IMO, the "signature" ride of at least all the Rivendells I've ridden is the reason that Grant's designs remain my handling benchmark after almost 30 years and the reason that the 1999 Joe Starck custom is my favorite bike of all time.
Some of the 5 Rivs I've owned have handled better (to my taste) than others, but all have exhibited a unique (IME -- I stress this, tho' I've owned scores of bikes) combination of straight-line stability and unerring or seamless transition into turns: no "dartiness" on straights or dartiness *or* hesitation in turns. One might be slower to turn-in than I liked, another might turn-in too fast, but none were either "nervous" or "sluggish." I've sold on all but 1 of the 5: the first-gen Sam Hill felt too sedate in handling for a road bike and didn't take tires fat enough for a (sandy soil) all rounder; also the steering flopped too much on steep, slow uphills when seated far back and torquing hard at slow cadences -- the way I like to climb; especially with a large rear load. But again, seamless in flatland cruising or downhill transition from straight to corner. The Ram also felt less nimble in turns than I liked -- I like the nimble feel of light "twenty six inch" (24" to 25 6/10") wheels. OTOH, the first (1994 order, 1995 delivery) custom was slightly too nervous, tho' even this was stable and predictable compared to other bikes, at least when I was riding 32 mm tires instead of the 22 mm gofast tires of the time. And the 2003 custom had tubing that was too stiff. But all very noticeably had that Grantian quality. I compare all 5 with my current Matthews #1 with its 622X 60 Big One,s and it illustrates by contraries this signature Riv handling. Once you get up to speed -- 15 mph? -- the Matthews is steady and corners well: it is stable on the straights and predictable in the turns, tho' neither so stable straight or so "transparent" in turns as the Rivs. But at slower speeds it's by comparison noticeably more nervous in a straight line, yet hesitant then darty in corners. Note that this may be due in large or small part to the fat, soft 60--62 mm tires at 18-21 psi; if I shod it with 48s at 27-30 psi it might handle more like the Rivs. But I expect that, with all the virtues that make it a keeper, it still would not show that signature Riv handling. (Matthews #2 is a near-geometrical clone of the 2003 Riv custom and thus also exhibits Riv-like handling both with 29s and with 42s.) On Wed, Nov 16, 2022 at 3:41 PM Joe Bernard <joerem...@gmail.com> wrote: > This is an edited version of an email I recently sent Grant, I wanted to > post here cuz I think the magical Riv ride he designs into these frames is > slightly under discussed..like we all know it and love it, then talk about > other stuff like paint and parts. My comments are specifically about my > custom but I've owned a bunch of Rivs and they all ride like this (Clem > maybe not so light-feeling, but still zippy). Add your thoughts about your > bikes! : > > The handling is amazing. It feels light and zippy, yet absorbs shock > (there's a lot of shock on these roads) and is very stable. When you put it > in a turn it goes where you point it and holds the line until you change > it. It does this when getting bumped offline, too..the darn thing pops > right back to where it was going! I've ridden a bazillion bikes and nothing > rides like a Rivendell 🙌 > > Joe Bernard > > -- > 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/48ca3a64-ead6-4542-8cd3-7e0d4bcd5842n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/48ca3a64-ead6-4542-8cd3-7e0d4bcd5842n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum -- 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/CALuTfgt%2BQJe9GAjfKXE7BZkA%3Drsk26A-nnQpo0ftpTGqRT5x%3Dw%40mail.gmail.com.
