pastorbobnlnh 

"What's old is new."

Exactly, and then the description posted by @fender1 proves it is inspired by '80s MTBs (except the slopping top tube ). But what a load of $$$ BS in that description! Case in point:

1988 Schwinn High Sierra: $150 off Ebay and a local pickup by @rootboy and a later delivery by @top506. Ready to ride as found, but I dumped about $75 into it for fenders, racks, tires and treking bars.



1985 or 86 Trek 830 Antelope: Free find at the dump. Needed a good bit of cleaning and overhaul. Replaced the tires/tubes (60mm tire clearance? Easy peasy with these 2.5" monsters), brake pads, chain, and grips for about $125 (tires were pricey to go that big).



Watchout you young wipper-snapper! Those are fighting words! Come climb mountains with me here in NH!

mparker326

I will chime in and be the lone disenting voice so far. I like them. They are an 80's MTB clone with some geometry tweeks to be used as a do it all bike at a lower price point.

While we on here love scouring CL for vintage MTB's that cost a fraction of what they sold for new and then spending hours getting our hands dirty swapping out parts, most people don't. GP has hyped old MTB's for years and obviously he thinks there is a market for these. Not many of us on here make up Grant's market. Unless he puts out a bike that sells for a lot and then can be picked up for a song later, he won't ever appeal to very many on here.

seely

I'll say it:

I kind of like it, and I think it does have it's place.

That said, I can understand why most people here wouldn't. We (myself included!) are tinkerers and parts bin vultures. We can look at a 1984 Trek Antelope and immediately see it with drop bars and Suntour shifters. A lot of people can't, are too intimidated, or don't have the time to invest into refurbing an old MTB

In my case, it took me years before I found a good quality used MTB, in my size, in good condition, and at a reasonable price (~$130 if I recall...). At the time I was looking, if I would have had the money, HELL YES I would have been looking at the Clem! Do you know how hard it is to find a ~23" quality rigid MTB around here?? Even then, there are aspects of the geometry I appreciate on the Clem you aren't necessarily going to find on an older MTB, like the extra long chainstays and a lower BB. A lot of the older MTB's have very high BB's, when compared to modern bikes.

It's not a traditionally "Rivendell beautiful" bike by any means, but its utilitarian-ness is beautiful it it's own right.

What I see here is the same thing you see on 4x4 forums... the old "Jeeps are built, not bought!" mantra. It makes sense that most of us like "the thrill of the hunt" for an old project bike, and then the ensuing months, or years, of accumulating parts and tinkering till we get the right setup. It's not for everyone, though!

gomango

Agreed.

They have managed to build/design a frameset that the "unaware" would stumble upon and then overpay for.

Out of the dozens of shops we have in the Twin Cities, I can maybe only see a couple ordering one of these, building it and marketing it.

One offs don't pay the rent.

As for finding used mtbs, just drop a note to one of my boys. They seem to drag home a steady stream of these things at the $20 price point.

Garage sale fodder.

Chrome Molly

I have equal and probably better old 26 inch frames hanging in the basement that I've gotten for free along the way. If I can't muster the interest to build those up, then forking our $$$ for a clem isn't likely to happen. Grip shifters and a padded spring seat on it would complete the look in as far as I would find a use for a clem.

Italuminium

Besides all the pro's and con's of Rivs marketing strategy, there's a reason why bikes with this geometry disappeared. Long chainstays like this ruin any ride.

TugaDude

The ride is the thing. I'll keep my powder dry until someone in the non-Riv store has ridden one and reports. As for looks, to each his/her own.

TugaDude

Do you seriously think Grant would put a bike on his site that had poor ride characteristics? He has his detractors and sychophants, but the man knows a good ride. Give him his due.

bikemig 

+ 1. Vintage quality mtbs are getting harder to find and more expensive.

Velocivixen

I saw the prepainted prototypes, then the painted ones. I would rather have a pre-painted one. They look more interesting.

lostarchitect 

I just don't see what market they're going for here. At $850 for a frame they're still way too expensive for a casual rider to pick one up--say, the kind of person who might buy a Linus or Electra. And I don't think the styling's going to fly with people who otherwise would buy a Riv. VO has better looking, more capable, cheaper welded frames, starting at $540... Maybe they're hoping serious Riv fans will pick one up as a 2nd bike? I dunno.

