Originally Posted by Salamandrine

Yeah, the RB-1 was a little old fashioned even BITD. That's partly why bike mechanics liked them. No BS.

AFA the RB-1 being the last lugged steel production bike, I think it was a reasonable claim. I'm not sure if I understand your meaning, but I'm certain that the Specialized Allez and Trek 400 did not come out later than the RB-1. The Allez came out in 1981, or more realistically in 1982. 1989 was the last year of the lugged steel Allez, and by then it had been downgraded to a lower priced model. The 400 came out in 1984, when Trek became more of a full production bike line. The RB-1 was introduced in 1987 and continued till the end of Bridgestone USA in 94. IIRC the 400 kept going into the early 90s also, but it was more of an entry level serious road bike (relatively), not a top of the line model.

Originally Posted by sheddle

It really seems like a claim that's only true with like, a lot of qualifications. Discounting publicity stunts, I know steel bikes were used by a top line team as late as 2003 (the Cervelo Prodigy) and, I think 2001 as "standard" bike (Mercury Viatel used Lemond Zurichs, and also whatever titanium frame Lemond had at the time), and while I guess it's possible that every steel race bike since the early 90s was welded, it seems unlikey that they *all* were.

Like maybe the claim is "top of the product line steel lugged racing frame, as a mass production model" which I guess might be true?

e) just as a counter example, the De Rosa Neo Primato

Originally Posted by ctak

I'm not so familiar with Bridgestone - what was desirable or special about rb-1 geo? '91 seems pretty basic.

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

It wasn't anything outrageous, but rather pretty classic. But a lot of the American race bikes at the time were designed more around racing criteriums. In comparison, the RB-1 had a little lower bottom bracket, a little longer chainstays, a little longer top tube, and a little slacker seat tube angle. More of a classic European stage-racing geometry. In this, too, the RB-1 is not all that different from many other bikes -- there are plenty of other bikes that have similar geometries.

Again, the RB-1 stands out not in comparison to other bikes from the 80's, but in comparison to its major competitors at the end of the 80's and into the early 90's. It's an attractive bike, but our collective memory of it is heavily influenced by nostalgia.