet with Honjos or SKS fenders. Not comfortably, and without a lot of fiddling, anyway.

Gino

[NickBull]

But they fit on my Rambouillet with SKS45 fenders. For that matter,
Panaracer Pasela 700x32's fit on my Rambouillet with SKS45 fenders.
Essentially no fiddling required. I have Shimano "long-reach" brakes
and the Sheldon Brown fender bolts. Tires are mounted on Mavic Open
Pro rims.

Why does this work for me and not for Gino? Maybe the distance from
the axle to the underside of the fender mounting points varies
somewhat between Rambouillets, either by mfg date or frame size. Mine
is a 58. Anyway, maybe the thing to do is measure this distance and
post it and we can compare.

[rcnute]

Well, if that don't put the wink in coincidink. Mine is a 58 too.
Gino's too, if memory serves from seeing his flickr photos.

> > > the Honjos are (picking up a used pair).  Thanks for any tips.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Mitch F.]

I have a Romulus (same dimensions as Rambouillet).  My plan was to ride during the winter with slower 700x35s in order to provide a decent workout while avoiding windchill.   I installed 700x40, stainless steel, Gilles Berthoud fenders.   Rivendell recommends the use of fenders and advertises that their Romulus and Ramboullet can accommodate up to 700x38C tires.  The fine print is that these bikes cannot do both.  This, I would opine, is the prime reason for the A. Homer Hilson with its greater tire tolerances.   As it turns out, the largest tires I can fit comfortably with the fenders are  700x28s (I use gran bois cerf 700x28s).  Although I can fit my 700x32 Tourguards, the resulting 1/8 tire/fender clearance is impractical.  Small pebbles and twigs get caught easily.  The wheel can go out of true while on a ride causing rubbing.  Forget completely about the 700x35s.   In Europe, where people know all about fenders, I noticed every bike has about an inch of tire/fender clearance.  In the winter, they sometimes bend the front of the fender into the tire.  This acts as a rake to remove snow so it doesn't cake up under the fender. I like to switch from narrow lightweight tires for group rides to fatties when I ride alone.  I've since taken off the fenders and life is just easier.           --- On Sun, 7/13/08, Gino Zahnd <gino...@gmail.com> wrote:

[rinjin]

I can fit GB 30s with SKS fenders on my 60 cm Ram with the Tektro long-
reach brakes and Sheldon's nuts, but not a ton of clearance. Araya
rims. Love the tires. Might move down to the 28s for better clearance.

[Larry Powers]

I use SKS 35 fenders on my Rambouillet along with Ultegra standard reach brakes.  The 35's are the widest fenders I can fit under these brakes.  I have used Ruffy Tuffy tires since I got the bike several years ago.  Last year I tried the Grand Bois 30mm tires.   Mounted on Open Pro rims they measured 31.5 mm's .  If I lined everything up and kept the wheel trued they just fit.  I actually road two full brevet series on this set up last year and I never had a problem.  When the 28mm Grand Bois tires came out I switched to them

Don't know how the wide the Honjo's are compared to the SKS 35's so I don't know how they will work for you.

Larry Powers

"just when you think that you've been gyped
the bearded lady comes and does a double back flip" - John Hiatt


> Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:29:06 -0700
> Subject: [RBW] Rambouillet fender clearance
> From: rcn...@hotmail.com
> To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com

[Larry Powers]

Do you have to modify the fenders to make them fit?  I use the same brakes and rims and find that the brakes will just touch the SKS 35 fenders when closed. 

Larry Powers

"just when you think that you've been gyped
the bearded lady comes and does a double back flip" - John Hiatt

> Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:43:39 -0700

> Subject: [RBW] Re: Rambouillet fender clearance

> From: nick.bi...@gmail.com
> To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com

[NickBull]

Seems like the key question is: How much clearance is the "minimum"
amount acceptable for safety?

I've ridden just over 5000 miles on my Ram, with SKS45's and either
the GB700x30 or the Pasela TG 700x32's. I've never had a problem,
either with debris catching or with fender rub when a wheel gets out
of true. Occasionally little pebbles will catch and transit under the
fender. But admittedly, there isn't a great deal of clearance, and if
a 1/2" pebble caught somehow, it'd probably lock the wheel. For that
matter, maybe a 1/4" pebble would lock the wheel. Seems like no
matter how much clearance you have, it is possible that you could
catch a stick of that diameter, and even if the fender QR's pop, if
the stick comes up between the crown and the tire, you're hosed. But
I guess if the clearance was an inch, that seems unlikely. Even the
AHHilsen doesn't look like it has that much clearance.

On Jul 13, 5:49 pm, "Mitch F." <mfrie...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have a Romulus (same dimensions as Rambouillet).  My plan was to ride during the winter with slower 700x35s in order to provide a decent workout while avoiding windchill.   I installed 700x40, stainless steel, Gilles Berthoud fenders.
>  
> Rivendell recommends the use of fenders and advertises that their Romulus and Ramboullet can accommodate up to 700x38C tires.  The fine print is that these bikes cannot do both.  This, I would opine, is the prime reason for the A. Homer Hilson with its greater tire tolerances.
>  
> As it turns out, the largest tires I can fit comfortably with the fenders are  700x28s (I use gran bois cerf 700x28s).  Although I can fit my 700x32 Tourguards, the resulting 1/8 tire/fender clearance is impractical.  Small pebbles and twigs get caught easily.  The wheel can go out of true while on a ride causing rubbing.  Forget completely about the 700x35s.
>  
> In Europe, where people know all about fenders, I noticed every bike has about an inch of tire/fender clearance.  In the winter, they sometimes bend the front of the fender into the tire.  This acts as a rake to remove snow so it doesn't cake up under the fender.
>
> I like to switch from narrow lightweight tires for group rides to fatties when I ride alone.  I've since taken off the fenders and life is just easier.
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
>

> --- On Sun, 7/13/08, Gino Zahnd <ginoza...@gmail.com> wrote:

[John McMurry]

On Jul 13, 2:43 pm, NickBull <nick.bike.b...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Why does this work for me and not for Gino?

I'd guess it's because Gino used that pesky daruma bolt to attach his
front fender.

Even when cut and filed down, it takes up some valuable tire/hardware
clearance, but looks nice if it fits.

John McMurry
Burlington, VT

[rwgr...@cox.net]

Maybe new brake pads are the solution...

Randy Graves

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[Gino Zahnd]

I was able to fit the tires with both sets of fenders, but it was too tight for what I prefer. And yep, with the Honjos it was a bit tighter due to the daruma. They still fit though, just too tight for my taste.

On a similar note, I actually prefer the way the Ram handles with 28's. I found 30s and 32s to be too squishy/bouncy/sloppy for how I like the Rambouillet to handle when climbing and descending. It's my "fast" bike, and I save the squish for my 650B whips. And if I had to guess, the bike was designed to be optimally run with 28mm tires, which is why Grant ships the bike with 28mm tires if you buy it complete.

Cheers,
Gino

[Mitch F.]

I agree that the 700/28s feel just right on my Romulus and I use them on group rides.  On solo rides and slower group rides, I prefer the Pacella Tourguards 32 front and 35 rear.  They're like riding on pillows and great for dirt roads.  I pump them up to about 90 psi.

--- On Mon, 7/14/08, Gino Zahnd <gino...@gmail.com> wrote: