[RBW] Re: Fancy Cheviot!

2020-05-16 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Kind of the idea is to cram the biggest wheel into any frame that'll fit it without actual cramming. As the front wheel inches more forward (a result of longer tt, slacker ht, more rake), the room for a bigger tire, and bigger tire with fender, increases. In back it's easy, just stretch the cha

[RBW] arnulfo Platypus

2020-05-16 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
I have been intrigued by platypusses since I was in elementary school. Not yearly, it hasn't been a mind-worm, but I've always felt a little bit closer to them, a little fonder of them and interested in them, than my friends. When I was a teenager and young adult, whenever I came across the name

[RBW] Re: Another Riv Financial Situation Thread

2019-01-02 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We "crowdsourced" store credits---not donations--- at a critical time for us, and if you contributed and haven't bought anything, your credit remains on the books. We've never asked for outright donations, and I wouldn't do that. Many businesses--from wholesalers like Trek, etc---and virtually a

[RBW] Re: In Japan! Any recommendations?

2018-07-26 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
My favorite non-Blue Lug store in Tokyo is Water Dog Garden in..Musashino? But you have to like dogs. On Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at 9:07:24 AM UTC-7, Manuel Acosta wrote: > > We'll be bikeless, and will be in Tyoko for a week then Kyoto. > > Blug Lug, Sim Works watch a Kerin race, planning on t

Re: [RBW] Thanks Grant

2018-07-02 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The next BLAHG will be even more not-intentionally divisive, probably. It will have more bike content in it. On Sunday, July 1, 2018 at 10:59:48 AM UTC-7, Richard wrote: > > Viva De Niro!!?? > > Apparently Grant is in full agreement with De Niro's vulgar, classless > attack on the president. Th

[RBW] Re: Dear Riv, please make a wider Noodle

2018-06-24 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
On Sunday, June 24, 2018 at 12:22:45 PM UTC-7, Grant @ Rivendell wrote: > > Nitto tests bars and stems together and wants the bars to break before the > stem. The bars are already strong, and they've found that even 51s (we had > samples made) impose too much leverage

[RBW] Re: Dear Riv, please make a wider Noodle

2018-06-24 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Nitto tests bars and stems together and wants the bars to break before the stem. The bars are already strong, and they've found that even 51s (we had samples made). The workaround might be to make stronger stems, but then you get into a whole escalating mish-mash where one chases the other, and

[RBW] Re: Why not a suspension-corrected fork/frame?

2018-06-19 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The forks lengths follow the tire size and brake requirements, and there's so much to it, when you do it the way we do it--some 650b forks are 388, some are 370, and there's a 399 looming there. Suspension forks have to be super long to account for suspension, and the extra length means extra l

[RBW] Re: MTB hints in yesterday's Blahg?

2018-06-13 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Even though many of the guesses are 75 percent accurate, this bike is bound to disappoint throngs, but not by intent. There is already tons of variety in mtn bikes. More than a dozen categories--jumpers, pumpers, xc, dh, hardtails, fat, plus, e, enduro... No matter what we do, there's going to

[RBW] Re: Low/No Carb Electrolyte?

2018-06-10 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
p 83/84 of Just Ride -- a chapter harshly titled "Electrolytes for Cheapskates and Dummies" suggests (detail not included here so I don't have to type as much)--but basically, heavily diluted OJ + salt...or V-8/tomato juice as it is (not the unsalted kind) , or coconut water/milk with salt. Non

[RBW] Re: When bad fasteners happen to good bikes

2018-06-07 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
For the record, we've never seen a funky threading on a Clem-or-other dropout, but users are capable of messing them up. Clem is especially tolerant, tho, because the upper dropout mount is M6 (for the rack), and if you mount the rack, as we suggest, on the lower seat stay braze-on (a true braz

[RBW] Re: How crucial is it to chase the threads a derailleur hanger

2018-05-31 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
If der is reluctant from outside, try it from inside, which tends to have less paint. Then (need I say? hope not...) go at it again from the outside. It's an M10 x 1 thread, we have taps, but if it isn't visually thick with paint, just a little, we leave it. In my history, the thinking was tha

[RBW] Re: Clicking noise -- About to lose my mind.

