There's a really fine line here. Which aspects are worth dwelling upon and obsessing over and which aspects are to be discarded, freeing your mind and your soul to just be happy and enjoy yourself? I'm pretty certain Grant can't tell you. There are details of his frame designs that he never talks about, never posts about, and that you and I would never notice, but he obsesses over. There are other design details that customers dwell and obsess over, to which Grant correctly says 'not a big deal, just enjoy yourself' to the handwringers. Some of us use to be weight weenies in a past life and now we're bag- matchers. Some of us brag about how we stop and smell the roses, but are infuriated that we can't find the right shade of celery green cloth tape, or can't post on the forum without pointing out that we are rocking 584mm rims.
My two cents on the original question is that the rider makes the Rivendell. The designs and the business ethos of RBW I think at least enables a certain kind of relationship between bike and rider that is not unique or new, but is also not universal or even common. Certainly not 100% of Rivendell owners feel a deep emotional attachment to their Riv(s), but it's my opinion that a higher fraction of Rivs than most other makes are loved the way a favorite pet is loved. Maybe not like a child, spouse, or other close relation, but not far short. Some people buy a Riv and say after the fact "I thought it was going to be some magic carpet of cycling and it just didn't do anything for me". Some people who have a number of Rivs even have that underwhelmed feeling. I mark that up to the relationship, not the bike. It's like when two people meet, and you thought they'd hit it off and something just doesn't click. Anyway, I just don't think that Specialized or Cannondale owners have that kind of vibe with their bikes, even if they 'love' their bikes. I think Riv owners 'get' their bikes. Also, I think that few Rivs are flaunted like trophies. There's plenty of snobbery among us, to be sure. Some of us scoff at plastic fenders and zip ties with the same sneer that dismisses brifters, crabon, and disc brakes, but I think we'd all be in an uproar over the thought of a Riv as a collectors item. It has to be ridden. There's a fine line there, too. Get all worked up over massive mileage or brevets and you'll run the risk of being called out for not smelling the roses enough or draw the "I don't have to fill out a card and have a Frenchman authenticate it to tell ME I had a good ride!" crack from the crowd. This response is all over the place, but I think it's a complicated set of emotions and feelings, and I think it has as much to do with people as it does with bikes. On Jan 11, 3:34 pm, williwoods <willh...@yahoo.com> wrote: > On Jan 10, 12:38 pm, Esteban <proto...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > I've found that if you follow Riv's sizing > > guidelines and part suggestions, then the bike will tempt you to stop > > and smell the roses - to ramble and amble and enjoy the scenery. This > > is the case with my 650B Nobilette-built Protovelo. > > ^ This ^ > > for me this is largely what I couldn't put into words earlier. > > I have been one of those 'ride as fast as you can' and 'impress > buddies with fancy gear' types in the past. I took several years off > of serious riding, then picked up my Bombadil. > > I have been converted. > > im no longer in a big hurry and am now focused on looking around, > smelling the roses, enjoying the ride and trying my best not be a > nuisance to those around me. I guess I really drank the Rivendell > koolaid, and am happier and having more fun than I have ever had that > I can remember since being a kid. Slowing down and accepting that im > not a racer dude was key. > > Thanks GP. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
