Looking for a mountain bike in 1989ish, I discovered Bridgestone and Grant's marketing philosophy. Both of which clicked with me. So, I ended up with an MB2 because it was purple and almost as good as the MB1.
I rediscovered Grant and Rivendell thru IBOB, and fully reveled in the Kool-Aid. After years of hesitation, primarily due to my penny pinching, I found a used Ramboulliet. How can you not like a bike with a name like that. Everything about it makes sense and was obviously thought about by someone who actually rides bikes for utility. The versatility of the Ram continues to amaze me. Reasonably light and able road bike capable of touring, comfortable, predictable and pretty. And then the name which is the cherry on the top. The whole Rivendell culture has been a huge boon to me. The idea that a bike can be a tool for practical use while being beautiful, sensible and fun fits me. Rivendell embodies the meaning of attractive utility. Much like laguiole knives, tube amps, Belgium shotguns, Wagner castiron, etc. In my opinion, Grant & Rivendell somehow manage to combine the best of french aesthetics and yankee (Twain) 'down to earthedness', all with a wry smile. Besides all of that; the perverse pleasure I get in holding my tongue whilst some black clad weight weennie bikesplains to me how much faster I could go if a would ditch that old heavy steel bike, is worth every penny I have spent at Rivendell. I simply reply, "What's the hurry. I am just where I want to be and am in no hurry to leave." Thank you to aeroperf for asking the question that started this thread. I think it is always good practice to reflect on why we do what we do. Rivendell can be summed up by one of my favorite quotes; *Life is too serious to be taken seriously - Oscar Wilde* Best Regards; JP in goatheadland NE On Monday, December 13, 2021 at 7:30:46 AM UTC-6 jrst...@gmail.com wrote: > It was 1996 and we bought our first Apple computer and got an internet > connection. I had finally decided to get back to riding a road bike. I > had tried a Trek hybrid but wanted more. I went online, a new thing for me > and found a bicycle site. I posted about my bad back and desire for a road > bike. Douglas Brooks replied steering me to Rivendell. I ordered my first > Road and took delivery in 1997 and never looked back. The relaxed geometry > and the ability to have the bars higher made riding a pleasure once again. > > On Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 3:53:10 PM UTC-5 aeroperf wrote: > >> >> I see Laura B’s thread about Susie vs. Platy, and Iconley’s timeline with >> 15 Riv bikes, and so I thought I’d ask: >> >> What made you buy your first Rivendell bicycle? >> >> Not “What do you like about Rivendell bicycles”, or “Why did you buy a >> second one?”, but why did you buy your first? >> >> >> In my case >> I wanted steel, because I liked the feel over aluminum (carbon was just >> starting). >> I wanted lugged steel, because I think I think a lugged steel bike is >> awesomely pretty. >> I got to ride a friend’s Sam Hillborne in 2010, and it fit like a glove, >> and I remembered that. >> So when I retired in 2014, I bought a Sam. >> >> Now I could go on about how I love my Sam, but that’s not the point of >> this. It’s to find out why you bought your first. >> >> Did you Google “Rivendell” one day and stumble into the bicycle shop >> instead of the Tolkien book? >> Did you want a bicycle that was at home on dirt roads, where the 24mm >> tires of a good used 80’s road bike just couldn’t cut it? >> Do you think Grant Petersen is a bicycle god, and you’d buy anything that >> he designs, once you could afford it? >> Are you into the “waxed canvas and square taper” kind of mindset? >> Did you get a Riv because it was a boutique bike, or in spite of that? >> >> Difficulty- no pictures, unless it is of a Riv in a tree with “A guy told >> me I could have this for free, if I climbed up and got it”. >> > -- 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/58258157-89e3-4cc3-b689-c2cef283b0f5n%40googlegroups.com.
