That's an amazing story indeed!

Thanks for the great story and the awesome pics, LeoBoon!

It sort of confirms what I thought to be reading between the lines until now, i.e. that the relationship between RIH Sport in Amsterdam and Cové was excellent as long as Cové was a subcontractor, building bikes to RIH's specifications. And that only after Wim van der Kaaij found out that the Bustraan heirs had sold the rights to the brand name to Cové, sometime in the mid-eighties, that things became sour. Leading to a court case in 1988, I believe, after which Van der Kaaij's production under the RIH brand was restricted to racing bikes with a maximum of 250 per year.

Van der Kaaij did launch his own brand, Vainqueur, but I don't know how many of those he actually sold. I have been keeping an eye out, but they rarely come up for sale.

Here's one that did appear in the classifieds recently:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...70011fe279.jpg

Headbadge:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e6dae6c899.jpg

DT sticker:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...68b54edd1a.jpg

Great story Leo :D

I remembered that one of my Rih bikes from 1976 had the Davie components BB so I looked it up for you. Alas no framenumber :(


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0524f138ab.jpg

BB


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2391956b32.jpg

Headlug


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a0c40b5d01.jpg

Well, ciccioformaccio, pullup, non-fixie, alexnagui thanks for your posts. And to answer your questions or comments: I tried to write a book twice on my adventures, once in the late 80s and once early 2000. It was more difficult than thought and at that time hard to find a publisher. So I did write stories and publish those in the 90s in North America. Since I moved in the late 80s to the Yukon in Canada, and started an adventure travel company there, canoe, kayak, rafting trips, hiking and mountain biking. Hence I had little time to write and living 2000 kms from the business world in an area the size of Germany and Austria together with only 20.000 people it was difficult to publish anything. But now I am retired I am pulling open boxes with journals and photos.

I did not know that Wim had started building bikes under the Vainqueur name. Thanks non-fixie. I so wished I had persisted in connecting with Wim when I was back in Holland in 2010 for a few weeks. Just kept showing up when the place was closed.

And what a gorgeous colour on the 9082 Rih, PullUp. Absolutely smashing.

Leo

Hi. I have purchased a RIH frame and bars ( frame number 5241 ). Just wondering what components this bike would have had?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...03d3b86e58.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0f6464c854.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9cb102f915.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...09f11fbf05.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a280801e02.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...582966418a.jpg

Welcome, woodger ! Nice! Early fifties, I'd say. Road or track frame? What bars?

And of course, pictures would be highly appreciated, so get your post count up to 10 asap, please. :)

road bike i believe, the stem is a titan and the bars have several names on them ( v steenbergen, a schotte ) it also has a TA cable guide thing.

road bike i believe, the stem is a titan and the bars have several names on them ( v steenbergen, a schotte ) it also has a TA cable guide thing.

Thank you! That'll give us something to go on. The Titan bars and stem are not a surprise, and would have been my guess, as they were popular at the time. From the late forties to the late sixties they were the gold standard in these parts, it seems. The bars can be dated by the world champions mentioned on them. Rick van Steenbergen became world champion in 1949 (Schotte in '48) so these bars would be 1950 or later. If the script is facing the rider, they could be original to the bike, if not, they would be later replacements.

As for the rest of the parts, I would suggest at looking at what Dutch pro riders were using in the early fifties. You should be able to find lots of pics, as this was a very successful period for the Dutch in racing. Talented frame builders, talented riders and a decent organization led to a Tour de France win in 1953 (when they were fielding national teams) and a Tour de France start in Amsterdam in 1954. RIH and Locomotief were the two biggest brands providing the racing bikes.

Off the cuff: I would expect Simplex Tour de France derailleurs, Weinmann brakes, a Titan seatpost, a Brooks saddle. Stronglight bottom bracket and cranks. Not sure about the wheels. Parts were generally French, Belgian or Swiss. Italian is far less likely.

Thankyou for the information. The script on the bars does face the rider. So Italian components ( campagnolo )were not used that much on a RIH of this age? Do you know if the brake bridge were ever threaded. I can get the bolt on a caliper through the front of the bridge but not the back ,only when screwed.

I don't recall ever having encountered a threaded brake bridge, although that's not saying much. It doesn't sound particularly logical to me either. Perhaps other members have more to say about this?

If you look at Tinkel's 1954 bike on the previous page, it is actually equipped with a Campagnolo Gran Sport derailleur, which might just be original. I don't know from what moment the GS was available exactly. 1952? It *might* just have been available in Holland when your frame was built.

What does your drive side dropout look like? Does it have any provisions for a derailleur?

Another example - and perhaps useful point of reference - of what a racing bike was built with in those days is this Locomotief. Probably a team bike for the 1953 Dutch TdF team, as this picture is dated February 1953 and the team manager and two riders are looking at the bike, together with its builder. The Brooks B17, Titan bars and stem and Stronglight cranks with Simplex rings are easily recognizable, as well as the Simplex transmission. Note the Simplex dropout. The seatpost looks like it could be a Titan as well, or maybe a BirmaLux. I am sure juvela can identify even more parts. :)


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c0563cb7c8.jpg

Thanks again, i have some components { brooks b17, stronglight single crankset, mafac racer brakes.) something to get on with.

Who was the dutch winner of Tour de France '54 ?

To the best of my knowledge. Dutch riders won only 2 edition of 'La Grande Boucle', in 1968 and 1980. In the 50s any dutch rider was able to reach the podium.