2018-05-26 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
My most puzzling click was fixed by greasing the post, too...about 42 years ago. All the suggesions make sense. Additional notes: The click seems to come from wherever you're looking when you're looking for it, and it might not be there. Change one thing at a time, not two or more---so you can r

Re: [RBW] RIV Catalog Arrived

2018-05-15 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Ha! So funny. I dig that flexibility. Other catalog topic, the models: The last paragraph on p. 4 sort of addresses the who-where of making bikes, but is intentionally vague, since the American Homers, Atlantises, Hunqapillars, and Rodeos might have changing futures. We're just working out some

[RBW] Re: Canti Sam Hillborne: No Cable Hangers

2018-05-11 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We have cable hangers, diff kinds front and rear..it's just (now) one of the things you pick. When we included short adjustables, people wanted long ones, and vice versa. So now you just get the one you want, you plunk out $10 or whatever it is, and everybody happy, unless you think it should be

Re: [RBW] Re: Rivendell Reader PDF Archives

2018-05-11 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
THere was a Zero, mailed in December, a warm yellow color and a few pages saying something like, "Not sure this will work, but .." It was mailed to 3,900 Bridgestone Owners Bunch (BOB) members--kind of the precursor to our current customer/mailing list. In the last year of Bstone, lots of the fu

[RBW] Re: Banana sax reviews needed. Stuff fall out?

2018-05-10 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
It''s not for carrying loose gold dust or diamonds, but the Banana sack is secure and adaptable to any load. There's a sleeve pocket for a phone, and a stiffener opposite that, and you can put skinny jangly things in with the stiffener, to secure them. If I have any doubts I just wad up a bandan

[RBW] Re: Made in Taiwan AHH?

2018-05-03 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The catalog go into who gonna make what bikes where for how much and how good they are. What it doesn't say (on p.4, the page that addresses this) got left out not to sneak, but for two other reasons--easy to read bad stuff into it, and there wasn't enough space to nuance it so you wouldn't. It

[RBW] Re: Frustrated by RBW lack of inventory

2018-04-26 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Profligate inventory buying slims up our cushion of safety when an unexpected blast hits, and our usual monthly $30,000 to $40,000 inventory spending was cut back to $5,000 for the three months leading up to the recent near-fall (even here I seemed cheap at that). It still wasn't enough, but it

[RBW] Re: offRoadini

2018-04-24 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
wow, that's not what i think of when i think of new jersey. thirty-three miles of that. it's such good riding, looks like. On Monday, April 23, 2018 at 7:35:11 PM UTC-7, lambbo wrote: > > The Roadini proves to be very spritely on this quick 33 miles of gravely, > flat, NJ Tow-Path. There were

[RBW] Re: 300k ride report: Samuel Hillborne still rules

2018-04-10 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
This is the Nobel Prize of cycling-related compliments. Completely made me morn <--say it the way Patrick would...it's the opposite of "made me mourn" !) Lucky Bill! On Monday, April 9, 2018 at 3:46:38 PM UTC-7, Deacon Patrick wrote: > > Fantastic, Bill! Well done, and a tip a’ me plaid cycling

[RBW] Re: Lower price Atlantis!

2018-03-21 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
A lot of the answers to most of the questions might be answered in the catalogue coming up in about 3 wks, and I don't want to deflate it before it goes to print (in 2 weeks), so... we might not answer all of the questions here before then or on BLUG-BLAHG. We're all way loose-lipped in person

[RBW] Re: Eat Bacon Don't Jog--Goal set, goal met

2018-03-11 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Hi everybody on both sides of the fence and sitting on it, too-- I wrote the book but am not trying to push it here. I wrote it because I don't LIKE to talk about diet stuff, so it was sort of my one-shot. I'm piping up here (violating "one shot"), but it won't be my usual long post. To keep it

[RBW] Re: Frank Jones track end

2018-02-15 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The QB and SimpleOne dropouts were water-jet cut in Woodinville, Washington according to a drawing we sent them, and they worked well. They have a "no funny business" look about them that, without being at all ugly, didn't seem a good match with the rest of the stuff on the new FRANK...so BLUE L

[RBW] Re: OT: Lennard Zinn documents heart problem

2018-02-15 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
When society, opinion, fads, latest/greatest, and moralistic issues weigh in on diets, there aren't any clear winners. The filter, it seems like, ought to be your own digestive system ("chapters" no. 84, 85 in EBDJ). People and sometimes their pets are the only animals that don't. On Wednesday

