Brad's New Bike, With My Old Wheels and Tires
Brad got a spankin' new Rivendell Bombadil frame and fork, and built it up last week. All of the time that he was considering ordering the frame, and then waiting on delivery we had an ongoing discussion about the maximum tire size that it would accept.The Rivendell specs say that the 2.0 inch QuasiMoto tire is the maximum tire it will handle. Brad even went on the Rivendell Owners Bunch chat group and asked if anyone knew if the NeoMoto (2.3") would fit. No one ever gave a definitive answer.
Yesterday, upon seeing the bike for the first time, I was pretty confident that the bigger tire would work. So, I had Brad stop by the house on the way to Kaladi Brothers, in order to test fit my wheelset with the NeoMotos on it (the wheels and tires I had on the 650b Stumpy).
The bigger tires work, just fine. Plenty of clearance on the rear triangle...
and on the fork.
Granted, if you were riding in the Gumbo-style mud of the midwest, you might have some mud-packing problems. The thing is, any mountain bike, with any knobby tire, will pack up if the conditions are bad enough.For normal conditions, I think it is safe to say that the Bombadil frame and fork has suffecient clearance for 2.3" NeoMotos. And, the big tires make it look extra-burley!
Glad to be of service.
x
posted by Jon @ 12:07 PM
10 Comments:
Sweet bike! I love the raw clear coated frame.The modern XT stuff just looks out of place though,maybe you(JON)should sell him a Deore Deer Head group.Or at least put a Sugino triple on the front and an earllier rear
derailuer.Just my opinion though I am sure he is perfectly happy with the asthetics of the bike.If I could buy a Rivendell I would have to put Huffy components on it to be able to afford it.LOL!
Try A Salsa woodchipper bar on your all rounder Jon, Looks weird works awesome, I just got mine installed on my fixed off roader.I am ordering another for my Fargo project.
It looks awesome, but the first time he hits something hard enough to whack it out of true, those meaty shoes are going to rub.
It actually has more clearance with those tires than my 1988 RockHopper has with 2.0 semi-slicks. The pictures really don't show the clearance, that well.
Like I said, I'd run those tires on that bike, and never think twice about it.
Brad actually has a set of the 2.o QuasiMotos for the bike. The Noes might end up going on one of my bikes.
Frankenbiker: Brad and I were discussing the aesthetics of the parts, this morning. Right now, it's a matter of function over form. This is Brad's only mountain bike, and he wants good, reliable new parts for hitting the mountains.
Yea...I will pretty much agree with all said. The aesthetics of the modern XT do kind of bug me, but I am trying to ignore it because it works well. I considered the Sugino cranks but I was able to pick up the XT for @ $130. I actually have a full old school Deore group I could throw on there, but the rings are biopace and after checking into those, the XT seemed pretty affordable considering. As for the tires and clearance issues, I have been riding since 88 and never taco'd a rim. Mainly because I have Jon properly true and tension my wheels, but I ride light and only weigh in at 150. The arguement is certainly valid though and this was more an exercise of "is it possible?" Yea it is. Is it recommended? Eh. Depends. For certain I have ridden far more questionable bikes, but the fun factor has always outweighed the what if.
Maybe some cook bros cranks....hmmm
Some of my bikes leave a bit to be desired asthetically,the only thing that really matters is that YOU are happy with the bike and that it suits your purposes as intended.
Brad, is that old school Deore kit"deer head" and does it have those nice canti brakes?Jon will know what I am talking about if you don't,I have been looking for that groupo for awhile to kit out my '85 Ritchey Ascent.If you are interested in selling, I may be interested in buying.
No it's not Deer Head. I am familiar with that stuff and it is indeed cool. What I have is Deore DX. I have a set of Mountain LX f/r derailleurs also but they are a bit rougher in condition. The crank on the Deore group is beat too, but I may clean them up once the weather turns bad for good and source new rings and bottom bracket. I'll most certainly keep the v-brakes but the cranks and derailleurs...I might go retro. We'll see.
Beautiful bicycle. The only thing that really sticks out to my eyes is the crank, but hell, it's a freaking awesome bike, and probably performs very well as-is. I'd probably leave it, unless I had extra money to blow on it.
It's funny you mention midwest mud, just did some riding this past weekend where our wheels got packed with mud, repeatedly. A real mess, but it was a blast!
Apertome: I lived outside of Columbus, Ohio, for a few years, before moving to Colorado. Midwest mud is my yardstick for sticky and nasty biking conditions.
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