On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 4:40 PM, Beth <[email protected]> wrote: > Sure. > I would say, in no particular order: > > 1. Pedigree (who the builder is and his history of making good bikes) > 2. Track record (how the bikes built have stood the test of time/ > elements/owner's abuse and or love :) > 3. Comfort (how comfy I happen to feel on this particular bike) > 4. (bonus!) Attention to detail. I like the hearts in the lugs and the > poetry on the seat tube panel > > My own list: 1. Fit. For some reason, Rivs fit better, almost out of the box and certainly with very little tweaking, than other bikes. Now, I've set up other bikes to fit as well as or almost as well as Rivs, but it takes time and work. The Rivs seem to come together, so to speak, immediately; and this, as I've found with the Sam Hill, when setting them up very differently. The two customs are racy with bars 2" below saddle; the SH has a 2 cm longer tt and a 2 cm longer stem (59 versus 57s, 10 versus 8s) and bars 3" higher; not to mention bars that are 46s instead of 42s and deep drop and long reach versus short and shallow; but all feel great, particularly with the rearward saddle bias that all encourage. 2. Handling. The two customs handle perfectly, at least as far as my experience of bike handling goes: stable but, when you lean, they track without over or understeer: they just follow a line with no overeagerness or sluggishness. The SH doesn't handle as well -- it feels lighter on the front end and you have to direct it more deliberately through corners; but it still handles well. About as well as my 1973 Motobecane. But as I will be using this principally for loads, that is less of an issue. 3. Quality of tubing and construction. Even the cheap SH is well built and looks good and I am confident it will last me my lifetime.
Finally, I like Rivs because very early on Grant stuck to his design principles, even when the market was completely opposed to it; and I believe that he has singlehandedly caused the somewhat general revival in steel and traditional design that others, later, picked up on. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