[RBW] Re: Un-un-racing update: My first ever mountain bike race

2018-02-06 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The more extreme the course, the more important it is to level the playing field. However, just as a matter of interest, an "exception that proves the rule" kind of thing, about 7 years ago our Mark entered a super rugged 50-mile mtn bike race around (the area of) Lake Tahoe. So--6-7,000 feet,

[RBW] Re: Houseless Sam Hillborne in Portland, Oregon

2018-02-02 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Bravo! On Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 2:47:50 PM UTC-8, MartyG wrote: > > > Many Super Blue Blood Moons ago, I penned this quaint verse for the now > lost and forgotten A. Homer Hilsen website. Kind of apropos to bring it up > in this thread, don't you think? > > > > *The Resurrection of A. H

[RBW] Re: Suntour Power Thumb Shifters

2018-01-25 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
*Reginald Alexis???!*! so nice to hear/see that name again. I hope you're well and all the good stuff. On Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 12:35:59 PM UTC-8, R. Alexis wrote: > > I have some SunTour XC friction shifters in use on my 1994 Bridgestone > MB-1 retro build. They along with a bunch

[RBW] Re: Did you lose your Silver Roadeo?

2018-01-17 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Rene, Send me or call in the serial number. We may be able to trace it to that. Best to send --email, b/c we're outside today unloading a truck. Serial number is on the underside of the bb shell. Also, a photo. Thanks, man! gr...@rivbike.com On Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 10:22:14 PM UTC-8,

[RBW] Re: Riv shipping, a new world record

2018-01-14 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Shipped means picked, packed, boxed, labeled, prepared for pickup that day at 4pm (in the case of UPS, which is 90 percent). If USPS, it means boxed and taken to the post office that day. Everybody here knows the best-run, most clocklike department here is shipping. A couple of times a year a gu

[RBW] Re: Crankypants & Thoughtful Responses

2018-01-07 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Seriously all that John and everybody has said. Jim means the world to me, I have more respect for him than I can ever utter, and I know most of us here feel some kind of version of that. He can write me under a tractor, every sentence, things that I'd stew over and ultimately screw up with emo

Re: [RBW] Re: Frank Jones Sr details

2017-12-18 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Them the machined-after-forging ones, no doubt fine, but the ones coming up are the '70s style, just forged. Same reach, but possibly--can't say sure--some modern hardware tweaks. On Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 3:09:43 PM UTC-8, Belopsky wrote: > > Lets talk these brakes Grant mentioned - "new

[RBW] Re: Frank Jones, latest Knothole post

2017-12-17 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
You can ride fixed, but since there's no coasting you have to be careful about clipping pedals. With a 75 drop (track bikes have 60, commonly) and a wider-than track cranky (presumably) there's more risk. That is hugely abated by the larger tires--which more than makes up for the increased drop

[RBW] Re: Frank Jones Sr details

2017-12-17 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
There's new info there, but no full drawings. The chainstays are long enough to easily accept a 38 tire moving back and forth, and probably with a fender if you can finagle it (it's possible, as long as you don't insist on supreme "fender lines" throughout the range). The seat- and head tube a

[RBW] Re: Found Upright riding worse than drops riding.

2017-12-11 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
My eye-opening into the possibilities of uprights, and swept-back ones at that, came when I first talked to Freddie Hoffman, who rode 50,000 miles a year all thru the eighties on sweptback uprights (sbu?). A similar eye-opening came 21 years ago, when a customer who lives in Toronto, Jim Skinne

[RBW] Re: Silver Shifter 2 project revived

2017-12-06 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Sentence 3 should be "..we CAN'T afford to do everything." On Wednesday, December 6, 2017 at 9:37:12 AM UTC-8, Grant @ Rivendell wrote: > > All is well here with the SS2 thing. We're not oblivious to double-digit > speed cassettes and the 1xwhatevers, and aren&

[RBW] Re: Silver Shifter 2 project revived

2017-12-06 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
All is well here with the SS2 thing. We're not oblivious to double-digit speed cassettes and the 1xwhatevers, and aren't even dismissive of them. We can afford to address everything and we can't afford to do most of what we do that makes us good or special. Nothing we do makes sense financially,