Plus I think they're kind of ugly.

Italuminium

Great designers make a lot of monday morning decisions too. I love some of his models, but this is just a weird and bad idea.

rhm

Well, I don't really have a problem with the man's frame. That might interest me if I wanted something like that (I don't), and didn't want something that was "used" (I'm fine with used stuff). A lot of people don't like to buy second hand stuff, for reasons I don't consider rational, but whatever. The woman's frame, however, looks just appalling to my eye.

That said...as far as I'm concerned this competes with the Rawland Ravn, and I'm actually tempted by that one.

Bikedued

You either don't own a bike with panniers, or have very short feet.,,,,BD

fender1

I think you are in the ballpark. Plus I think this is a response to the folks who criticize Riv's "Just Ride" philosopy, when the bikes they sell cost thousands.

icepick_trotsky 

I agree with others that this could be a very bad sign for Riv's financial health. They're moving away from what they do best to chase new markets at a much lower price point and who are much less serious riders. Then they're casting off prototypes at bargain bin prices.

Fred Smedley

I have a 86 Fisher Montare hanging in the Shed that would be a cheap version of that. I paid $60.00 for it for the parts hanging on it. A 86 Bridgestone MB-2 would be another example of similar frame design that would not break the bank. If you wanted 700C Raleigh Grand Sport will take large tires and fenders.

seely

A $850 frameset is still easily a $1,200+ bike... quite a bit above "bargain bin." I'm also not convinced this is for "less serious" riders as several people have said. Different needs/riding style than a traditional Riv, yes, but I don't see it as their answer to a Trek hybrid.

Italuminium

I do have tiny feet.

Fred Smedley

Well you are wrong, long chainsnstays are compliant and put the wheels in the right place for a upright riding position.

Italuminium

Yes, if you want to recreate the ride of an old roadster on a nice old MTB frame, that is true. But this frame is unroadsterish because of the style with a sloping top tube, limited use for IGH/SS use (vertical dropouts) and the 26" wheels (559) in the smaller sizes. But if you want a cheap and cheerful all-steel off road experience, my money would be on a Surly or an On-one.

Kobe 

Just 3 different size frames is the biggest disappointment for me. Rivendell makes most of their bikes in very large sizes, the AHH goes all the way up to 71cm. Yet the Clem stops at 59cm.

mrv 

I'll be PRO - post number 5 our of 48 - I like the frame. I like that it's built with long term utility in mind, room for "middle-aged" tires, lots of braze-ons (front and rear), and doesn't have a carbonfiber fork.

Hunting for old MTBs is fine, but unless someone is selling that old MTB in their garage, me laying my hands on it is called "Breaking and Entering". That said, I did get a 'free' RockHopper which is my drop-bar converter touring bike.

So what would I get if I spent $700~$850 on a Riv-frame? I'd finally get a Riv-frame at about a third of their other frames. I'd also get a larger wheel size.

The medium Clem looks to almost match my RockHopper (ST 53cm, TT 59cm) - the Clem is REALLY close, I emailed Keven. Frame dimensions should be up next week.

I'd also get more room for fenders.

What am I NOT getting - not made in the USA (Taiwan, just like my RockHopper) - not getting a custom bike (which I'd really like to do) - not building my own bike (which I'd really like to do).

I'm also not getting divorced, so until I get my kid's college paid off, I'm very unlikely to be getting another bike (Riv or otherwise) clocking in around $1200~$1500 (depending on racks & fenders).

mstateglfr 

I understand that Riv is out on the laughably expensive bike kingdom of the Bay Area, but this part of the writeup is just insane.

And 80s MTB costs $250 and requires $800 to repair? He is saying 80s MTBs cost between $800 and $1050 to get on the road. Come again?

Darth Lefty 

I tried to Google up what they were working on next but all I found was a photo of a hot-dog-and-oyster omelette.