The following is a quote from Will at Rivendell, from some email correspondence early last year regarding the Gus/Susie availability. He didn't mention anything about production costs, but that makes sense to me.
"We have one more small run of them coming sometime late this year... and after that they're discontinued. We plan to bring the hillibike concept back, but it'll be an amalgamation of both the Gus and the Susie so we don't have to get two models at once." Personally, I always found it a bit odd that they made two such similar models in the Gus and Susie concept. I understand the Gus completely, but Susie seemed a bit redundant given that basically everything anyone would want in a Susie could be found in the Clem L, and you could make an argument that the Clem L is a more capable, versatile (and sturdy?) frame given all the weird qualifying weight limitations that were imposed on the Susie, despite it looking very much like the Gus and offering what seemed to be more ATB-ness than other Riv models (which of course is highly subjective). I'm very curious as to what the future holds for the lineage of the Hillibike! On Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 8:46:24 AM UTC-5 Garth wrote: > "The last of the fillet brazed frames". I take that for what it says, it > doesn't say or even infer there will be no more such frames at all. > > Ride on .... The Sun never sets .... > > In regards to short cranks, I'm 6'-2" and change and I ride 150mm cranks > and have for about a decade. I originally rode some Sugino 152's but after > breaking two of those I sought out something different and went to > Bikesmithdesign.com, whose speciality is shortening suitable cranks. He's > very specific in what can and can't be shortened, and offers certain models > of stock cranks that he custom shortens. I bought the gloss black Andel > 110/74 triple shortened to 150mm. It's the model RSC6. It also formerly > came stock on Surly LHT's. It's also sold as the Dimension Cross crank arm > set. > > I also bought the 150mm SRAM 600(also black) 104/64 for my Susie, though > still unridden. > > If you wonder why a tall rider with size 14 feet would use short cranks > the reason is simple, 175 and 185mm cranks never lived up to what that > those long crank theories theorize they offer. Moving my foot more over the > pedal was a revelation when I first tried it, but with 185mm cranks it > didn't feel right(too far forward), so I tried 175 and 170, but even those > felt goofy, so I saw the 152 Sugino and everything just worked. Too bad > they broke though, but good thing I tried the Andel as it feels notably > stiffer, and it doesn't have that silly backwards 5th bolt. > > Andel is large crank manufacturer (andel.tw) and makes these RSC6 cranks > stock from 150mm on up, in silver and black, double and triple. I > contacted the company in Taiwan and I could order some arm sets from them > direct. The language difference left much to desire though, and while they > quoted me a price and everything, going about how to actually finalize an > order was lost in translation, so to speak. So I held off for now. > > On my road bike I ride 150mm 110 double Origin8 cranks, which I also like > very much. If these were offered in triple I'd ride those too. Origin8 > makes a short 130/74 but it's only offered in 145mm and 155mm and the > cranks arms are not the same design as the doubles. > > There are many other crank makers that offer short cranks too. High Sierra > Cycle(hscyle.com) is a long standing manufacturer of cranks of all sorts > of lengths, and they make the Ritchey cranks and offer the same version > unbranded for notably less $$. SRAM has offered 155mm MTB cranks for a > number of years. Davinci has some nice cranks also down to 150mm. There's > also other short BMX and cranks marketed as "kids"(though suitable for > adults). There's more but that's enough for here. When I take a dive in > rabbit hole .... I'm all in ..... ))) > > So what I experience using 150mm cranks and a more forward position over > the pedal is both ease of spinning and leverage. For me, it's the best of > both worlds, so to speak.... the leverage of a long crank and the spin ease > and speed of a short one. I used to have to climb standing quite a bit, but > with this I'm perfectly at ease doing either standing or sitting. I ride on > "normal" flat pedals, the VP Vice, combined with Altra Lone Peak trail > running shoes. My "motive" was all intuitional. Like finding your way > through the Forest when there are no obvious trails. . The Way is there > .... it's nearer than your nose ..... where you're not looking ))). > > Hey ... Don't ride like me, ride as Yourself ))) THAT is where the Fun is > . > > The BB drop on the Susie is 70mm, at least, if I recall. Myself, I > wouldn't change a working-for-me crank length out of fear of strikes. Fear > is the invalid...... not the Rider. I bought the Susie full well knowing > that it had a higher BB as my Bombadil has a 80mm drop and I can't say it > offers anything special. I get the idea behind it, but that doesn't make it > likable/suitable for everyone. I also didn't dig the Clem-L-entine look > myself .... it looks like a girls bike. I also am not sold on the mega stay > thing, or .... well .. I could go on and on...(laughing). Don't have a > reactionary cow ... or do for that matter.... I'm just being honest and > nothing is going to change that. > > > On Monday, January 9, 2023 at 6:59:23 PM UTC-5 rmro wrote: > >> I am feeling so very lucky to have found a Gus. On the subject of >> Gus/Susie bikes; who among us are using a crankset with shorter than 165mm >> cranks in an effort to improve pedal clearance on rough trails? I’ve been >> researching available cranks and finding interesting possible benefits >> other than pedal clearance. >> >> >> -- 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/e244e7c5-96d4-47e7-84fa-c3294782f211n%40googlegroups.com.