[RBW] Re: Rivendell on the C&V Forum

2017-11-04 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
This is the drag of being me and I hate it. I get to fear that my hating it will reinforce the poster or give a loger life to it, start a discussion. I know some have it worse and tere are bigger problems in the world, but the idea that I can or should just slugh it off doesn't reconcile with wh

[RBW] Re: FS Rivendell Silver Shifters

2017-10-31 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
the current shifter mold is dying (I'm told), and we were working on a new one. that project seemed permanently stalled--I'd given up, as anybody here'd tell you--but there is now some hope. it'll be a new shape & mold. On Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 5:44:30 AM UTC-7, Philip Kim wrote: > > B

[RBW] Re: Alex DM 24 Rims

2017-10-30 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
xcuse my funky typing in last one. babying a $#%@! typing injury and trying a new technique.. On Monday, October 30, 2017 at 5:53:34 AM UTC-7, Doug H. wrote: > > I was just looking over the specs for the new Clem H and noticed they are > using Alex DM 24 rims. According to the Alex website these

[RBW] Re: Alex DM 24 Rims

2017-10-30 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
alex made it before the emotorbike went big. it is nearly identical (dimensionally) to the early '80s mtb rims, and at 32mm xternal wide, it is ideal for holding 45mm to 60mm tires, even at low pressure. The sidewalls are also appropriate for allaround rogh use and all-weather braking. the eBi

Re: [RBW] Who's ridden a Steamroller and can compare to the Quickbeam?

2017-10-23 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
In about 6 wks, by about Dec 10, we'll have 20 total/6 sizes UP TO 59cm of the Frank Jones Sr, a singlespeed frame designed for Blue Lug, our Tokyo dealer. We made 20 extras for us. • seat lug (new socket style, but made for 3-deg upslope) and head lugs (custom style) • fillet-braed bb • 28.6mm

[RBW] Re: Wrecked my Atlantis

2017-10-13 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Hey John, Echo all the sympathies etc from the great emo support and good advice group here. Here's what Riv can add-- We have an unofficial non-policy of mimizing the financial fixit or replacement pain for hard-luck cases, accidents. Let me repeat the unofficial part. We do it often as we he

[RBW] Re: Silver Tubing Info

2017-09-20 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We have both HT and non-Heat Treated SILVER tubing...and one of my BLAHG posts within the last 5 weeks had an explanation. On the Taiwan frames we use non-HT tubes, which are better (for reasons explained in the post). For the American frames we use HT, because there's a belief (that I don't buy

[RBW] Re: Roadini Sizes

2017-08-07 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Maybe it's been made clear, but the brief history is that we ordered the 62, 58, 55, 51, 48 and they came measured that way to the point on the seat lug. We overlooked this, and it turns out the normal measuring way was 1cm less. A cm is nothing when it's part of a 6-deg upsloping top tube, ext

[RBW] Re: Discs versus calipers

2017-07-01 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
There must be some fork bounciness, but it's hard to isolate the effects of forks, tires, wheels, weight distribution, and front-center dimensions when you're riding over bumps. Also, there's the tremendous but usually neglected in "technical discussions" effects of rider-joint-springs. It's be

[RBW] Re: Big Ol' Mixte Update

2017-06-10 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The old song updated and fantasticized, Martin! Good work. The low horizontal tube makes it a "Laddie Lifter,"a term we've used --along 'lady lifter," depending--many times around here. Gotta love a Laddie Lifter. I also triangulates the BB area, reducing flex/fatigue there. Even without it, th

[RBW] Re: Does anybody ride 75+ km with non-drop-bar handlebars?

2017-06-09 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Freddie Hoffman has ridden more than 1.5 million miles with an upright-swept back handlebar. In the '80s he averated 50,000 miles per year. We've covered him in the RR, he's been written up here and there...it can be done. On Friday, June 2, 2017 at 9:16:50 AM UTC-7, Peter Turskovitch wrote: >

[RBW] Re: Opinions on saddlebags? Swift vs. Carradice vs. Sackville

2017-04-09 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The "bad blood" is that the guy who used to own and started Frost River stole our designs and said they were his...and that was after many generous and helpful-in-money ways gestures on our part to help his business get started and stay afloat. It was a bummer, but he was desperate, and I under

