Deborah, it’s a Jaguar! 😂 Yes, I love this. So based on your 5’ 2” height, did you get the 50 cm? What year did you get your bike? I ask because I know the Cheviot is longer in later iterations. The first gen wasn’t much different than the BF. I remember a Lister named Michael saying his wife had a BF and daughter had a Chev and there was no discernible difference.
Several folks have mentioned my Betty Foy, and that my Cheviot might be too close in ride to the Clem L. I loved that Betty Foy for a lot of years, but when I got a Clementine I loved that ride so much more. When I took both bikes to my sister’s house we fought over who got the Clementine; it was just that good. Neither of us could say why it was good, but IT JUST WAS and when you know you know. Both bikes had Brooks and Bosco bars, and were set up similarly - so it wasn’t the setup, it was in the marrow of the bikes themselves. I’d have died happy with my Betty Foy if I hadn’t known what a Clem felt like, but now that I do, the Betty plays second fiddle to that unassuming Clem. I attribute the nice ride to longer chainstays, and I figured that if I got the Cheviot I could have a nicer Clem-like ride but with less weight to the bike. I adore the Riv mixtes. They call to me. They look so romantic and lovely and irresistible. I am so pleased to have the step-through Clem, but I still want a Riv mixte for my 2nd bike. And if Rivendell made a 3rd mixte, I might try to have that one, too. I just love love love Rivendell mixtes. I have 2 inch tires and front and rear racks on my Clem and I’m a lot slower up hills than I was on my Betty. I ride it anyway because I love the Clem ride and will just accept the extra workout that is piloting that big Clem L. As I said, I have some muscles I wouldn’t have earned on a lighter bike, and I’m pleased about that. So, a lighter (and thus quicker) version of the comfy Clem ride is what I’m trying to obtain, and maybe with $$$ light wheels and parts I can get most of that. I suppose worst case, I could order a custom later with lighter tubing. Though waiting too long for a custom worries me too, because I don’t know what Rivendell’s future looks like in these dark times. Thanks for listening to all that. This thread has been so interesting. I need to reread some of your responses again. So much great info. Leah Sent from my iPad > On Mar 29, 2020, at 11:16 AM, Deborah Coffin <debocof...@gmail.com> wrote: > > The first bike I tried when I visited Riv was the Cheviot I purchased. I’d > ridden the same Specialized road bike always, and I’d bonded with it > profoundly, but I hadn’t ridden a bike much in a long time. I tried a Surly > Long Haul Trucker—and really wanted to love it—but thought it felt really > stodgy somehow. It was a dull feeling, despite fitting me nicely. It made me > want my twitchy road bike. I’ll add that I used to be 5’4” and now I’m 5’2” > (I lost two inches by my early 40s, which I’m mentioning cause my legs didn’t > shrink). Anyway, when I saw the Cheviot, I thought it was the most beautiful > bike I’d ever seen, and when I rode it, I was stunned. It was ridiculously > comfortable, smooth, but NOT stodgy. I rode it up and down the short steep > entrance to a parking garage, over and over, sitting down, something I’d > never have done on my road bike. I had to have that bike—and I insisted it > had to be that exact one. I fell in love with it in a way that’s hard to > describe. I hadn’t wanted something so much in a long time, but I’d never > thought about paying so much for a bike. I’m still glad to have it. I love > riding again and have used it as my town and touring ride. I use it to get > groceries. I commuted with it, though I’m paranoid about leaving it locked > anywhere. The only place I’ve had trouble riding it was when trying to climb > a steep, super-narrow dirt hill; it felt like I might flip over backwards. > That might be from having the wrong tires? Maybe my position? I wondered if > it was because the bike is relatively long? I don’t normally ride trails like > that one, so I don’t have enough experience to account for it. > But—I found my Cheviot really difficult to transport on my bike rack. I wrote > a post about it, got tons of ideas about how to resolve the problem, none of > which worked. So I bought a small Joe Appaloosa to stick on my car, for when > I drive to ride. > I consider the Cheviot to be a Jaguar (not that I’ve driven one) instead of a > Cadillac. That’s just cause I think a Jaguar is sexier. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google > Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/E1ezDPhtnSk/unsubscribe. > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, 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/bdbf8089-6ea8-4d74-93da-5195b01a6456%40googlegroups.com. -- 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/22B89B8D-5B22-4964-9339-DFB7688204E2%40gmail.com.
