[RBW] A Clemiversary, or, Lost and Found Again: A Clem's Journey

[drew]

Awesome. Looks twice as badass with the reg bull moose bars. 

-- 
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 https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[RBW] A Clemiversary, or, Lost and Found Again: A Clem's Journey

[ian m]

Clem Smith Jr. arrived this month last year! I threw mine together in one 
long night after work, cannibalizing other bikes, and by the next day it 
was already the most comfortable bike I had ever ridden. Smooth and stable, 
this Clem rode with aplomb down steep hills and flew over mangled city 
streets. I had never felt so IN a bicycle, and at high speeds leaning into 
turns it instilled a confidence I never had when being ON a bicycle. 
Vintage mountain bikes of Northern California are for me something of the 
Platonic Ideal of bicycles, so of course I had to have Clem reflect that. 
The og bullmoose bars are a perfect fit, giving a bit more aggressive 
position than the super upright boscos that were on the test bike I rode at 
RivHQ. While Clem's (who if the DIY decal kit had come to fruition may have 
been renamed Mount Clemalpais or Mt Clem) long chainstays make it tough to 
lift the front end over obstacles, it still feels at home on path and 
trail, with large tires rolling over everything but the biggest roots. This 
being primarily a commuter with on and off road touring aspirations, I 
initially installed the trusty Pass & Stow rack, but have since found the 
ride feels a bit nicer without the large rack which may stiffen the front 
end a bit too much.




   Clem v.1




   The best use for a large and strong front rack, plus fat tires to help 
smooth out those streets.




   Equally at home off road, even when the trails are a little icy




   Clem in full camping regalia


This July Clem was stolen. The cable lock was cut while on my front porch. 
What a disaster. But all was not lost! One long week later my incredible 
partner found Clem leaning against a frat house, U lock still holding the 
frayed cable on the frame, flat front tire, coffee mug still in bottle 
cage. She walked right up to the house, took it back, and locked it to her 
bike until a friend came to pick it up and return it home. What a day! 
Moral of the story: never trust a cable lock. Since then I have replaced 
the triple with a wide/low double, regressed to 8 speeds, replaced the P&S 
with small Nitto/Wald combo, built a generator wheel with SP hub and Atlas 
rim and connected that to the Lumotec Eyc. Great combo for budget generator 
setup, although the flickering at low speed can be a bit annoying. There's 
an easy fix for that though




   Steel


All in all, I couldn't be happier with the Clem. After scouring craigslist 
and this forum for close to a year, hoping I would find a nice used 
Atlantis or Hunq at a price I could justify, I thought I'd never be able to 
own a Rivendell. The Clem puts that dream within reach for those of us 
unable to afford those models, and in no way feels cheap or like a lesser 
bike. I hope they continue to offer the Clem in some form or another, 
because they are very much a gateway Rivendell for those who weren't sure 
the Rivs are all their fans say they are (they are).


Ian, currently dreaming of a 650b Atlantis



-- 
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 https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.