I don't know what the Rivendell philosophy is. I can share my experience though. The short story is:
Anyone over 250 lbs that wants to ride on the road and do long miles, but not race, needs to ride a steel bike.
The long story is I've owned carbon, aluminum, steel and titanium bikes and steel is where it is at, imo. What the dealer won't tell you is most of Specialized carbon bikes (if not all) have a weight limit of 240 lbs. Granted, they will support more than that, but the manufacturer says don't ride them if you are over that.
As for where to get reasonably priced, but good steel bikes:
Black Mountain Cycles - Call Mike have him build you one to your specs
Adrenaline Bikes - Call them and tell them your budget and they will put you on a good steel bike (Soma, Ritchey, Gunnar, etc.)
Excel Sports - Online Bicycle Retailer - Call them and ask for pricing on a Ritchey Road Logic build
Bicycle Doctor USA Home - Call them and ask for pricing on a Ritchey Road Logic build
All of these places, you can tell them about you, your type of riding, they will get measurements and build a bike for you at a reasonable price.
On the flip side if you want to buy used, start combing Craigslist for Soma, Ritchey, All-City, Kona, Jamis, Gunnar steel bikes. Post them here and we can help you pick one out.
Welcome and good hunting
