Quote:
Originally Posted by zennmotion
Serious question from an aspiring rando newbie... what the heck is the attraction for 48c (or even 58c?  ) marshmallow tires for a rando bike designed primarily for pavement and non-technical maintained gravel? I get it for off-road adventures with rocks mud sand and ruts, but riding randos on pavement? And while I'm being both curious and slightly snarky, what's up with the giant rando handlebar bags that seem to be permanently affixed to rando bikes no matter the length of ride? Do randonneurs only ride 200k or greater distances that need a range of kit, 1000s of calories of food etc? Wouldn't a typical (shorter) daily ride or even a century be more enjoyable by losing the weight of the bag + rack+ contents? What's inside those things, or are they like my wife's giant handbag that she carries every day to work, and I don't really want to know what's inside? Or is it kind of a rando, tribal thing, like beards and recumbents? What am I missing, aside from long distance fitness, a giant handlebar bag and the secret handshake? |
It is style started in Seattle but is mostly confined to the USA.
The vast minority of bikes on brevets worldwide look like what you describe.
I built a proper rando bike with 650B tires, it never earned its way to a brevet. Too slow.
What is common and critical is comfort.