corwin1968

The 730 is a 21" (53.5cm) frame and I suspect that I would actually be happier with a 23" frame. I rode the exact same year, make and model 730 in a 19" size from 1995 to 2007, never once realizing how under-sized it was! I would get a 56 Atlantis, 56 LHT and a 58 (55mm seat-tube...they measure size differently) Pangea.

It came with 175mm cranks (shown) but yesterday I installed a Deore Hollowtech II crankset, also 175mm. I originally planned to use a 170mm crankset I have but it's from the 80's and I can't find a cartridge BB with a wide enough spindle to let me use that crank with a granny ring. I haven't scraped a pedal yet and I've done a lot of turning on the bike. I just instinctively keep my pedal in the 12 o'clock position on the side I'm leaning toward. Pedal scrape could definately be an issue if one isn't careful.

dwbstr

I haven't read the whole thread but would my "94 Bridgestone RB1 qualify? Sorry, no pic.

fietsbob

... that's OK, I have one, I can look at Mine.

kingston 

The bike you ride is a fashion statement, just like the clothes you wear, the car you drive and the house you live in. Your bike tells the world something about your character and your values. There are lots of bikes that will take you from point A to point B, but only one kind of bike will tell the world that you are riding there on a Rivendell.

I have read this entire thread with great interest over the last several days and have come up with a list of most of the bikes mentioned and the fashion statement that I think each makes. It's supposed to be funny so please don't take it the wrong way. Notice that I own several of the bikes listed so I'm making fun of myself too. Whatever you do please don’t take yourself too seriously, I sure don’t.

[table="width: 800, align: left"]
[tr]
[td]Bike[/td]
[td]Fashion Statement[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Any steel bike with fenders, wide tires and a rack that is not a total piece of crap[/td]
[td]I believe that the only reason to ride a carbon fiber frame is if you race, and you better have it loaded with top-of-the line components so I know you’re serious. Aluminum is good for beer cans, but it is not a suitable material for a bike frame. Don’t even talk to me about exotic materials like titanium or bamboo.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Rivendell A. Homer Hilson[/td]
[td]I used to be pretty fast. In those days we nailed cleats to our leather shoes and wore wool jerseys and shorts. Those days are long gone, but I still enjoy getting out on my bike and going for long leisurely rides. Since I have no interest in going very fast anymore, I have no need for modern advancements like brifters, clipless pedals, spandex or any other component that sacrifices convenience or durability for weight.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Rivendell Atlantis[/td]
[td]I have a good job and enough money to splurge a little on a nice toy for myself. I got this bike because it's the baby bear of the Rivendell lineup. Not too racey, not too heavy, but just right. When I’m not riding it to the farmer’s market to pick up some fresh produce, I’m driving my Subaru to my kid’s soccer game.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Rivendell Hunqapillar[/td]
[td]I wanted to get an Atlantis, but Grant told me that a man of my stature should be riding a Hunq. Don’t pay any attention to the clydesdale on the bike. Check out this awesome paint job.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Rivendell Roadeo[/td]
[td]I'm not as fast as I used to be, but I’m still pretty fast. Now that I can’t keep up with the lead pack anymore, I have decided to settle down and stop buying a new bike every other year. I’ve set this bike up sensibly and expect to ride it for several years. I consider this bike to be cheap compared to my last bike which was a ten thousand dollar madone.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Rivendell CHEVIOT[/td]
[td]Now that I’m getting older, I can’t stay hunched over for very long. It hurts my back and my neck, but I find that I can still enjoy a nice bike ride if I can sit bolt-upright. 25 miles is a long ride for me, but hey, at least I’m still getting out there.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Rivendell Sam Hillborne[/td]
[td]I’m still on the fence about the whole Rivendell thing. I really wanted a Homer or an Atlantis, but I got this instead because I couldn’t justify the extra expense for a bike made in Wisconsin. What the heck, everything else I have is made in China. I will either drink the Kool-Aid and start collecting Rivendells or go back to riding a normal bike. I haven't decided yet. [/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]SOMA San Marcos[/td]
[td]I like the idea of riding a Rivendell but I'm too cheap to spend the extra couple hundred bucks for a Sam Hillborne. There is no way in the world I will ever chunk down the cash for a Rivendell that was made in America. I can still tell everyone that my bike has Rivendell lugs designed by Grant, and that’s good enough for me.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]80’s steel sport touring bike with fenders and a bell[/td]
[td]I'm extremely frugal and a little nuts. I rode this bike (or one just like it) in the 80’s. It was good enough for me back then, and it’s good enough for me now. I ride thousands of miles a year and can ride circles around just about everyone but the really fast guys. I am an accomplished mechanic and have personally cleaned and polished every nut, bolt and bearing on this antique. Be prepared for a long boring conversation if you ask me about my bike.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]90’s rigid steel mountain bike set up for touring with slicks, fenders, racks, tall handlebars and lights. [/td]
[td]I’m a little eccentric and pretty handy with a wrench. I like the idea of adventure touring and someday when I take my tour of the himalayas I will have no problem finding spokes for my 26” wheels, but I can’t remember the last time I took this bike more than 20 miles from my house. I don't mind locking it up downtown because no one would ever want to steal this bike since it looks like a total beater. [/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Late model steel touring touring bike (LHT, Trek 520, Jamis Aurora, Kona Sutra, Novara Randonee, Raleigh Sojourn, Fuji Tour, etc.)[/td]
[td]I’m pretty new to cycling so I didn’t want to spend too much money on a new bike, and the guy at the shop said this would be a nice comfortable bike that I could ride on the bike paths around my house or take for a longer ride if I wanted to. If I start to really get into cycling I may get a better bike, but probably not. I really like this one. I may be able to change a flat, but anything more complicated than that, and I’m taking it back to the shop.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Full Custom[/td]
[td]I may not be rich, but I absolutely love cycling and don’t mind spending a lot of money on a bike that is exactly what I want since I will spend a lot of time on this bike and will have it for many years. This is not my first or only bike, but I love it and it’s totally worth it for me[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

