Smokey

Which is a full custom bike. The company, Rivendell Bicycle Works, also makes a production road bike, called the "Rambouillet" (which is what I would/might be interested in). One of you guys pointed me to their web site, which I found refreshingly different. Small mom-and-pop bike shop that seems very down-to-earth Here's the URL: https://www.rivendellbicycles.com/index.html.

Anyway, just curious if anyone here had any experience with this company. Thanks.

Brett 12

There bikes look pretty cool, but I'd put STIs or Ergos shifters on mine.

late

Another custom, American, steel bike,and one with a superb pedigree; is Waterford. They belong in the same class, and most of their line is less expensive than the Rivendells. They also make Gunnar bikes in the same factory. Which makes Gunnar an especially good value.

I don't know where you'd find them, but if you can scare up some old copies of the Rivendell Reader, they often make good reading.
Do they still publish the Rivendell reader? Might be fun to subscribe again.

alanbikehouston

I bought a "membership", which gets me their very cool "Rivendell Reader"...half catalog, half fascinating magazine about bikes, cycling, and the people who build and ride bikes. I also bought a "CD" with back issues of the "Rivendell Reader". Some of the best writing related to bikes and bike riding available.

Rivendell sells lots of stuff that is useful for my old roadbikes, such as "classic" Nitto stems and bars. Plus, some hard to find wool clothing. And, Rivendell got the "rights" to get copies built of the classic Sun Tour downtube friction shifters. The best shifters ever made for a road bike. They work with any drivetrain, allowing riders to "mix and match" drivetrain components from Campy, Shimano, Sun Tour, Mavic, etc.

I have used parts from Rivendell to "restore" some of my 1980's era road bikes. Slowly, I am converting them into a "poor guy's" Rivendell.

However, I will probably never buy a new Rivendell bike. To afford one, I would have to sell eight or ten of my old junkers...and you can't sell members of the family.

late

Awesome! Thanks!

SDS

I have friends with a Rivendell Heron and a Rivendell Rambouillet. They are both good-looking, functional bikes. The Rambouillet is very pretty, and a standout outside any convenience store. Last year that bike did BMB.

I'm not convinced that the dollar-value is still to be had in steel, lugged, brazed frames. Now there is TIG welding to join steel tubes, which allows for shorter butts in butted tubes because the heat propagates less distance from the join with faster TIG welding. And you can dispense with the lugs with TIG welding, which is essentially a doubled reduction in weight: shorter butts and no lugs. And steel rusts, so your maintenance time is increased. You have to keep perspiration off it, and paint over the inevitable dings. This problem is much reduced with Al, Ti, or CF.

If the pricing wasn't an issue, and I wanted a lugged steel bike, particularly one intended to be biased a little more toward the practical end of the spectrum (large tires, fenders, etc.), I would be happy to work with Rivendell. I have heard nothing bad about them ever (except that they are flaky, but as long as they are flaky in the way that you want, that doesn't matter, right?).

If you are looking for custom steel artwork, you might not be able to do better than Columbine in Colorado, though there are one or two other builders that also do carved lugs (Davidson in the Northwest?).

I have an appreciation for this area of endeavor, and I could buy it, and I could hang it on the wall, but I couldn't stand to ride them, because with use comes inevitable dings. I just couldn't stand to do that, but I know that for most people that is not a problem.

alanbikehouston

Grant Petersen runs Rivendell in a manner that reflects his personal philosophy about both riding bikes and building bikes. One of the better expressions of his philosophy was in the 1994 Bridgestone catalog, when he was running things for them. These are Grant's ideas as to how "average folks" can get more enjoyment out of riding their bikes:


-Ride When You Like: Don't be a slave to your bike...Ride whenever you want to ride.

-Go Slowly: Don't ride with racers...relax and enjoy riding your bike.

-Go Short: A ten-minute ride is always worth it, when that is all the time you have...

-Don't Keep Track: never use an on-board computer or heart monitor...

-Ride More Than One Bike: Make your bicycles so different that your experience on one is quite unlike your experience on the other...

-Learn How To Fix Your Bike: you'll never feel at ease on a bike if you're at its mercy.

-Don't Chase Technology: You don't need a fancy machine to enjoy something that is so joyous and simple. A simple, reliable bike will do. (That is Grant's version of Einstein's principle: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.")


AND

-Chrome-moly steel is...ideal for bicycle frames...if you crash and bend an aluminum or carbon fiber frame, you've destroyed it. Steel frames and forks can be routinely realigned...Steel, with three times the modulus of elasticity of aluminum, dampens vibrations three times faster than aluminum...

-a road bike should have eyelets for mounting racks and fenders, and enough clearance under the brakes for chubby 32c tires (AND it should be geared for the needs and power of REAL world riders)

-a well designed road bike can handle 90 percent of the rides where most people use a mountain bikes...a road bike should be designed to go almost anywhere any other bike can go

MtnMan

It's a cult! DO NOT drink the Kool-Aid when offered

alanbikehouston

The term "cult" has a bit of a negative connotation. Perhaps it would be kinder to refer to the "Church of Rivendell" as being a "philosophy", "an ethical cycling beliefs system", or, simply as a "religion".

