Touring - quick question for riv atlantis nerds:

Hi. A car wreck has smushed my LHT frame beyond repair. I am soon to be looking for a new frame (and many other components!), and i'm lookin' hard at the riv atlantis. Thing is, some pictures make it look like a good-ol' horizontal top-tube bike. Others have a sloped top-tube,or at least the pics I've seen make it look like they do. If anything, i'd be gunning for a brand-new 54.5cm 26" frame. Is this thing going to have a horizontal top-tube, or not?

(I'd email the perverts at riv, but i wouldn'twant to make'em think they have a definite sale...)

-rob

ps- yes,for that price, i know i could get a full-custom job... and i probablywill. Especially if the atlantis i'm lookin at has a slopey toptube.

i ride past the riv storefront daily. believe me, they are doing enough business to not care in the least if you ask them the question about the top tube. i wouldn't mention the word pervert though...

a second thought on the employees at riv,

they seem to be sheldon brown types. hard working, self confident, individualistic, non-traditional thinkers. probably, a nice bunch of guys...

Yes, it has a 2.5 degree upslope. You can look at the geometry at http://www.rivbike.com/assets/payloads/403/original_geometry.pdf

When I was deciding on my next bike, I called Rivendell a couple of times.
They are there to inform people about their bikes.

I like Rivendell just fine, my wife has one.

Most of the time, personally, I'd go with a different company.
Like this one...

http://gunnarbikes.com/site/bikes/grand-tour/

I talked to Riv a bit before I ordered my touring frame.
Nice enough guys, ok bikes. Alot like the surly you are replacing.

I would doubt you would notice a 2.5 degree slope in the TT.
I thought I would, until I rode a friends Riv Atl., after that, no effing way could I tell.
Not looking at it nor ridding it, I could when I took out a level, but that's the only way.

+1 on the gunnar, either custom or stock, good stuff, if you like tigged frames.


I would pick up the phone and call both of these bike shops, they are there to help you decide on their frames.

I wound up ordering another Davidson custom touring in a lugged frame. I have one of their bikes and really like it,
so I got them to build another one.


Please don't be shy about asking questions about anyone of these small builders frames, most are very nice and helpful.
I don't think Trek or such would be. But these small frame shops, sure.

The people at Riv. were very responsive to my questions about their Big racks. They even weighed a set for me and ended up adding the figures to the descriptions of the products on their site.

Agree with Huey's assessment of the employees.

Who cares about the slope? if anything, it is useful.

the real question is why would you ever pay 2000 dollars for a candy-a$$ copy of your 400 dollar frame? (The geos of the LHT and atlantis are *nearly* identical)

PS, i own a riv. I'm just saying...

As long as you are looking at expensive touring bikes, I'd suggest checking out Waterford's touring bikes.

I have one and really like it.

Ray

And .. Bruce Gordon.. the racks are made in His shop, there is 2 lines of frames,
BLT, he got a series made to his specs, in the same places Surly/QBP goes, Taiwan.
The Rock and Road is made in his shop, so you have custom add-ons possible ,
before the paint/powder goes on..

CoMotion.. they do the touring rig well too, fit Tubus racks,
there a disc brake becomes an option..

Who cares about the slope? if anything, it is useful.

the real question is why would you ever pay 2000 dollars for a candy-a$$ copy of your 400 dollar frame? (The geos of the LHT and atlantis are *nearly* identical)

PS, i own a riv. I'm just saying...

One big advantage of the LHT is that it is easy and cheap to replace! There's a benefit in using equipment that you don't have to worry so much about damaging.

Many of you suggested another LHT, which makes a lot of sense. I think the LHT fit me very well, and most of the components on it have seemingly survived the crash. Drive side pedal, crank,and FD are toast. NBD, as I was thinking of replacing the crank and FD anyway; the 26" wheels would probably go better with a 48t/36/26t chainset. Verdict is still out on the rear wheel, but i'm thinking it might be doomed. RD seems ok, front fork and front wheel are good, controls are good, dynamo light system is good, tubus racks are good,too. (I can't understand how the rear could be good, but it really does seem to be ok.) The frame is seriously smacked up, waaaaaaaaaay out of alignment. I'd heard horror stories about LHTs crumpling under load over nasty potholes, but this thing took the brunt of a pretty nasty accident, and it handled it better than the Honda Civic it was blocking... I'm impressed. The pedal put a hole in the other car's hood, and everything got compressed from that point inward towards my cars trunklid..

The slope on the Riv bothers me b/c i think it looks horribly uncool. Sorry, i know the cool kids all swear that aesthetics don't matter, but they do (to me). 2.5 degrees won't be noticeable while riding, but it's very noticeable in pics, and i know it'll make me wanna retch every time i approach the bike. The thing that bothers me about the LHT is mostly that I wanna go with a domestically produced frame,or maybe something from the UK. While I do think that the TIG welds are ugly, they aren't deal-breakers. (The slope on the riv TT wouldn't be a deal-breaker either, at $400...but at $2000/frameset,it'd better look cool.)

The gunnar touring bike? It's alright, but i'm prolly going to go with 26" wheels again... BG rock-n-road is a contender, though. The BLT is a bit spendy, and while it'd be nice to have his racks, i already have these tubus tara/cargo racks. In either case, they both have sloping toptubes...

Ah, well,I gotta wait for the check anyway, but the blue LHT is probably the most likely contender...

-rob

Contact waterford they will make you whatever you wish.

Or Davidson, and co-motion, all good bikes

Who cares about the slope? if anything, it is useful.

the real question is why would you ever pay 2000 dollars for a candy-a$$ copy of your 400 dollar frame? (The geos of the LHT and atlantis are *nearly* identical)

PS, i own a riv. I'm just saying...

I doubt that you'd regret the Atlantis. I went from LHT to a Hunqapillar and absolutely love it.

http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com/2011/04/cycle-touring-hunqapillars-natural.html

Marc

Thank you, everyone,for your advice. I've realized that the level of indecision is soooooo extreme, i think i'm going to experiment with my '87('88?) Miyata Terra Runner. I'll need to get some low-rider mounts brazed on,replace the crank, and figure something out with the rear-end spacing, but i'll still be saving money hand-over-fist, and tinkering (which i enjoy.)

regards,
-rob

I doubt that you'd regret the Atlantis. I went from LHT to a Hunqapillar and absolutely love it.

http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com/2011/04/cycle-touring-hunqapillars-natural.html

Marc

I haven't warmed to most of the newer Rivendell's because they have gone too far towards the rugged end of the spectrum for my likes. I own an Atlantis, but keep it for winter riding, as it feels heavy and sluggish. The best bike and most versatile bike they ever made was the Rambouillet. Her's another chance to post a pic of it set up with 37mm tyres for off road touring.

http://wheelsofchance.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/20110614-031042.jpg?w=468

I haven't warmed to most of the newer Rivendell's because they have gone too far towards the rugged end of the spectrum for my likes. I own an Atlantis, but keep it for winter riding, as it feels heavy and sluggish. The best bike and most versatile bike they ever made was the Rambouillet. Her's another chance to post a pic of it set up with 37mm tyres for off road touring.

http://wheelsofchance.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/20110614-031042.jpg?w=468

Sweet ride!

Marc

Sweet ride!

Marc

Thanks, I think they got the balance of response, tyre clearance, and ruggedness just right with the Rambouillet. Put some 23mm tyres on it and it is a great club racer. Put some 28 or 32 mms on there and it's a great randonee or regular light touring bike. I'm pushing it a bit with the 37mm tyres as I can't fit full fenders and the clearances are a bit tight, but it rides wonderfully.