I got caught up thinking about all the brands I would consider similar in ethos, quality, and general thoughtfulness as Rivendell and utterly forgot to answer the question.
I qualify as I own two Rivendells, a Hillborne and a Bombadil. I owned three for a short period, but it felt like too many given my space constraints (apartment, though pretty good bike storage) and wide variety of riding that I like to do. The Hillborne was my first Riv, bought in Oct 2019. I bought a 45cm Clem H on closeout shortly after, but it proved too small and I ended up upgrading majorly to the Bombadil in Oct 2020. They are by far my highest mileage bikes in my current quiver of 5. So since 2019/2020, I have bought the following bikes: A Crust Wombat in 2023. What attracted me to it was that it was simple, stripped down, light and playful like a big BMX. I still have it and I still love it. It's my pick for when going for social ride around town where I might want to jump off things a bit and generally get a little loose. A Brompton in 2022, which I sold earlier this year. I bought it when I had a train-friendly commute, but now I don't. It is a great bike for situations where no other bike would work. I regret selling it a little bit, to be honest. I would consider one again. A Bike Friday All-Packa. That was a catch and release, I couldn't say no to the deal and I figured it would be a perfect commuter. It was, but I didn't really have space for it and it was first on the chopping block. A Stooge (ok actually three in succession), first a Speedbomb and now on a Scrambler. I live by arguably the best MTB trails in the world, and they are steep and technical. Contrary to popular opinion, suspension is really not necessary to ride and enjoy the (less extreme) trails, but disc brakes, dropper post, and big fat tires make a huge difference. The Stooge bikes are as timeless as Rivendells, just a different set of priorities. Also a Bridgestone MB-3 as a cheap commuter in 2021, which I sold when I bought the Riv Charlie prototype that brought my Riv count temporarily up to three. So now the quiver is, and I hope will continue to be for some time: Raleigh Twenty - heavily upgraded but still looks original as everything looks period-correct. Perfect city errand bike. Has ~3000 km on it Riv Hillborne - all-road bike and my commuter at the moment. Has ~13,000 km on it Riv Bombadil - any-weather, any-terrain bike for just getting out there. Has ~10,000 km on it Crust Wombat - single speed play bike and ATB. Has ~2600 km on it Stooge Scrambler - trail bike, also bike-packer. Has ~700 km on 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e513e571-cb0c-46d2-b69f-800659278fa1n%40googlegroups.com.