RaleighSport

Do Junky CB-2's built up to the psycho riding it's specs count?

Brennan

Darn, I feel left out (surly cross check). I guess I would fit into the first category, but I've got nothing against other frame materials, they're just not for me. Among Riv bikes, I lust for the Hunq.

mikeybikes

After more than four years of discussion on this topic, did we ever conclusively determine what the poor man's Rivendell is? I feel bad for @futuregrace if he hasn't picked one out yet...

Brennan

Based on a post from another thread, it looks like he went with a Cross Check.

https://www.bikeforums.net/recreation...l#post15088275

NormanF

Basically, if you like a C&V bike, you're a Grant Petersen fan.

Its a heated debate about the virtues of a classic bike over at C&V. You'll either love it or hate it.

corwin1968

I think the definition varies from person to person.

For me, a poor man's Rivendell is a steel bike that emphasizes comfort, reliability and utility. That's a general idea. More specifically, I keep hearing that Rivendells have particular ride characteristics that many people seem to really love. That's what really intrigues me about Rivendells.

Some people emphasize specific details, like lugs, a 1" quill stem, a fancy paintjob, all silver components, a Sugino square taper crankset, etc and that's fair because those details do differentiate Rivendells from 99% of the bike market.

noglider 

@corwin1968, I have a rear hub I'm not using. It has a roller brake internally and takes an 8- or 9-speed cassette. Interesting?

rekmeyata

A Rivendell isn't any better than any other top of the line touring bike. I actually like the ride of my Mercian over my friends Rivendell...of course he likes the ride of his Rivendell over my Mercian! He does weigh 230 pounds vs 164 for me so maybe with more weight the Rivendell rides better? I don't know, but I do know this, it's all subjective.

Mercian is a lot like Rivendell...actually Rivendell is a lot like Mercian since all the stuff that Rivendell does Mercian was doing before Grant was born! And Mercian even takes it a step further than anyone else in the world by heating the entire frame in an open hearth while brazing so as to eliminate overheating the tube, then use air and natural gas to join the lugs and tubes rather than oxy-acetylene method which delivers a far greater degree of heat to the area weakening the frame in those areas. This method also allows for no heating damage if a frame is sent in for repair unlike other methods. Mercian will do any custom feature you want for close to the price of an Atlantis that can't do any custom features, with the better frame construction quality and maybe even better paint then a Rivendell!

