Believe it or don’t- the actual Rivendell instructions say to grease the seat binder bolt.
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I figured I knew better- I’m an engineer!! - and we don’t add grease to newly installed fasteners. Probably there are lubricating properties to the plating used. And I figured all my old bikes have enough grit already in the seat tube I get good stichtion without carbon paste.
To go belts and suspenders- I went with greased binder bolt and carbon paste (in the seat tube).
i had some fear that introducing carbon to a Rivendell would set off some kind of atomic reaction, igniting the atmosphere into a ball of flame. But so far everything seems stable. So far!!
seatpost not slipping along the Rouge River
I’ll keep you updated- next post will be about the knocking while pedaling.
Almost every commercial bike I've owned suffered from the seat post slipping down. I didn't know about carbon paste and ended up using things like linseed oil (which goes sticky). Then I started making my own frames a few years ago. Zero slippage, just using regular grease, and modest torque on the binder bolt. I wonder if mass-manufacturers aren't reaming their seat tubes. A seat-tube should come with the ID slightly undersized and then be reamed after brazing/welding so that the seatpost fits perfectly and is gripped evenly all the way around (some people hone them as well although I don't bother). But I'm surprised you had problems on a Rivendell because I thought they were low-volume and hand-made to a high standard.