This is a great thread and should serve as a helpful source for people considering various Rivendell models. It makes it more helpful, IMO, when people chiming in described how they use their bikes. For example, people who put their bikes on bus racks, or regularly have to carry them up stairs ... those are very practical non-riding issues!
My take on Grant's design evolution is that it's highly influenced by the kind of riding he does and where he does it. So, it's not surprising to me that Deacon Patrick, who appears to ride similarly over similar (though a bit more epic!) terrain as GP. I'll give another example ... I took my Quickbeam as a "travel bike" to the San Diego area, where I participated in a group ride that, today, would be called a "gravel ride". It was organized by an outfitter, who provided cushy full-suspension mountain bikes to everyone and tried to dissuade me from using the QB. The terrain reminded me a lot of riding trails around Walnut Creek, and the QB put on quite a show both ascending and descending some fun singletrack. The bike was very much in its element and a joy to ride. The lengthening of chain stays offered to me a potential advantage for winter commuting, which pretty often involves re-frozen slushy tracks that are quite bumpy. All else equal, the longer wheelbase (and longer rear-center contribution to that) helps keep the bike moving in the intended direction despite the side-deflections from the bumps. I bought a Cheviot with the intention of making it my commuting bike, but it never worked well for me _for that purpose_. Half of my commute was suburban streets, where I wanted to ride 16-20 mph. The other half was a paved rail-trail, where 15mph max was a responsible speed. Riding the Cheviot the same speed as my other "road" bikes simply wasn't possible, no matter how I set up the bars. Milwaukee gets a lot of wind, btw, and winter wind is HEAVY! If I was willing to increase my commute time 50-100%, and if I was willing to change from front-loading to rear-loading, it might have worked. But it was hard work to ride it, and I ended up re-purposing a lightweight randonneur bike as my commuter and loved it. I have almost no trail-riding opportunities out my door, and I'm not usually willing to drive 1-2 hours to find them (another key issue: do you like to carry your bike in your car, rather than on it?). I have hundreds of kilometers of fabulous paved country roads with good shoulders right out my door. So, no surprise, the bikes that work for me are pretty classic road bikes. The original prototype Heron Road, with it's "adjustable chain stay length" (horizontal drops!) is still my favorite. The only riding I use the Cheviot for is errands, so it permanently carries a pair of Carradice rear panniers and a saddle bag. It could use a basket on the front for the occasional light, bulky objects. Also, another good data point is your height/bike size. It's not surprising that taller people like longer chain stays, which Grant addressed in his recent Reddit exercise. I'm 5'6", 71cm saddle height, so on the shorter side for men, and very light weight. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/79bc5a9f-0a85-44cf-ad54-d51c1ff96990%40googlegroups.com.