Paint wise it's a toss up between stove enamel (hardened in stoves) and Imron (chemically hardened), or polyurethane is what it actually is, Imron scratches easier but enamel supposedly can chip, however a lot of old timer frame builders say that stove enamel doesn't chip and that's why a lot of older bikes painted with stove enamel have held up better than modern paints.

mikeybikes

What particular ride characteristics to Rivendells have that you can't get elsewhere?

Rivendell just sells bikes that are made "like they used to make them." That's not saying they're bad or anything, I just don't understand why people try and measure their own bikes up to a Rivendell. Further more, half the bikes posted in this thread have very little in common with a Rivendell, except that maybe they're bicycles.

rekmeyata

I agree, there are a lot of custom builders that make bikes as good or better than Rivendell like Anderson, K.Bedford, Vanilla, Boedie, Chris King, Ellis, Curt Goodrich, Bruce Gordan, Waterford, Kirk Frameworks, Nobilette, Shamrock, and a lot more. But to say that Rivendell is the supreme of all those is just pure nonsense, Rivendell is just another one of those.

katzenfinch

In the early 1980s my dream bike was a Trek 720, which had a made-in-Wisconsin steel frame with a relaxed touring geometry and three sets of braze-ons for water bottles, along with nice components. I couldn't afford one though, so I got a Trek 614 instead and loved it. At one cycling event I spotted a 720 that appeared to have been fitted with 26" MTB wheels, making it essentially an all-rounder. That bike was the bee’s knees as far as I was concerned.

I still haven't managed to get a 720, but I did get an Atlantis. It has a made-in-Wisconsin steel frame with a relaxed geometry and three sets of braze-ons for water bottles, along with nice components and 26" wheels. Trek 720s in good shape command pretty high prices so I don’t know if they would quality as "poor man's" Rivendells, but they definitely could occupy the same niche.

icepick_trotsky 

The answer might be . . . a Rivendell.

I saw this blugpost earlier today. Riv is aiming for a $1500 complete bike with their next model: BLUG ? Red and yellow, black and white?.

Andy_K 

From the blugpost:

So, yeah, a $1500 bike totally makes sense for that.

icepick_trotsky 

Yeah, that's pretty out of touch with reality, but the lower price point is attractive nonetheless.

irwin7638

A guy on a Cervelo rode up to me at a charity ride looked at my Hunqapillar and asked "Why would anybody want a bike like that?" I said to go to the grocery store, or over the Himalayas, or anywhere else. They are good for just about anything.

Marc

long john

And you said when looking at his cervelo why do u need a bike like that. Lol to each his own.

blakcloud

Kingston,

This was spot on, I have the Sam Hillborne and you nailed me. Brilliant writing. Thanks for the chuckle.

revcp 

I've never ridden a Rivendell. People really love them, so I would like to try one out one of these days. Can't see myself buying one, though, as even $1,500 is too rich for me. I also really, really, really can't stand their smug IBike writing style. The Dollar Store bit that yucks at actual poverty is bad. Almost as bad is this: "...lots of people can’t afford $2600 for a bike, and although there are a FEW good bikes that sell for a thousand or more less, there aren’t all that many, and we figure we can do as good a job (+) as anybody." Absolutely insufferable.

RJM

I generally get pretty good comments on my Roadeo and Sam, but I had a friend rib me a bit about the bar end shifters on the Sam last year. It was all in good fun though. I like all bikes, and can appreciate a Cervelo as much as a Rivendell. I like my Rivs though; they ride great.

Medic Zero

Pretty much a Riv.

aquateen

Here's my poor man's Riv. '83 Schwinn Traveler turned townie. 4130 frame, leather saddle, upright bars, basket. I'm debating about whether or not it's worth doing a 700c conversion as I'm not sure how much of an improvement it would make clearance-wise. Pretty happy with it as is currently.