For me it started when I was looking for a better option for my short
commute in Cambridge, MA (used to commute through the winter on a 3-speed
vintage Triumph)
A co-worker had a Surly LHT and directed me to a Crosscheck that came up
for sale from a local fellow (I'm pretty sure he had been
Fun stories! Thank you too Jack for raising the topic.
I took the Lovely Bicycle path to discover Rivendell. The more I read the
more I connected with Grant's writing, lugged steel frames (while still
riding my lugged steel '85 Trek 400) and all the supporting parts,
clothing, etc. This was a
Oh yeah...I remember that book! Man, some of those bikes were gorgeous and
the photography was first-rate. Great recommendation!
On Monday, December 13, 2021 at 1:28:44 PM UTC-6 aeroperf wrote:
> I’m enjoying these responses immensely, mostly because I knew nothing
> about Riv or Grant until
I got my start in cycling back in early 2006 riding fixed gears, and I
burnt through countless frames and configurations, always with extreme drop
from saddle to bars.
After some health stuff came up I fell off with cycling for many years
before picking up a 1991 MB-2 from the original owner
2014 - back surgery that ended my days riding with the local cycling club,
which modeled the typical road riding group with club kits and racing
bikes. Sold my Cannondale CAAD9. 6 months later, when it looked like I
would be able to resume bike riding in some form I desired to build up a
Kushan: Any idea why you were slower on the CF bike, which I assume was
lighter than any Rivendell model?
I realize that the factors making one bike slower or faster than another,
let alone those affecting comfort, are hugely varied, but it's certainly a
topic that interests me, since several of
Thanks, Ryan. Now, that article is really a blast from the past. 20 mm head
tube extension! High bar 4" below saddle! Looong 42.5 cm chainstays! 10 mm
dropouts! (One thing I disliked about the otherwise top-of-pile 1999 Joe
Custom was the "short horizontal" dropouts as Riv used to describe them. I
I’m enjoying these responses immensely, mostly because I knew nothing about
Riv or Grant until after I rode my friend’s Sam in 2010.
So I was initially surprised by the number of folks here who have come up
from Bridgestone through Grant to Rivendell.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. My LBS
My partner mentioned something called a "Cheviot" on one of our first dates
and I inelegantly pretended to know what she was talking about. I found
this forum not long after and became an avid reader to try and impress her.
I took a trip out to Walnut Creek, rode a few models, was blown away by
Eric - I had to listen to the sermon on too-small-a-frame from Walnut
Creek, too, before I bought my Rambouillet back in '05. I had one existing
road bike, an early 70's Fuji Finest with a 21" (roughly 53 & 1/3 cm) frame
that I had crashed and needed to replace. So I ordered a 54cm from Peter
It was 2005, and I was looking for a fixed-gear capable bike to ride long
distances. I had signed up to be part of the Big Fix cross-country ride in
2006, and it was clear that my Soma was not going to fit the bill—fast and
light, but not great for multiple days in the saddle.
My friend, the
In 1994 I bought an MB-1 and loved it. I had a friend, Matt Caruso, that
worked at Bridgestone in the early 1990s; perhaps he steered me to the IBOB
group. I loved the 1992-1993-1994 Bridgestone catalogs and longed for the
quirky XO-1. As Bridgestone folded and Rivendell emerged, I was sad to
After a year of pandemic riding on an aluminum hybrid bike in 2020, I was
ready to buy a more "serious" bike for longer rides. A lot of people and
shops I talked to recommended a carbon road bike was the natural choice and
that's what all the serious cyclists rode. Before jumping on that
I had been idly considering a Hillborne for quite some time because it
checked all the boxes for me on capability, and I was Riv-curious for a
couple years but enjoyed my Soma too. I naively thought that when the 2019
batch of Hillbornes were gone, they'd never be back or at least never be
I know Bicycling did a short review of the all-rounder in the nineties;
might have been Jim Langley and Addison Wilhite who wrote the Rambler blog
scanned many early Rivendell reviews. I rather like this review of the Riv
Road by Garrett Lai of Bicycle Guide who had a stable of really good
If anyone can find this review and post it or a link to it, I'd be very
grateful.
On Sun, Dec 12, 2021 at 8:01 PM wrote:
> I read a review of a Riv Road in Bicycling magazine in the late 90’s and
> that review led me to research Rivendell bicycles. That research led me to
> the BOB group which
I remember that Bicycling review. "Will people interested in lugged steel
frames and friction shifting pay for it?"
On Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 7:01:57 PM UTC-8 Robert Tilley wrote:
> I read a review of a Riv Road in Bicycling magazine in the late 90’s and
> that review led me to
I read a review of a Riv Road in Bicycling magazine in the late 90’s and that
review led me to research Rivendell bicycles. That research led me to the BOB
group which soon lead to a custom order for an All Rounder being placed.
Grant made a lot of sense to me in his bike designs and
Because I wanted a 26" wheel road bike that handled better than my 1992
XO-1.
Backstory: For some reason I decided about 1990 that 26" wheels were better
for road riding than 700C and, after road-ifying several mountain bikes
(wonderful 1991 Stumpjumper Team was the summit and apex) I discovered
I see Laura B’s thread about Susie vs. Platy, and Iconley’s timeline with
15 Riv bikes, and so I thought I’d ask:
What made you buy your first Rivendell bicycle?
Not “What do you like about Rivendell bicycles”, or “Why did you buy a
second one?”, but why did you buy your first?
In my case
I
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