Originally Posted by
BillyD
I must be a rocket scientist because I have the perfect solution: If you don't like Rivendell, don't go to their web site or consider their bikes.
...and make every effort possible to avoid the topic of cycling when in the company of known adherents...
Something just occurred to me:
The other day, I was refuelling my motorcycle, a Ducati 900SS, which can be considered a 'crotch rocket', when a Harley-Davidson owner, whom I did not know but was also refuelling at the same tank station, walked away from his Road King (a touring motorcycle with windshield, bags and plush suspension) over to me and asked, "Nice sport bike. So, when are you going to sell it and get a 'real' bike, a Harley?" (For those unfamiliar with motorcycles, Ducati is basically the motorcycle equivalent of Ferrari...or Colnago.
)
Rivendell and Harley are kissing cousins!
Neither really markets a product so much as they sell a 'lifestyle'.
It's not about the bikes, it's about their vision of the biking ideal, and
that is exactly why their customers are so zealous. They're not defending a product, they're defending their lifestyle as well as trying to proselytize. They love their product so much they want you to enjoy it as much as they do, wanting to share their happiness. Concurrently, they get very frustrated and even offended if you don't want to embrace their belief structure.