Sam Hillborne - 6 Months of Evolution

[Steve]

The 2025 Sam I grabbed this past December started life as an upright build with mostly an assortment of parts from the bin.  Next came drop bars, currently Salsa Cowchippers with some TRP RRl levers I'd been holding for several years. Then I started thinking about fenders, knowing that the 47mm WTB tires would have to go.  I pulled some battered Tanaka 700c x 58s out of the bin and picked up  a pair of 42mm GK Slicks. I surprised myself by managing to re-radius the Tanakas to 650b with a passable fender line and then rattle can sprayed them brown. They'll do for now (I'm applying the 'viewed from 10 foot rule').

I'm not happy if I'm not tinkering so the evolution is not complete.

 I'm sure I'm not the only rider afflicted with this peccadillo.

Steve in AVL

[Ron Mc]

Tinkering is good, and that bike looks cozy (for me if it were 3" taller).  

[Jason Fuller]

Nice! I have bounced back and forth between Albatross and wide Noodles on my Sam for years now, currently I'm really enjoying it set up with drops.  I have those RRL levers and adore them, but I also really prefer the power of V-brakes ... so I'm quite torn. I might give canti's a go again just so I can run them!  I also tried some very shallow-drop bars recently and it was a bit of a revelation - I didn't realize the "in the drops" position could feel so natural! 

 

[Mathias Steiner]

Steve, you have a good-looking Sam there.

You also have an interesting rearward bias in your setup: serious setback in your seat post, and almost no stem length. 
Is it important for you to have the saddle this far back? And what gets worse when you move everything forward 5 cm?

I'm asking because that's the one variable I haven't figured out for myself. Saddle height, saddle-to-bar distance,  handlebar width, I know what works for me with those. But the fore-and-aft of saddle and bar, I'm usually just taking it as I find it, and I'm probably missing something.

cheers -m

[Ron Mc]

Hi Mathias, answering out of turn.  

The more upright the riding position, the farther you need the saddle behind the crank, also, generally farther down in elevation.  

More aggressive riding position, the taller you ride over the crank - here are two extremes.  

 

Reach is mostly controlled by your torso length, and finding a comfortable position that lets you keep your elbows bent and wrists straight.  

When you find your perfect bike, here my '75 International (rebuilt 5 times in 4 decades), use it for a measurement reference, and make small adjustments from there.  

[Steve]

Mathias, I suspect I'm a bit peculiar with my preference for shoving my saddles rearward. Two of my three current bikes are fitted with VO long setback posts and all with saddles that are mounted about as far back as the rails allow.  I'm sure a bike fitter would suggest I'm doing it all wrong, but my knees tend to disagree.  As a bit of context, I'm relatively short legged, prone to knee pain and my local riding is in hilly terrain.  I just seem to be more comfortable and climb a bit better with the maxed out setback. 

Jason, I've long admired both your Sam and your Hunq. They've influenced my two Rivendell builds. 

About those cantilevers (DiaCompe 980s); I love the look but have been underwhelmed by their performance with the RRL levers (they were much better with MTB levers). I'm thinking Paul Touring Cantis may be in my future. 

Steve