It was 1953, and at the time the riders were organized in national teams (and five French regional teams). The Dutch team won the team classification, which lead to 1954's event starting from Amsterdam. The individual win went to Louison Bobet, of the French national team.

Hi all, I am new here, and have really enjoyed this particular thread. LeoBoon's stories and pictures are great to see!
Last year, I found a Rih in Enschede during a business trip to the Netherlands, and look forward to sharing and learning more here.
I had been looking for an example, after learning about the history behind the marque and visiting Lester in Van Diemenstraat two years ago.

My frame is nr. 79-124, on the BB so I think it is a Cove (Venlo) example.

Welcome, AlfredoBinda ! Nice handle. Something to live up to. ;)

Looking forward to seeing your RIH. While I think you may be right on the Cové provenance, that's one of the questions Leo's posts have raised, as those numbers have also appeared on Amsterdam bikes. And for some reason they all seem to start with "79".

Either way, you've got yourself a nice bike!

So, to add to the confusion, today I picked up a RIH that looks lika Venlo RIH, but for sure isn't. I got it from Marktplaats, it's small and it wasn't cheap. Sports Amstel Team colors and is equipped with a mix of Campa Gran Sport and Record and a 3ttt stem and handlebar. Bought April 1980 in the Westerstraat. Serial on lower lug reads 79 262. Number verified by RIH Sport.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...83d0124bda.jpg
Receipt
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eda81d3d80.jpg
The new RIH 79 262
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...735e6a1758.jpg

Take out the stem, it normally has a date code on the very lower bit of the piece that goes into the forktube.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...915f96d070.jpg

cheers, I'll have a look.

There should be also a mark with a year on the underside of Titan bars

Rih?
 

Hello dear RIH friends,

I am a fresher in the bike world and in this forum and want to thank you for sharing your knowledge here - it is very enriching to read this thread and collect information about RIH - I am a big fan of these wonderful bikes already!

I have rescued a racing bike frame from the scrap yard and I hope to be able to turn it into a capable racer with some time and love. I would like to stay as close as possible to the original - and I would like to know what the original could have been. I would also like to find out the right paint tone. Furthermore, I would like to find out which other parts I should buy on eBay in order to rebuild the bike with a harmonious concept. I'm actually not sure if I want to mount a racing bike handlebar (pls forgive me), do you have any suggestions for alternatives?

You can still recognize "Peugeot" on the frame, but I think that the steering head plate does not fit to Peugeot, but possibly to RIH. Below the steering head plate I found a frame number: "053", maybe also "053K", which would mean that it is a Fongers-RIH from 1967, maybe even the partly chromed "semi-race" or "campa-race": http://www.klassiekeracefiets.info/w...ongers-Rih.jpg

Some Campagnolo parts are mounted on the frame, the chromed dropouts are also from Campagnolo.
The shifting is from Simplex "S061", brakes are Mafac Racer.
The chromed fork says Shimano SF and the crankset is a perforated Stronglight / 52. I have not seen a crankset like this on a RIH - could it still be the original?

There is no tube decal, can anyone tell me what tubing the frame is likely to be? Reynolds 531?

I am very grateful for any hints and opinions of any kind!
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ffbf9b4738.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c7855a0800.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a71ab47c40.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e9dabc8817.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...320977b373.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1f5789ffab.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3dd3ead036.jpg

Hello Viktor, the threads in the bottom bracket worries me a bit. Handlebar would be ok if it was Titan, like from a couple of posts ago. With all the names. Titan DeLuxe could be used, that's past '67

Welcome, Viktor1! Nice save!

A chromed fork with Shimano ends would not have been original, as you've probably already found out. If the frame turns out to be salvageable - and I certainly hope so - I'd look for a period-correct replacement, preferably with an Ekla "D" crown and chromed "socks". I have seen them at swap meets, so I think chances of finding one are not too bad.

In 1967 it would still have had the "<RIH-SPORT>" style decals, I believe. They seem to have changed during 1968 to the later "RIH". Replacement decals can be found online.

The color would have been either "race red" or "race blue", I think. Off-white and orange also seem to have been introduced in 1968.

They came in two trim levels, "Full Race" and "Campa Race". See below for the specs.

Good luck with the restoration! And keep the questions and the pictures coming. :)

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...34a515e808.jpg

Hi, I recently acquired an RIH bike in Utrecht from a used bike shop and I'm curious to learn more about it. It is silver, has RIHspeciaal on the frame, and I haven't been able to find much information on it. Are they genuine RIH bikes, or maybe a cheaper model than the RIH sport?
The website tells me I can't post any pictures yet...

A few more details:
has the blue RIH amsterdam metal decal on the front
20mm shimano freewheel
serial number 7884 15
blue sticker on the back of the seatpost that says JAARKAART 2013, Geldig t7m, 4 (large number)
Has a great little working dynamo!

Thanks for any help you can provide :)

Hello Becka, if it says RIH, it's likely be a RIH. Speciaal was the touring variation, with guards, luggage carrier and lightning. You can almost say for sure it'e a Cové bike, made in Venlo, but still a quality bike. Is it a mixte frame, for the girls, or a standard gents frame? If it has Shimano parts, there are always date codes to be found. A combination of two letters, to be found on brakes and derraileurs. Maybe the cranks, with the "trappers" attached, have a datecode on them. Mostly two digits, like 79 ie 1979.
Gents
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...75febb2e6b.jpg

Mixte
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...81a6fa34f1.jpg