A week ago, I spotted a Rawland rSogn at the Brevet Season Kick-Off Party I wrote about earlier. Never having seen one in person before, I was extremely excited by the sighting.
Turns out this rare specimen belongs to local cyclist Jon D. Generous and trusting, Jon offered to lend me the bike to photograph and test ride. Long story short, Jon's Rawland is now staying over for a visit.
So what is so special about this bike? The Rawland rSogn is a production randonneuring frameset, made for 650B wheels and wide tires, with low trail geometry and standard sized tubing. Currently priced at $725 and available without a wait list, it is the most accessible frameset with this combination of characteristics available on the market today, as far as I am aware.
Not everything about the rSogn is "classic randonneur." The dramatically sloping top tube, mostly welded frame, and threadless steerer mark it as a modern bike. But for anyone interested in trying out the low trail/ 650B handling characteristics, this is a comparatively affordable way to go. And it's not just about affordability: rSogn owners seem very pleased with this model - describing it as fast, responsive, and comfortable over long distances. It is reputed to be a fast brevet/road-to-trail bikethat fits cushy tires and is optimised to carry a front load.
Rawland Cycles is a tiny operation based in Danville, California. Owner Sean and his spouse Anna run the company and design the frames, which are hand-made in Taiwan. Sean is of Norwegian heritage and he pays tribute to this with the Nordic theme that runs through everything from the company name, to bicycle model names, to the graphics and even frame design.
The story of how the rSogn came into existence has become almost legendary in bikey/internet circles, as apparently Sean asked for feedback in an open forum and tweaked the specs based on popular suggestions.
The result was a frameset with cantilever brakes, no toe overlap, massive tire clearance, eyelets for racks and fenders, and a variety of braze-ons including a pump peg on the left chain stay. Full specs are available here.
Aesthetically, my favourite part of the bike is the massive, double-plated fork crown - difficult to photograph because of the front rack attachment, but in person a commanding presence for sure.
Here is a side view. The flat top of the crown is engraved with Rawland's Nordically-stylised "R."
The decorative motif on the seat tube complements the font used elsewhere on the decals.
The bicycle's owner built up the frame with a needle-bearing headset, dynamo lighting, downtube shifters, cantilever brakes, a wide range double drivetrain, handlebars set slightly above saddle level, and a large custom front rack. The build is heavy on Velo Orange, mixed with Shimano, IRD, Grand Bois, Berthoud, Cane Creek, and other usual suspects. If you have a question about specific components, please ask in the comments.
Jon rides clipless, but he switched the pedals out for flat ones so that I could ride the bike. For tires, he switches between the 42mm cream Grand Bois Hetres for road-to-trail riding and 2" knobby Pacenti Quasi-Moto tires for rougher off-road stuff.
The front rack is designed especially for the Rawland rSogn by Haulin' Colin. It is 12" wide and can support a great deal of weight.
Jon uses the rack to carry heavy loads when cycling for transportation, but for road rides and brevets he attaches a small Acorn handlebar bag.
The bag is attached to the rack alone and does not require a decalleur; it appears to be pretty stable. To carry it off the bike, Jon uses a long Surly toe strap as a shoulder strap. Walking away with the bag slung over his shoulder, he left me alone with the Rawland.
While I love having the Rawland around to photograph, unfortunately I cannot review it - it is just too large for me. The frame measures 53cm x 57cm with a sloping top tube. Not only is the reach quite long, but even if we were to flip the stem and move the spacers, the handlebars would still be several inches higher than what's on my other bikes right now. Additionally, I am not comfortable using downtube shifters on serious rides, and there is no easy way to change this aspect of the build. All in all it just wouldn't be fair to attempt a review out of this. But what I can do is provide some feedback that is not test-ride-dependent.
On the positive side, I find the frame to be well-made and well thought-out. The joints are clean and do not call attention to themselves, the braze-ons precise, the fork crown beautifully executed. I really like the paint colour and the general frame aesthetics. I like that there is no toe overlap (though it's close and could depend on your shoe size and pedals). And the low trail design with clearance for 650B x42mm Grand Bois Hetres is what drew me to the frame in the first place.
As for drawbacks, the main one for me is weight: As shown, the Rawland rSogn weighs about as much as my similarly built Rivendell Sam Hillborne - close to 30lb. I am told by those who've ridden both bikes that the Rawland is more responsive and faster, particularly uphill, and that is good to know. But I'll be honest: I am a little tired of heavy roadbikes. I would like something lighter, and I know it's possible.Aside from this, I would of course prefer it if the frame were lugged, but that is a matter of personal taste. The double-plated fork crown and the decorative lugwork on the headtube do create sufficient visual interest to keep me from dwelling on this for too long.
Similarly to my Rivendell, the long and sloping top tube makes the fit of the rSogn somewhat tricky: Assuming that the rider wants their handlebars at or below saddle-height, they must pay attention to the top tube and head tube measurements, and not to the seat tube measurement in which the sizes are given. And judging by those measurements, the rSogn is not currently available in a size small enough to fit me well.
Coincidentally, Rawland has a new model coming out - the Nordavinden - that could address both of the above issues. It is a lighter, sportier frame, with an almost level top tube, and they are offering it in a size equivalent to the size I normally ride. While the larger frames are designed for 700C wheels, the smallest (my size) will be 650B with clearances for 42mm tires. If I were to consider a Rawland for myself, I think this model might be more appropriate for me than the rSogn. [
Edited to add: There is now a review of the Nordavinden.]