Re: [RBW] Re: book of possible interest to Rivendell riders

2017-04-09 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
I'm no fountain pen fanatic, but I know two who are, and they're also bike and camera people, so I know it must be dangerous. I have a Waterman something-or-other that my mother-in-law gave to me several years ago, and since then I've bought three Lamy pens, which are cheap enough--$35 to $45,

[RBW] Re: Grant coached Bike Snob on today's blog post

2017-03-31 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
BSNYC *was* much-needed and still is. Humor is subjective, but heck--he's pretty funny. He cusses, but in the big picture and certainly now, that's a small deal--and this from somebody who didn't swear once until he was 19, and then only because I trout I'd been working on all evening took the f

[RBW] Re: Small Appaloosas going away

2017-03-10 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Tubes are the same starting length, just cut shorter for smaller bikes--so that's not it. We can still do the tiny American bikes, but "doing them" amounts to keeping the possibilities open, which is fine and easy, but we'll get zero to one orders for 47 Atlantis per year...and even so, Wford's

[RBW] Re: Atlantis now redundant?

2017-03-06 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
d in the future, with the black > ones as historical references? > > Doug Peterson > > On Sunday, March 5, 2017 at 1:24:58 PM UTC-8, Grant @ Rivendell wrote: >> >> On the tube top question--- >> >> There is "on paper" length and "anatomical effect.&quo

[RBW] Re: Atlantis now redundant?

2017-03-05 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
On the tube top question--- There is "on paper" length and "anatomical effect." On paper the Joe Ap is longer, but that means you ride a 9 instead of an 11 stem. And the higher bars possible with the Appa bring back them back toward you more and at the same time have a lengthening effect on you

[RBW] Re: Atlantis now redundant?

2017-03-05 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The Atlantis won't go away forever and never for long and maybe not at all, and redundancy has been our calling card and anchor all along...because Rivendell bikes are all good for more than one thing. How is a good commute bike different than a good touring bike? You might have historical highb

[RBW] Re: Grant's Other Book

2017-02-21 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
I think the whole dedication read (according to memory, even tho I have a copy in the next room): To BF Skinner ... the most misunderstood person of all time...and Bob Dylan...it's the least I can do and the only thing I can think of. My thinking was that most people "learn" about skinner not by

[RBW] Re: PSA: VP Pedals on sale

2017-02-14 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Sometimes the maker requires a minimum retail price--for a small variety of good or at least well-intended reasons. VP-001 was one of those, but it's not the only one, for sure. If (for example) the Min Sell Price (MSP) of X is $80 and a seller complies because compliance is generally good when

[RBW] Re: RIVEOPARDY

2017-01-23 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Clue should've been high carb / low carB--not "car". And it's a bar we don't sell anymore. Dove bar. Meat (if a real dove), and ice cream / chocolate confection for the high carb. Buckwheat was SOBA bar. I'll try to post the key--need roman's help converting excel file to JPEG. Internet was he

[RBW] Re: RIVEOPARDY

2017-01-21 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Years ago there was a Noodle-shaped exactly handobar with a bulge, not a sleeve in the middle, and it weighed like 60g less, so we called it a superlight Noodle bar, and it WAS a noodle by bend, and we named it after a Japanese (since it is made by NITTO) buckwheat noodle. Not Udon, which is wh

[RBW] Re: HubbaHubbah HubbaHubbah HubbaHubbah HubbaHubbah HubbaHubbah

2016-12-24 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The HHH crank PLAN is for 44x34x24 with 38T timing rings, and only the 44 aluminum---because small rings wear faster and timing rings--not sure if the straight chainpath reduces wear enough to compensate for the aluminum so we just went with steel. The cost diff was not a factor--we save a do

[RBW] Re: Pneu bars...time for MUSA?

2016-12-16 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Nobody's to blame because--of a lot of things, but there aren't any bad guys here--there's a Blagh post about it, and it's true. Nobody's any bit shady and everybody's friends. It's just a tiny situation that we're using as an excuse to make a pnewbar that will be ours a thousand percent. Anoth

[RBW] Re: 650b vs 700c

2016-12-11 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
There is a lot going on with tire sizes, but it's so much, and is such a combination of obvious simplicity and actual and made up complication and opionion, that the only way to talk about it, the only way I could, would -- well, it requires being able to type three overlapping words at a time,

[RBW] Re: MUSA? Completely gone? Coming back?

