uprightbent

From my early addiction I was drawn to Rivendell's site with beautiful stuff and clever writing. Now I'm seeing a weird, if not bizarre pattern. Today there's a hideous set of shoe covers and rain gear to make you look like the Gorton's fisherman guy in the commercial. Remember the expensive axes, to carry on your bike? Awful garish "MUSA" labels the size of an index card. And to top it off, today there's a link to some rambling professor at SUNY, which is over my head.

I remember the stunning A. Homer Heilsen sp? frames, and now we've got something called a Hunquapillar and double top tube stuff? Way too many sloping tubes, in fact I don't think there's one frame with a level tube any longer. I'd like to see them return to C & V roots, like the direction VO has seriously charted so well.

runningDoc

what if they just reissued the old high end Bridgestone stuff under a Rivendell badge? that would be nice.

clasher

Email 'em and see what they say?

Veloria

I don't like the Hunquapillar either; I think they went overboard with that one.

The Hilsen, the Quickbeam and the Roadeo have straight top tubes.

ColonelJLloyd 

Agreed. The Hunquapillar seems to be way overbuilt. Who will actually use that bike as it was designed? Not many, I suspect. The diagonal tube configuration is offensive to my C&V sensibilities. It's just plain ugly.

I have a friend who owns, rides and loves his Quickbeam (although he replaced the crank and wheelset). It's a nice bike and I really like the rear dropouts, but the cantilever brakes are overkill for sure and the original crank was ugly.

Veloria

For me, the cantilever brakes on my Sam Hillborne are fantastic, because I have a weak hand grip that makes using many types of brakes a problem when going at high speeds. I find the cantilevers, in combination with the Tektro short reach levers I love, easier to adjust in a way that makes modulating the brakes possible afor me. Centerpulls do almost as well in that respect, but who makes bikes for centerpulls nowadays.

Having said that, if I were getting a Quickbeam (sadly, they are no longer available in my size), I would be riding it as a fixed gear roadbike. In which case pretty much everything they have on it is overkill. I'd want front brake only, a simple "normal" drivetrain, and clearance for 32mm tires max. I am looking forward to the Simpleone's release, which from what I hear, might - just might - be simpler. And hopefully it will have a straight top tube.

southpawboston

all it takes to make a bike that was designed for sidepulls to be centerpull-compatible is to add front and rear cable hangers.

cudak888 

Probably cashing in on Yehuda Moon.



-Kurt

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

is Yehuda wearing Clarks?

rootboy 

I agree. I think they've gone off the deep end, alas.

repechage

Riv' has to do as many do, get clients to buy repeatedly or expand the market, if stuff stays the same, those return sales are far apart. If the product evolves, and is of limited supply duration, then there is some hope. Not good for pre clients who see a bike on the road and inquire just to be informed its long gone, but there are other factors too. The economy, the sinking dollar, bikes are undergoing inflation at a rate that is closer to the medical field than durable goods. I hope they are here a year from now.

jamesj

That new The Hunquapillar is one ugly bike, It looks weird.

Even the Bombadil is changed, I liked the older version way better. I just liked the name also since he was one of my favorite characters in the book.

ColonelJLloyd 

If those are Wallabees than Yehuda is even more bada$$ than I thought. I tried riding my fixed gear in a pair the other day. Here's me just trying to get to my bike. Yes, the mustache is real and I've been working on it pretty hard.

tugrul

So, if I got this right, from tank to roadie is

BOMBADIL > Hunqapillar > Atlantis > Sam Hillborne (Betty Foy/Yves Gomez) > A. Homer Hilsen (Quickbeam) > Roadeo

jtgotsjets

You guys are not exactly the target demographic for Rivendell's bikes. I kinda doubt most of you have paid more than $50 for a bike, ever. Cheapskates.


Also, what's up with the hate on their rain gear? Gotta stay dry somehow.

KonAaron Snake 

I strongly disagree...many of have invested large amounts into dream bikes, we're mostly a bit older and past wannabee racer trendiness, we love steel and lugs and we value aesthetics. Many of us have or will invest in customs and/or other modern C and V KOF bikes. If Riv isn't attracting us, they have a problem.

mazdaspeed

Indeed, I'm not willing to pay $2000 for a glorified hybrid.

KonAaron Snake 

You're just cheap

surreal

i feel like riv tries its best to create its own niche, with it's own nomenclature, extensive use of 650b wheels (which doesn't bother me, but committing to a 650b bike does limit your rim/rubber choices), and trying to create the illusion that they are the only steel/big tire clearance/snooty purveyors of bikes out there. Apparently, it's worked well. I agree with repepage that they have to evolve to keep repeat customers. Most bike manufacturers do this with radical changes in space-age tubing materials or suspension technology. Being that this isn't riv's schtick, they're forced to doing new stuff with diagonal crossmembers and such. I think the biggest problem is the exhorbitant pricing; the frames cost too much, considering the materials/design/country of origin. They're not competing.

But, yo, it'd be bad@$$ if they reissued old bridgestone models, for real. I'll take the rb-t, please.

-rob

Sirrus Rider

Both look like plays on the old '80's MTB in old geezer colors. With that being said you could have the same thing by carefully shopping for a '80's MTB and put slicks on it and do it for less than quarter the price.

southpawboston

that's so interesting that you mention this. after reading some of this afternoon's comments in this thread, i went to rivendell's site to look at the frames in question. the same notion struck me-- these are simply reiterations of the rigid 80s steel mtb! and yet, in my opinion, they are marketed to an audience that would shun the notion that any 80s mtb could possibly be functional, comfortable, or good looking.

mattface

I think the Roadeo looks pretty nice, but right on their site they tell you it's a Waterford,a nd I have to wonder, why buy a Waterford from Rivendell, when you could just buy a Waterford from Waterford.

Considering most of their frames are $2000, and mass produced, i feel like there are much better options in that price range, depending upon the builder you can do a full custom for that price, for quite a bit less, you can get a production frame with custom options such as Bob Jackson, or Mercian. In fact I feel like most of the Schtick they are going on about in their description of the Roadeo aptly describes Rivendell's pricing on their made in Taiwan frames.

Veloria

Oh I realise that - but there are still different ways to re-design a product.

For example, in theory I could have "needed" 3 bikes from Rivendell: a touring bike, a fixed gear, and a versatile mixte. They sell all 3, but I only liked and bought the touring bike (the Hillborne). The Quickbeam and the Betty Foy are a little "off" for me.

Veloria

Put simply, because they give Waterford their own specs and their own lugs, and they select their own tubing. It's also less expensive, since the bikes are built in batches. Try getting a price quote from Waterford directly for a bike with equivalent specs (angles, clearances, braze-ons) and see what the price difference is.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

I still don't understand what's classic and vintage about Rivendell, or Velo Orange.

Last I checked they deal in new Items.