What this country needs is a Country Bike

[Manuel Acosta]

Found this on trackosaurus. Old article but still relevant for today.
http://outyourbackdoor.com/newarticle.php?id=397

-Manny

[Mike]

In some ways things have changed since then. Availability of bikes
with bigger/better clearances has grown. Salsa is marketing some
pretty interesting bikes for camping, or as they refer to it
"Adventuring". The Surly Pacer with its adjustment for true 32s (w/out
fenders), the All City Mr Pink, and other road frames are out there
now that take 32s. There's also the Salsa Casseroll which is rather
Rivish in clearances and usage. I'm not saying all these bikes are
perfect or even close to a Riv in terns of quality and function but
there are more of them out there than in 2005 when Grant wrote that
article and they're not all bad.

--mike

On Feb 17, 10:15 pm, Manuel Acosta <manueljohnaco...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

[Jim]

Not so much a country but a rural work-horse. I live 6 miles from a
small town, 14 from a medium sized one. It is a 30 mile (oneway) ride
to shop in the "big city" (Mankato). That said, I have a variety of
bikes but my mainstay is my SUV, a Surly Big Dummy. I have 32's on my
NatureBoy and 2.25 on my troll. The canti-studs are coming off the
dummy this week, bring on the hookworms (2.5)! Life is an adventure,
it is not uncommon to do 100mile days fully loaded.

[PATRICK MOORE]

I wouldn't call randonneur bikes "country bikes" if the Sam Hillson is a country bike: the former are much more roadlike, if my categorization is correct. OTOH, bikes like the Fargo split the difference between a mountain bike and a bike like the Sam Hill: they are more biased toward dirt but ride decently with fattish road tires.

Patrick Moore, who just re-discovered the joy of a sub 18 lb gofast fixie ('99 Joe built custom) after six months of leaving it hanging on my garage wall -- damn' fast!

>
> -Manny

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Patrick Moore
Albuquerque, NM
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[Steve Palincsar]

On Sat, 2012-02-18 at 12:14 -0700, PATRICK MOORE wrote:

I wouldn't call randonneur bikes "country bikes" if the Sam Hillson is a country bike: the former are much more roadlike, if my categorization is correct.

Here's my MAP Randonneur:



Now as David Allen Coe says, If That Ain't Country... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhEHB0a7Uyg

[Bertin753]

But that ain't no Sam Hill! As good a bike as the Sam is, I wonder if Jan would classify it as a randonneur; more like an all-rounder?

Patrick Moore

iPhone

[Steve Palincsar]

On Sat, 2012-02-18 at 15:23 -0700, Bertin753 wrote:
> But that ain't no Sam Hill! As good a bike as the Sam is, I wonder if
> Jan would classify it as a randonneur; more like an all-rounder?

I'm pretty sure I've seen a Sam Hill at one of DC Randonneurs brevets,
and the owner was one of the regulars. So, that one, for sure, would
count as one. Thing is, Rivendells come from the "versatile" rather
than the "resolved" end of the spectrum. They can be many things,
depending on how the owners equip them. One of those things can be an
all-rounder.

[Peter Pesce]

Ironically, I just bought the 2005 back issue of VQ (then VBQ) that has the interview with GP and JH, and it's funny to see their differing opinions. Grant is all "it's great if a bike is flexible to be equipped any way someone wants" and Jan is all "but didn't the French essentially figure out how to make a fully equipped bike that can do everything?" and Grant is all "they're great but that doesn't work for everyone. Give me flexibility" and Jan's all like "great points, but why aren't we just building rando bikes for everyone..."

Pete (tastes great AND less filling!) in CT

[James Warren]

Good description of the issue.
I am seriously grateful that I get to live in a time when such a debate can be had!

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[Mike]

On Feb 18, 5:09 pm, James Warren <jimcwar...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Good description of the issue.
> I am seriously grateful that I get to live in a time when such a debate can be had!
>
>

Yes! It's an exciting time for those of us that appreciate and desire
all-road bikes.

I have a couple of bikes and almost all of them could be classified as
country bikes as far as I'm concerned although I would consider my
dedicated randonneur bike the least countryish of them all. Still,
I've taken it on dirt roads in the past and am sure to take it on dirt
roads in the future.


--mike