Ronnie Romance and His Hint o’ Mint Safari Rons CR1 Country Road Bike – Ronnie Romance & John Watson | The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

The tanned internet sensation that is Ronnie Romance penciled in thirty minutes of his limited time to reconnect with John Watson for a special photoshoot of his Hint o’ Mint Safari Ron’s Bikes CR1 country road bike. Read on for Ronnie’s reflections on reconnecting with his inner roadie and some proper hot and steamy bicycle boudoir… Depending on your work environment, some of these photos might be NSFW!

Shave Me, Roadie Daddy

I shaved my legs for the first time in 1996. I was 16, and considered it something you had to do if you were committed to the sport. In the cycling media at the time, there was an advertised divide between roadies and mountain bikers — you were either one or the other, or you rode very uncool hybrids now rebranded as gravel bikes.

I was using a road bike to train for mountain bike racing at the time, but watching Marco Pantani in pink at the 98 Giro on that celeste and yellow Bianchi made my heart skip a beat, and it wasn’t the EPO — but I would have taken it. Eventually, I would go to college in Durango, Colorado, and as one does in MTB Mecca, I became completely re-mountain biked in my trail-inundated habitat.

Texas Racing Years

After college, I moved to Austin, TX, and found that I didn’t like mountain biking anymore unless it was in Durango, so I began riding the road bike more and more. I found a great community on the big group rides of the growing city of Lance at peak Lance, and began to race all over Texas. It was really cool to be a roadie in Austin, but act and kit up as Euro as possible to show you didn’t care about Lance and all the beginner cyclists he brought in — that’s what we did. White bibs. I doubled down and shaved my legs daily.

That kind of snobbery and threshold efforts are only sustainable for so long, and they nearly ruined cycling for me. Saved by bike touring. I spent the next 9 years unracing myself and thought I’d never wear a chamois again.

The Alt Cycling Road Bike

Then, in 2018, Rivendell released the Roadini. I was spending the winter in Tucson and was sent a fresh silver mid-reach Rivendell right before the launch. It was thrilling to have a new Rivendell, but admittedly, I wasn’t sure what to do with a road bike. While I was still riding every day professionally and for pleasure, it had been nearly a decade since I’d pedaled in anger — but at this moment, with that silver surfer Roadini, Grant Peterson made me a roadie again.

This skinny-tire bike with a Rivendell logo was just safe enough for the recovering racer in me, but most importantly, it was my introduction to the wonderful world of mid-reach road calipers. At the time, disc brakes were hot and new on just about everything, and I was all in, convinced that there were limited downsides to adding weight and complexity to bike design. In contrast, the simplicity and capability of the Roadini’s light and elegant calipers, paired with an unbraced light and springy fork, were an epiphany in my build aesthetic. I began to wince at disc brake bikes nearly overnight. Imagine living with such mania!?

Mid-Reach Around

Along with the overlooked braking system, this bike also cleared 700 x 38 mm. A road bike that fits 38 mm tires is a very versatile stallion in the stable, and the Roadini quickly became my most ridden bike that winter as I connected road stretches with little dirt connectors to make loops that just aren’t possible on a smaller tire. I felt like I was giving up very little in speed on the notoriously broken Tucson pavement while having a much more dynamic ride experience. I was still holding onto some of my post-competitive habits, such as wide drops and sandals, but that winter is where roadie Ronnie 3.0 was born.

Over the coming years, my road bike collection grew from zero to several with speedier offerings from Beach Club and Crust Bikes. I even glued new tubulars on my old CAAD 10! Long, zestful rides on these machines helped me get a feel for what my ideal road bike would be. Fast forward to the current day, and my road phase has come far enough for Ron’s Bike Brand to offer a mid-reach road bike designed for 700 x 33 – 700 x 39 (as measured by the Ultradynamico offerings).

CR1 Genesis

I knew if I were to design a road bike, it would have to take into account all of the above influences, and it would also need to be simple to produce. So when Darren Larkin of Larkin Cycles relocated from Los Angeles to Deep River, CT, a few years ago, it felt like this project had landed in my lap – a no-brainer. I had been tinkering with various other road bikes at the time, and I had opinions, namely the forks, so we quickly began designing the lightest mid-reach steel road fork that we could (690g), along with a modern geo steel frame to match (1450g). The CR1 country road bike was born.

It was important for me that this bike not look vintage or retro, but be a modern example of simplicity-informed performance. Everything you need, nothing you don’t. The forgiving fork, wide tire clearances, and long seat post offer a more comfortable ride than most modern and classic road bikes alike, and the weight of a complete build is comparable to the aero bikes the current pros ride.

CR1 Sales Pitch

The CR1 is a road bike for rides into the countryside, and while it is decidedly modern in stance, it is made from 100% round tubes ;-), so it never feels inauthentic to the bucolic scenery. My MADE bike build CR1 might look best in a safari setting, though.

We made 36 of these total this past run, 8 of them in Nutmeg Team livery. If you are interested in yourself or a loved one, we have a few 54cm and 56cm left for purchase at RonsBikes.com , along with more in-depth process stuff at RonsBikesBlog.com

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