For those interested in trying a low trail 650B randonneuring bicycle without the wait and expense of a custom built frame, the Rawland rSogn is a great deal. There are many happy owners who ride long brevets on these bikes. The Chasing Mailboxes couple each have one. Chris Kostman of AdventureCORPS has one and it is his favourite bike. And here is another owner's in-depth review.
And of course there is Jon, this particular bicycle's owner. Jon is only a little taller than I am and does not have the bike set up in a particularly aggressive manner. But according to his riding buddies, he is super fast on it. Jon has other bicycles, but the Rawland rSogn is his favourite - both for commuting and for brevets. Last year he completed a good chunk of the Boston Brevet Series on this bike, and hopes to do more, longer ones this year. He also rides quite a bit off road, and his rSogn turns into a mountain bike when fitted with fat knobby tires.
As usually happens with bicycles I am excited about, there is too much information to fit into a post without making it ridiculously long. If you have any specific questions, please ask and I am sure a number of owners reading this will be glad to give you feedback. My sincere thanks to Jon for being so nice and loaning me his bike. It is doing well here and making new friends. Full set of pictures here!
Back in the city now from our stay on the shore, I am looking back in bemusement at what had been intended as a bicycling-heavy trip, but turned out to be anything but. 
It did rain a great deal. But even when the weather was good, we hardly did any substantial cycling. In fact, we probably cycled less during this trip than at any other point since winter ended. Like everyone else who rides a bicycle, I go through periods when my enthusiasm for it waxes and wanes. But this was probably the strongest and most unexpected case of the latter I have experienced since I started this blog. Why?..
On a superficial level it was really very simple: I lost interest in cycling when I discovered that the water was warm enough to swim. You see, I love swimming in the ocean but can't tolerate hot climates, so my options are severely limited and I've been swim-starved for years. In Northern New England the water is too icy, but in Southern New England(let alone popular vacation spots such as Florida) the weatheris already too hot and humid for me. It is as if there is an imaginary line somewhere along the MA/RI border where the climate and the water temperature undergo a dramatic change and what I really need is a place that is north of that imaginary line as far as climate goes, but south of it in terms of water temperature. And unexpectedly, I found such a place in Rockport, MA. Despite it being August, it was never above the low 80s, and dipped as low as the 60s on cooler days. Yet, the water remained swimmable the entire time and I found myself perfectly content to spend my waking hours at the beach: swim, read, eat, repeat. I cannot remember the last time I've been able to do anything like this!
I also must admit that we did not enjoy cycling here as much as we hoped during the few times we did it. Going north to Ipswich and beyond, water views were limited, car traffic was pretty heavy and there was not a whole lot of shade.Weknow from experience that once you get up the coast to New Hampshire and Maine it gets better, but we never made it that far.Truthfully, cycling "at home" - along the tree-lined, quiet country roads Northwest of Boston - is, on the whole, considerably more enjoyable.
So at some point we decided to just let it go and accept that there wasn't going to be a whole lot of cycling during this trip.
We used the bikes for transportation when necessary, but gave up even trying to go on "real" rides after the first week.
By the time we loaded up the bikes again to head back, I felt as if I'd gotten completely unaccustomed to it and the weight of our luggage was challenging. There are many short, but steep hills en route from the place where we stayed to the train station, and the bike fishtailed wildly every time I attempted to feather the brakes on a downhill. Given the huge amount of Saturday tourist traffic and the narrowness of the road, this made me so nervous that I was shaking and covered in sweat by the time we got on the train. Ironically, the final leg of the trip home - from the train station in the center of Boston to our house on the outskirts - was less stressful, but by the time we got home I was completely drained and did not want to look at another 100 lb luggage-laden bike again for a long, long time.
24 hours later, I still can't shake that feeling - a feeling that somehow morphed from that of being tired of just the trip home, to being tired of cycling in general. Maybe the hot, dusty, overloaded final ride was just a particularly cruel contrast to the cool, light feeling of being on the beach - swimming so far out from shore as to be surrounded by complete silence, submerged in the blissfully perfect temperature of Rockport's water. Also, maybe having taken a step back from cycling has made me realise that I've been neglecting other activities that I used to love - still love, in fact, but just don't get a chance to do. Maybe I ought to try harder to find time for them. Take swimming for instance: After all, Rockport is just a commuter rail's ride away and I can take one of my upright transportation bikes on the train, and... Ah, there. I guess I am still thinking of everything in terms of bikes, and there is really no danger of Lovely Bicycleabruptly ending as I run off to spend all of my time on the beach. Everyone needs an interlude, but cycling is such an inherent part of me now that I can hardly imagine life without it, at least in some form.
Cycling in greater Boston, I alternate between routes that take me along busy roads and routes that take me through quiet side streets. Each option leaves something to be desired. The busy roads are, well, busy - lots of car traffic, lots of action, lots of chaos. But they do seem to have enough room for everyone, including the processions of cyclists that now travel along them more than ever. The side streets are much quieter and greener, but are often too narrow to fit both a car and a bike side by side - resulting in its own set of challenges.
In 1992, Mary V. Reed compiled "Abstracts from Miscellaneous Delaware County Ohio Newspapers 1821-1857" and on page 49, citing the Ohio State Gazette and Delaware County Journal of September 16, 1830 is the entry: "Died in Liberty Township on the 27th ult. Mrs Ruth JOSLIN, aged 59 years wife of Mr. Johns JOSLIN."
From another "Joslin" researcher, I found out that Ruth's tombstone resides within the confines of the Delaware County Historical Museum, or at least it did several years ago. The inscription was transcribed as "Ruth wife of Jonas Joslin died Aug 27, 1830 aged 59 Years."