2016-12-05 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
On Sunday, December 4, 2016 at 10:46:16 AM UTC-8, Ron Mc wrote: > > I just referred someone to MUSA shorts on another forum - now I can't find > even knickers on Rivbike? > What's us? > MUSA may be the longest-running flop in the RBW micro-empire. As anybody who knows me knows, I am never

[RBW] Re: 25 years now

2016-12-04 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Ted wrote me a super nice and encouraging note either in '94 winter after Bstone announced its closing or early '95, in the first weeks of RBW---complimenting the XO-1 among other things, and it started a 25-year friendship. It was the first time I was aware of a stranger from faraway (Wiscon

[RBW] Re: 40-ish mm Tires on Thinner Rims?

2016-12-01 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The ISO (int'l standards org) has crystal clear recommendations for inner rim width and tire width, but they're not regulations. A couple of years ago I posted them in some form somewhere--and we had an internal talk about them--and all of us here and tons of you there have had the brake-opening

[RBW] Re: An un-obstructive front handle bar bag for boscos?

2016-11-28 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The $30-or-so Wald basket with support struts might not mesh in with one's sense of asthetics, but as a cheap fantastic way to carry a decent front load, it is hard to beat. Strapping a standalone basked (Wald MED) onto a suitable standalone rack, then or not adding a Shopsack MED with or withou

[RBW] Re: clem smith L and ibert babyseat

2016-11-17 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We got an iBert to test out about 8 years ago, and found the same thing. I've seen a few around, always rigid-forward arms trying to reach the flat bars. The iBert seems to need a superlong TT (CLEM has) and Bosco-style bars. Not sure it'll mount on CLEM-L. As I remember it, it needed a top tub

[RBW] Re: blug notes

2016-11-11 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Thanks for reading it--that's it, as intended, 100 percent, Eamon. As the world gets more crowded, there's a need for more tolerance. There's an out of print book (it's Amazon-usedbookable) called The Human Zoo, written by Desmond Morris. His take on what goes on in a crowded world that doesn't

Re: [RBW] New BLUG post! Frank Jones Sr

2016-10-27 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The only lug that doesn't allow angle-versatility is the CLEM lug, which is why we got the curvy seat stays--so we could make the chainsays the length we wanted. The upper seat stay socket is cast into the lug, so isn't variable. But structurally, it is SUPER. The lug and seat stay cap combo bel

[RBW] Re: Nitto M151F bar story behind it on all those riv builds lately?

2016-10-27 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We like them because they have a flattish ramp and a the only good looking ana-bend ever. I THINK the consensus here is that a Noodle still wins (my vote, but that's to be expected, I'm sure)...but we don't automatically dislike handlebars we didn't design! It's a nice bar. The reach is super s

Re: [RBW] Re: Silver 2 shifters

2016-10-23 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The Pantaloon screwhead was...not serious. I'd never even heard about it until I googled "unusual screw heads" or something like that. D-ring and slot, and the slot is sized for a dime. On Sunday, October 23, 2016 at 6:08:28 AM UTC-7, Dave Johnston wrote: > > Pentelope? Does that mean I can't ti

Re: [RBW] Silver 2 shifters

2016-10-19 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Shifter pos: The "fwd" pos works better, doesn't put the lever too high in the "up" pos. It puts it farther away in the D-pos, but still easily in reach. The lack of metal washer: Ideally it would be oil-stuffed bronze, but that would've been an underappreciated black-hole money-sucker. I've sai

Re: [RBW] Silver 2 shifters

2016-10-16 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Short answer is: New washers seem fine. Longer answer is below. THey're still not breakproof, but they're a different plastic than the early ones, and none of these has broken. I've got a bristly take on those washers, probably not a popular one, but here it is-- Plastic (of some sort) is an id

Re: [RBW] Silver 2 shifters

2016-10-15 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The band mated with the chunk and limited it to 22.2 bars, which was fine back then. It's fiddly to remove and remount (not t fiddly, but you have to remove the lever and go at it with an 8mm socket). NewSilver2 has some sort of curly flower thing going on 360-degrees, which lets you angle

