^
There are a few flaws to the idea of this frame:

A: The sloping top tube, for the fit shown, is counterproductive to the rider's standover height. The same exact fit could have been achieved with a level top tube (at the standover height at the seatpost). Instead of inverting the North Road handlebars, they'd be set normally; making up for the lost headtube length. However, the design does make sense if a tall rider were to set it up just as shown, with the bars set right-side-up.

B: Why stiffen only part of the frame? Even if only for looks, the design would look much more elegant with a third pair of stays.

C: This is a personal opinion more than anything else, but given the single ring and the circular chainring design, wouldn't it be wise to design such a frame to fit a chainguard of equal elegance? I'm not suggesting that it must be used, but a few extra braze-on mounting holes (as opposed to the $5-buck, fits-anything, clamp-on Wald design) for a chainguard specialized to work with this frame (and other Riv products) would be sublime.

D: P clips to brace the front rack? I'm not against P-clips, but when a frame is specially designed for loaded touring, I would have expected a helpful braze-on in this spot.

-Kurt