Doug, My Brother purchased a SOMA San Marcos off the web for $775.00 and built it up with 11 speed Campy Athena, and Velo-Orange wheels. He did have to purchase the the Tektro 559's for increased reach. He has mounted racks, and trunk bags and has since mounted Longboard fenders. He loves the bike and loves the way it handles. When he spoke to Riv they explained to him that the San Marcos is the closest frame set they sell that emulates the ride quality of the Roadeo.
<https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4Qulq7OXJeM/UYtBZFvWlSI/AAAAAAAAAC4/wIGGUAWJ4i8/s1600/Soma_w_racks.jpeg> Incidentally, he just recently purchased a Surly pacer and built it up with 10 speed Campy! He apparently loves Campy :-) So his rational was he wanted a bike unloaded. I on the other hand purchased a A.A.H. built up by Riv with their mix of parts. My second bike will be a Trek 660 built with Campy 10 speed ( It runs in the family) meant to ride with a minimal load and on the road and light dirt roads. I think the most important criteria is what are you comfortable spending and what will give you long term happiness? My Hilsen has small lettering on the seat tube with "Rivendell" the down tube in large letters has "A. Homer. Hilsen" though it doesn't scream "Rivendell" I love it. If it looks like a Riv, rides like a Riv then it's a Riv. Lastly, I was riding up a road on my way back home in my neighborhood and a fellow yells "hey is that a Rivendell?" I turned back with a smile and confirmed his suspicion. Like Jim Thill I like the Soma San Marcos headbadge it's awesome, and I also dig the Riv custom headbadge both hansome. Good luck on your decision either frame set will bring you a lot of enjoyment. Hugh Sunland, CA On Monday, May 6, 2013 12:48:18 PM UTC-7, Doug Williams wrote: > > Well, to close out this topic, I should say that Grant wrote me a kind > email saying that the contract with Soma doesn’t allow Riv to mess with the > San Marcos. That’s what I expected, really. The best advice from this list > was to “Just Ride” the San Marcos and my feelings about the lack of > “Rivendellness” of the bike would melt away with the miles. I think that is > what I will do. > > Looking logically at the difference between the San Marcos and the Roadeo, > it is hard to justify paying $1,300 more for the Roadeo just because it is > a better looking bike and a “true Rivendell”. Also, I tell myself that I > won’t put a rack on the bike…but then I just might. A rack would allow me > to ride the San Marcos instead of my pig Novara Safari for weekend trip. I > could always remove the rack before my next “fast” ride. > > Still…which headbadge do you prefer? The headbadge with the beautiful > winding open road trailing into the sunset or the headbadge with the Sutro > Tower television and radio transmission antennae? Not a tough call for me. > For me at least, the Roadeo is the more beautiful bike and the San Marcos > is the more practical bike. > > I guess I’ll keep a magnifying glass to read the fine print on the > chainstay and a laminated copy of my invoice in my saddlebag so I can prove > that my San Marcos is a “True Rivendell”. J > But then I think I need to test ride the Roadeo and the AHH before I place > my order just to make sure. > Doug > -- 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 post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
