Rock Lobster Al-Road - Page 3

jambee · #31 07-03-2018, 05:56 AM

HOTNESS!

What rack is that?

AngryScientist · #32 07-03-2018, 07:30 AM

i absolutely love the concept of this bike, and am already scheming for something similar in the distant future.

i'm tired of using p-clamps and crappily designed light mounts, all the braze-ons are brilliant and so much cleaner of a system.

it is definitely not common to see a bike in this genre made of aluminum, but great idea to keep the weight down.

hope to see this out on the road sometime this summer. cheers and nice work in design and execution on this one!

R3awak3n · #33 07-03-2018, 08:17 AM

yeah I like that he went alum too. I love alum as a material, it is not as forgiving as steel or carbon but when you put fat tires under it it does not really matter anymore but you get a stiffer bike than steel and also lighter. Of course only 2 guys I would go for this, Rock Lobster or Zanc.

I will let jdp211 reply but I know the rack is a cool custom one.

I know no one cares about weight on something like this but I am curious how much it does weight sans rack/bag. Just would love to see a comparison with my ex elephant (was about 25lbs), something like this in alum with steel fork and my upcoming up. Of course switching this bike to a carbon fork would lighten it up even more, probably get very close to the open.

jdp211 · #34 07-03-2018, 01:28 PM

Thanks, I appreciate the love. I went aluminum because I have an affinity for the material more than weight savings (though that's certainly a nice side affect). I've been riding Spookys, Gaulzettis, and Cannondales for as long as I've been riding. I also feel like with tires that big, there's no sacrifice in ride quality, though I'm definitely not a princess and the pea type rider.

The rack/bag combo is a custom setup from Winter Bicycles and Ruth Works. The two of them totally knocked it out of the park. Having a tall tombstone and four velcro straps underneath the bag preclude the need for a decaleur, too. I'm definitely curious to weigh the whole thing, both with and without a rack. It's certainly a lot lighter than the Salsa la Cruz I've been riding for the past few seasons, that's for sure. All the tubes feel pretty burly, in comparison to the beer can tubes my Spookys are made from. I'd venture a guess in the low 20lb range.

I've been thinking/mulling/designing variations on this bike for the better part of the last 3 years and I'm beyond stoked at how nicely it turned out. My body's never felt as good after a hundred miles than on this bike. I'm on vacation with my parents and knocked out a century the other day and they both commented on how not tired I looked. That's in no small part thanks to Justin at Black Oak Velo (formerly of Signature Cycles), who fit me and drew up the geometry. The handling is unbelievably neutral (tracks razor straight with a loaded bag and no hands on the bars), cruises through turns, and is very encouraging of the stupidity I like to get into on a bike.

doomridesout · #35 07-03-2018, 01:40 PM

This is why custom bikes rule- you can't get this degree of satisfaction off the rack. Systems integration, dialed geometry, the right material, carrying capacity, plus good looks.

I'm soon to order my own variant on this genre (titanium with a carbon fork, with steel fork, rack and bag sometime in the future), and can't wait to get it dialed.

Congrats, Jacob, this thing is amazing.

jtbadge · #36 07-03-2018, 01:59 PM

This kicks so much ass. Every Rock Lobster I see is cooler than the one before it!

Also loving my aluminum crustacean, although it's definitely a straight up road bike rather than this versatile machine.

Does your steel fork have a tapered steer tube, or do you have a baseplate installed to adapt it to the larger lower cup?

ColonelJLloyd · #37 07-03-2018, 02:10 PM

A page 1 photo shows the fork (straight steerer).

d_douglas · #38 07-03-2018, 02:54 PM

There are so many RLs on this forum, but this one just looks so right with the steel fork. I would love to ride one of these someday!

jdp211 · #39 08-20-2018, 01:59 PM

Threw some Thunder Burts on for D2R2, and was quite pleased with the decision. It's a little scary how much this bike encourages me to do irresponsible things. Still completely enamored with it.