[RBW] Re: ROADINI tease on the BLUG

2016-10-12 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
The Rodin theme was too obvious to adopt, but it was always in the background. It'll likely be a frame only, but we're thinking about whole bike, and that's not ruled out. Maybe some of each. It may follow CLEM and have a seat lug. Sam is already a good road bike, but the clearances big you to

[RBW] Re: Opinions on Dove Bars

2016-10-01 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Dang, I just wrote a Pulitzer-worthy post, then went back for a fact-check and came back and couldn't find it, and now I'm in no mood to try to do it again, so I'll just lay 'er out there: B347 is "Dove bar" RBW was the first-in-memory to import it. B352 is "Albatross" -- same story At least o

[RBW] Re: Thank you and "Enjoy the Ride!"

2016-09-14 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
downhill eCumbents?<---dat da diff direction? pm me please, P. G On Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 4:04:44 PM UTC-7, Deacon Patrick wrote: > > I’m going to be riding off a different direction. Thank you all on this > group — you have helped me tremendously as I’ve dived into wrenching and > fi

[RBW] Re: Are there a lot of Roadeos out there?

2016-07-26 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We sell about 40 a year--laughable by some standards, but it's one a week in a teacher's year. (Apologies to teachers who work in the summer). On Monday, July 25, 2016 at 9:47:52 PM UTC-7, Don Compton wrote: > > I bought a Roadeo the first year they were available and it's been my main > and re

[RBW] Re: Roadini

2016-07-25 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Roadini will be more of a "Slim CLEM" road bike. We'll toe the line (as I've said) btw useful braze-ons and "sending the wrong message about what the bike is for" braze-ons—and the same for clearances/tire compatibility. <---those will be Roadeo-like. The Rambouillet and Romulus were lugged to

[RBW] Re: Roadini

2016-07-23 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
To speculateurs and 'teuses: Le Roadini..hm. I didn't realize we'd announced anything yet, but since le chat is out of the mussette, here's 100 percent of what there is to know about it: 1. It's not going to duplicate or overlap too much any existing bike except the Roadeo. No "85 percent Sam,

[RBW] Re: Odds of a Fully lugged tandem happening?

2016-07-20 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
I'd always wanted to do a lugged tandem, but we can't afford the tooling for it, it would be extreemly suicidal, and it would take many tandem-curious people out of the running. A tandem is rarely the most ridden bike, and a super expensive one risks becoming a objet d'guilt or a at least a

[RBW] Re: Any benefits to the longer CS's?

2016-06-30 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Bikes generally grow taller way faster than they grow longer, and so...bigger bikes are top-heavy. "Top-heavy" isn't exactly a scientific description, but it's a way to casually talk about the proportions of weight-up-high to wheelbase-down-low. For hundreds of decades, the longest chainstays

[RBW] Re: A bit offtopic discussion of RivBike's shipping times

2016-06-24 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We always try to listen! As many with shipping experiences in small businesses have noted, it's a continuing source of angst...but we try to do our best. The time spent picking and packing a $10 order can be the same or more than for a $200 order, and although we appreciate any order, when we ge

[RBW] Re: Talk to me about bottom brackets

2016-05-01 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
BB spindle length: It's always safe and usually best to use the bb the crank maker recommends, or (more to the point) a dimensional equivalent. I'm not going to address taper here, just quick notes about length. It comes down to chainline, which has nothing to do with the chain. Almost everythi

[RBW] Re: Will Rosco see the light of day?

2016-04-22 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We have deposits for the first run-o-Rubbes and are planning (designing another now). So far, so good. Most of the forks are Sams, but there are some others. We're trying hard NOT to overlap existing models. Like, we have no tall-tall Sam, but we have forks for a 64, so we can do something like

Re: [RBW] Re: ROSCO mailing list

2016-03-19 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Maybe this has been addressed already, but when Deore came out in '85 or '84 or '86, it came with a deer head logo, all the bike riders in my clique figured the Japanese guys misspelled "deer," but then there was the possibility of "de-ore" being some international befuddling name for "of gold,

[RBW] Re: ROSCO mailing list

2016-03-19 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
On the topic of secrecy and open-ness---it's probably fine to post to Forumists...my concern is that it's a first for us to be so out there with bikes that are still being developed, and I did n't want naysayers or advisors up the wazoo. There have been a few, not many, and it's been positive,

