For those of you who haven't been following Rivendell closely, this ain't the first time they've had money problems. At the very beginning Grant sold stock at $1 a share to friends. I'm not sure what they got out of it.

What's the difference between Grant/Rivendell and George Bailey/Savings and Loan?

Lot of people here helping out George, a few Potters have chipped in.

Grant's a few years older than me, which means he's probably not very far from a retirement. He's already stated that he's thinking of how to keep Rivendell around when he's gone. They've discussed moving the company to Southern Oregon, which would cut costs. There's also thinking of a "succession" plan. Maybe the new decision maker(s) will start looking at Rivendell more as a business. Something tells me, however, that part of the appeal of Rivendell is the quixotic nature of their business. People want to believe that everything mainstream is a conspiracy to take money out of our pockets without regard to the value of what's returned. Maybe people are right.

Many of those that consider themselves part of the Elfdom seem to believe everything that comes out on the Blahg. Doesn't that just replace the believe that bike should be as light as possible, disc brakes are for every day riding, and carbon fiber is the ultimate in frame material?

I think many of us just root for a guy who's willing to go against the mainstream.