Easy now Martin, your confession of being human and succumbing to temptation just might incur the judicial fury of self-appointed thought & behaviour police! Repent I tell you, Repent!*
(*or insert other choice pronouncement with the investigative and moral cohesion of the Spanish Inquisition here)
On a conciliatory note, if you’ve barely been on the RST despite the golden opportunity, it strongly suggests that it’s not a priority for you given your preoccupation with racing. You’ve benefited from a fairly in-depth analysis of RST pros and cons from a bunch of clearly experienced and enthusiastic owners/riders - I’ve yet to come across an unenthusiastic owner. If this doesnt sufficiently enthuse you to change the chain ring, then, without in any way wishing to be critical, you probably don’t have a need for the RST. If you’re looking for a competitive audax-specific bike, look elsewhere I’d suggest but if you’re looking for a reliable tourer for non-expedition tours, you probably won’t do much better than the Raven Tour or RST depending on the specific type of touring you want to do. I think Blacksail's comment about not feeling beaten up at the end of particularly long rides succintly sums up the RST – my view of the RST is that it's a tourer sent from heaven.