[RBW] CLEARCOAT o'er baremetal & why we don't do it anymore

2016-03-19 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
I am not fluent here and tried to respond to other comments about it, then gave up and thought I could do it here & this way...wondering all the while whether this is what "thread thwacking" is. Anyway, this isn't the last word on it, just our experience and observations. It looks best and the

Re: [RBW] Re: MIESHA HAS LEFT RIVENDELL

2016-03-10 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Miesha's working for the county now, some kind of benefits-evaluation position..where people who are hoping to qualify for public assistance call in or fill out forms, and then get the nod or don't, based on their qualifications. For Miesha, it's a way worse commute, at least for the immediate

[RBW] Re: Crack in the Sam headtube??

2016-03-07 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
I haven't read the responses, but it is SLIGHTLY disturbing that a possible crack like this goes public before it comes to us. It's life in 2016, and I harbor no anything, but it's not a direct way, and it is embarrassing. If the second-owner of this frame contacts us directly, -- well, as the

[RBW] Re: Removing shellac on paint

2016-02-23 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
MCGUIAR'S car wax is the stuff Joe Bell recommends. We've used it now and then. About 17 years ago a guy got a custom fixie bike, and don't wonder why, there was no good actual reason, but I put a rare earth magnet on it for some reason. Maybe to hold a piece of paper on it. That is beside the

[RBW] Re: Removing shellac on paint

2016-02-23 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Somebody already said it, but here's a repeat with some background. Shellac comes off the tree as a solid, and is liquified for use with denatured alcohol, its solvent. So denatured alcohol has to make the list of Go To shellac removers...and related to that...the gel form of alcohol may stay i

[RBW] Re: suspicious Cheviot on Bay Area CL

2016-02-19 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Former ultra-p/t BikeBookHatchet employee. Kind of a bummer. She loved the bike, but...yep. On Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 8:38:23 PM UTC-8, Kurt Manley wrote: > > $700, Listed on CL in 2 cites far apart. Possibly legit but if you are > missing a Cheviot you might want to take a look. > > htt

[RBW] Re: What's in a Rivendell name?

2016-02-15 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Good idea! It might be a bit creepy, but Tad Lewd might fly as a model name...under the right circumstances. I am impressed and slightly surprised that the list is so long. On Sunday, February 14, 2016 at 8:36:51 AM UTC-8, Lungimsam wrote: > > Interesting bike names: > > Clem, > Homer, > Roscoe,

[RBW] Re: craigslist PSA- 45cm Clem frame in Brooklyn NY

2016-02-14 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Dang, it's a bummer for me. I don't understand it. The CLEM..my god, it's dang perfect---or at least, it came out the way I'd intended, and is such a good deal. This makes me feel like a failure. I can see selling bikes after years--things change, maybe the need for sudden money, maybe some trag

[RBW] Re: New 1 1/8" threadless stem on 2/10 Blug

2016-02-13 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We have considered the re-muv-a-plate and have not totally rejected it. I think I'm the only one here who has any misgivings at all, but I'm also the one who'd get in trouble if Joe Blow blew it with the bolts and got hurt--and tragically, that influences things, sometimes. I feel an emoticon c

[RBW] Re: Rosco Bubbe

2016-02-12 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
Right, Joe. Here's the whole short story: When somebody buys a bike, we have to account for the possibility that they'll smash a fork in a wreck. We don't keep statistics on this, but it's got to be way less than 1 percent, and way more than zero (as the bent Roadeo fork in the current BLUG sho

[RBW] Re: Local Rivendell Dealer suggestions for DELMARVA area?

2015-07-10 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
> I don't detect MUCH confusion about why we want to open a few dealers, but > maybe there's some, so here's the whole thing: Our sales have been about > $2.85 million a year for several years straight (a 5-year low of $2.8, and > two years of $2.9) I don't know whether that sounds high or low

Re: [RBW] Grant's review in WSJ

2015-04-14 Thread Grant @ Rivendell
We'll have a pdf of it on the site or blug within a day or two. On Sunday, April 12, 2015 at 10:53:51 AM UTC-7, Patrick Moore wrote: > > Is there any way for someone who does not subscribe to get behind the > paywall to see the text? > > Thanks. > > On Sun, Apr 12, 2015 at 11:39 AM, 'richard sul