Kat- Congratulations! You made what you want and the dividends will come for a long time.
I am not a frequent new bike guy. When I bought my Rambouillet I wasn't prepared for how differently good it was and I have only slightly modified it from how it was on its first day. In review that makes it a significantly good use of its purchase and maintenance costs over the years. My next bike was a custom that reached from my Rambouillet for greater fulfillment of my particular riding after almost twenty years' consideration. Having tangible objectives when building a bike in a blank paper exercise is really rewarding and you've set yourself up for enjoying this one immensely. I hope you enjoy and increasingly value what you chose to put into this bike! Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 5:25:38 AM UTC-5 Kat wrote: > *Part 2* > > *Build Process* > > The frame, cranks and stem were ordered from Heaps Good Garage which is > the only Australian retailer. They arrived in just a few days (after I’d > agreed on an Appaloosa instead of the Platypus). > > I ordered the wheels, brake levers and most accessories from Blue Lug. > I’ve ordered from them before and it was again very easy with the order > arriving after a week. The shipping and customs was a killer though! I’ve > been thinking about the wheels and while they are beautiful, light and work > great, I am not sure this was a really worthwhile purchase. Once the price, > shipping, and customs/duty tax is factored in, I could have gotten a set of > handbuilt wheels here in Australia for a similar price if not lower. But > they really sing and I like them a lot. In 1-2 years I am anticipating > getting a second wheelset built up with 36 spokes and 29x2.2 knobbies so I > can easily swap them out for dedicated off-road and dirt trips. > > Note that Heaps Good Garage sells the wheelsets, but only in 100/130 > spacing, and the Appaloosa is 100/135 spacing. They also sell the rims > separately. > > The bike was built up at a local shop here in Brisbane. They’d never done > a Rivendell before (or even heard of one) but they do stock Surlys and have > done similar steel/touring builds before so were happy to take it on. They > supplied the brakes and most of the drivetrain and I supplied everything > else. > > It was fairly straightforward except that the kickstand I ordered from > Blue Lug rubs on the chain in about half the cassette, so we’ve taken that > off while thinking about a solution, and the front rack stays had to be > lengthened with a bracket to not hit the fenders. I’m really happy with the > work they did, the mechanic said it got a lot of attention while it was in > the shop so hopefully it’s inspired a few more people to order one! > > I have a long list already of little tweaks, possible upgrades and > accessories (of course I need a green water bottle!) but it's beautiful to > ride just as is. The kickstand situation needs to be fixed ASAP though. > > *Ride Report* > > > *[image: IMG20250226143703.jpg]* > > Ah, it just sings. I took it out for a quick hour-long loop yesterday to > christen it. Despite not having cycled in a looooooong time (combination of > stripping my previous bike, long-term travel, and a job with a 90 minute > commute by car), I just wanted to go further and faster! > > It shifts incredibly, even under load. I was keen to try the Linkglide > cassette with friction shifting after reading this article, > <https://nsmb.com/articles/shimano-inadvertently-upgrades-friction-shifting/> > and I can confirm it’s very sick. Just nudge the shifter and the cassette > grabs the chain for you. The granny gear is helpful around this hilly city > (my legs on the other hand need to be whipped into shape). > > I’m pretty much sitting bolt upright with the setup at the moment. I like > it (just have to ignore any comments about Margaret Hamilton). I think the > riser stem with the Bosco bars looks a bit awkward and gangly, but in kind > of a charming way. I’m heading to Japan later this year and of course a > visit to Blue Lug is on the cards, so I’ll check out some other bars while > I’m there and maybe pick up a Chocomoose. > > *Thoughts on Value* > > No discussion of Rivs, I feel, can be complete without talking about cost > and value (which I feel are two separate things). This is especially so in > Australia because the weaker dollar and necessary shipping of parts makes > Rivs expensive, and it’s pretty much impossible to test ride one so you are > flying blind. > > On one hand, the final cost of my build was almost $7000. This is a lot of > money to spend on a bike here in Australia. For comparison, that same > amount could buy you two Surly Bridge Clubs, three or more Surly Preambles, > a fairly serious carbon fibre racing bike, or at least three-quarters of a > Tumbleweed Prospector with Rohloff hub. > > My last bike cost $600, call it $1000 with additional parts I spent on it. > So the Appaloosa has cost me at least seven times more. Will I enjoy the > Appaloosa seven times more than my last bike? Realistically probably not. > I’d be happy if I enjoy it two or three times as much. Timewise, I used my > last bike for seven years, that’s $140 per year. I’d need to ride the > Appaloosa for 50 years to get the same figure – a long commitment. > > On the other hand, the cost is roughly equal to six or seven week’s wages > for the average worker (of which I am one). Even if I only rode the bike > for a conservative 10 years, that’s less than two months work in exchange > for a decade of reliable companionship. Sounds like good value when you put > it that way. > > And yes, it’s not just a tool. It’s a toy too, and a beautiful thing to > look at. It’s my favourite colour. I think choosing a bicycle based on > colour is not shallow at all, you have to look at it every day after all. > We could all be like Steve Jobs and wear the same outfit every day, or > never decorate our houses, but 99% of us don’t do that, because seeing > lovely things and wearing different clothes enriches our lives and > expresses our identity. The bicycle is the same. > > Could I get by on six shirts, six pants, six underwear, one pair of shoes > for the rest of my life? Yes, but I don’t want to – I spend money on > different clothes that I think look nice and that I enjoy wearing. > > Could I ride to work on a cheap second hand bike? Yes, but I bought one > that costs more, because I think it looks nice and I enjoy it. > > I could (and many young people do) go out and get into debt up to my > eyeballs for a blingy 4WD, jetski or dirt bike. When you compare a bicycle > to those things, it starts feeling very cheap indeed! > > The cost is the cost. The value is different for each person. I knew I > wanted a Rivendell. If I’d gotten a new Surly, or Velo Orange, in a year or > two I knew I’d still be thinking “but one day, I’ll get a Rivendell”. That > wouldn’t have been good value, because I would have bought a different > bike, used it only for a few years, then sold it and paid for a Rivendell. > Better to buy the bike you really want in the first place. > > Maybe this is all a long essay to justify spending a lot of money on a > bicycle. For most of my friends and family, a bike is a bike is a bike, > there is no difference between a $200 second hand one and a new, more > expensive one from a bike shop. If it gets you where you’re going, it > shouldn’t matter, right? > > In the end, I wanted it, I could afford it, so I bought it, and the only > person it matters to is me. > > Thanks for reading, hopefully I’ll have some more ride reports to share > soon. If you’re in Australia, I’ll see you out on the road or the trails. > I’ve never seen a fellow Riv in the wild but I’d love to! > > If you got through this whole thing, well done, and please let me know > your thoughts too! > > Thanks, > > Kathryn > > > On Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 8:25:08 PM UTC+10 Kat wrote: > >> *Appaloosa Build Write Up* >> >> It’s real, it’s alive, it's not a Platypus, it’s an Appaloosa! >> >> [image: 2025_02_27_01.jpg] >> >> Some of you may have seen my previous thread where I tried to order a >> 55cm green Platypus but it turned out to be out of stock. At that time I >> was weighing up whether to go with a 60cm Platypus (possibly too big for >> me) or a 54cm Appaloosa. >> >> *Previous thread: * >> https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/2HdGv21LE3E/m/uZH06pptAQAJ >> >> I decided on the 54cm Appaloosa which arrived to me in its final form >> yesterday. I’ve taken it out on an hour’s ride and just love it – it’s so >> dreamy. >> >> [image: IMG20250226143713.jpg] >> >> I thought I’d write this up both as a build report and a resource for >> those in Australia thinking about buying Rivs. They are rare and expensive >> birds here so hopefully this is helpful to any fellow Aussies looking to >> join the club. >> >> I have done a full parts list with prices and weights here for those >> interested in the granular detail. All amounts are AUD and weights are >> metric, sorry Yanks! >> >> *Detailed spreadsheet: * >> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zWzQxG8JKCLovrjOGCLJKXKjwmH8-HA4M0iX2ha9B54/edit?usp=sharing >> >> Note that the prices/totals for Blue Lug are a little off. The prices on >> their site differ from what I actually paid because of currency conversion. >> The shipping and customs is also the total of a slightly larger order (I >> also ordered a bunch of other clothing and random stuff not specifically >> for this build). >> >> *Full gallery of photos:* >> https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dOytiGxENr-zfkTnDqgVuSLYQdTXyNTZ?usp=sharing >> >> >> In summary, total cost was $6,976.25 AUD, including $686.64 of shipping >> and customs. Total weight, with rack and fenders but without any other >> accessories, came in at 15.4kg. This is around $4500 USD and 34lb for the >> Americans. I already owned the pedals, bars, bag, rack, grips and front >> light so these are not included in the cost. >> >> *Parts List* >> >> Frame – Rivendell Appaloosa >> >> Wheels – Crust Rim Brake Dynamo Wheelset >> >> Tyres – Rene Herse 700 x 48 Hatcher Pass >> >> Crankset – New Albion/Clipper Wide Low 42-26 double >> >> Chain – Shimano CN-LG500 (only one chain needed with 126 links) >> >> Cassette – Shimano 11-39T 10spd LinkGlide >> >> Front der. - Shimano FD-4700 10-Speed Tiagra >> >> Rear der. - Shimano Cues RD-U6020 10spd Shadow Long Cage >> >> Shifters - Microshift SL-M11 2/3x11 Spd Shimano MTB Thumb Shifters >> >> Brakes - Alivio BR-T4000 >> >> Brake Levers - MX-2 brake lever Blue Lug special >> >> Bars – Bosco >> >> Stem - Nitto FU-82DX Periscopa Stem >> >> Saddle – Brooks Flyer >> >> Grips – Brooks Slim Grips >> >> Pedals – Blue Lug Panda Pedals >> >> Front rack – Soma Porteur + Wald 139 >> >> Front Bag – Framework Designs Haul All >> >> Mudguards - Velo Orange 700c x 63mm Fluted Fenders >> >> Mudflaps – Brooks Mudflap (front not currently mounted) >> >> Bottle Cages – PDW Otter Cage >> >> Front light – Axa Luxx 70 Plus >> >> *To be Continued* >> >> >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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