I read "Just Ride" about the same time I found Bike Forums and crushed on bikes as a hobby. I was on board then - retro premium mountain bikes and extra-relaxed sport touring bikes, sometimes with high handlebars, and a nice stepthrough. It would have been cool to grab one of the tandems if I'd had the scratch. I don't mind if it's made in Taiwan, I don't think their torch gas or skills are any better or worse than Americans.

I just haven't been able to follow what he's up to since then with the Clem, which just seems ill proportioned (tho improved now with the straightened seat stays), and now especially the kid seat bike. How do you convince people "most bikes are just too short to work well" when in fact those seats are designed to work with Dutch bikes that you can buy right now without waiting for a Riv preorder? How many of his customers will have 1-2yo children, the only age at which the front seat works, at just the right time when the bikes come in? How many new parents have two or three grand to build up the bike? Jeez. Tandems are a tough enough sell without doing this to yourself.