Ralph Turney

"It's a cult! DO NOT drink the Kool-Aid when offered"

More like smoke the pipe when it's passed around.

caloso

I was given a subscription to the Riv Reader as an Xmas present. I'm as much a spandex-wearing technophile as the next guy, but there's something refreshing and very seductive about Grant's philosophy.

I hope no one is offended or confused by this, but to continue the religion analogy: It's like the Catholic who picks up a copy of the Dalai Lama's writings.

Serpico

You mean I'm the only one who buys their soap and WW2 books through an online bike catalog, err "catalogue"..?



(Rambouillet is sweet!)

Smokey

I called Rivendell this morning afer I posted and spoke with Grant Petersen himself for about 30 minutes...wonderful, down-to-earth guy. We're approximiately the same age (50), so we share a lot of the same philosophy of bikes, riding, etc. He's a far more accomplished rider than I could ever hope to be, but that didn't prevent him from taking a lot of his valuable time to answer all of my questions. I am VERY impressed with this man and his company.

He was very frank and honest about some of the small customizations I was requesting (I am interested in the production bike, called the "Rambouillet"); he was very eager to explain to me why he thought it might be better to do things somewhat differently than I suggested. However, he seemed just as eager to satisfy my personal biases and needs.

Generally speaking (and you can get a much better picture from their really nice Rivendell website), frame and fit are paramont to this company. It all starts with the frame. They are quite staunch in their favoritism toward steel lugged bikes (which is all I've ever ridden, by the way), and their frame geometry is slightly different - to the point where you're actually riding a larger bike than you might be accustomed to. I found this idea particularly appealing, as the goal of Rivendell's non-standard geometry is to put the rider in a more comfortable (i.e. more upright) position. If you take a look at the pictures of the Rambouillet on their site, you'll notice that the saddle and handlebar height is about the same, which is quite a deviation from the norm (where the seat is so obviously higher than the handlebars).

Overall, I was extremely impressed, and I'm very serious about pursuing this. They are a bit pricey ($2100.00 for a Rambouillet), but they appear to be worth the extra money, IMHO.

Blackberry

The soap is nothing short of amazing. My wife claims that it makes her hair thicker and more luxurious. And I gotta tell ya, there's nothing quite as sensuous as sleeping next to someone who smells like a creosote-soaked telephone pole. The stuff smells like pine TAR, not pine. Yumm.

Seriously, I've bought a number of items ranging from stems and handlebars to bags and clothing from Rivendell, and it's all very, very well made and well-thought-out. By the way, I'm not a retro-grouch. I do own a couple of lugged steel bikes, but I also like my mid-life crisis Lemond Victoire.

trmcgeehan

You know who owns a Rivendell bike? Jimmy Carter! There was a story in the national news about a year ago, with a big picture showing Jimmy on his Rivendell. The article says he rides it all over Plains, GA. I wrote to him and congratulated him on being a cyclist. He wrote back to me, and included one of his books, autographed. I'm a Republican, but I like Jimmy Carter!

sydney

You can do better by buying the frame and sticking parts on it yourself.Rivendell is over the top on part prices. And beware of geting stuck on a frame that is too big.Others have.They do such low volume on parts,that they buy most stuff for consumer prices and then mark it up. I'd still buy the Bianchi if you can get a deal on it. One bike is never enough and eveyone needs a beater. I admire Rivendell and their pitch, but have also managed to put together lots better bikes for lots less money.There is a limit to how much a Japanese semi production frame is worth, no matter how much hype you wrap it in.

KrisPistofferson

Yeah, my Schwinn Le Tour was made in the very same Osaka factory that makes the Quickbeam! I love Rivs, and if you have the dough to get an Atlantis, more power to ya', but it's easy to find that stuff used for lots cheaper. I think if Grant Peterson MEANS all that stuff he says (and I think he does,) he wouldn't have a problem with fixing up a 70's or 80's bike. That's the design aesthetic they're copying, anyway. Someday, I'll probably get an Atlantis frame, but what I really like about the catalog is the "Silver" components, basically new Suntour stuff, and things like the pine tar soap. I'm a firm believer in organic soaps, and I've been meaning to try it.

sydney

Yeah, and wool and seersucker is where it's at, and only real cyclists get it.

Brett 12

Quick Beam........that is a fixed gear with a two speed rear hub? LOL....what do you do get off bike and push chain over? (that's better than flopping the rear wheel)

scrantr

1st guy: I got a new Rivendell bike for my wife yesterday.
2nd guy: Yeah? Good trade.

ba dump dump.

fogrider

I think if you have only ridden lugged steel, you need to try some new things...I have a lugged steel 531 bike, and I have a steel bike with non indexed shifters and sun tour derailluers, but carbon fiber and ti is amazing stuff! But for a well built right fitting bike, $2,100 is not that much to spend...what kind of shifing is that with? but if you want reto, you can always find an old raligh or paramount on ebay for less...just MHO.

KrisPistofferson

Yes.

Smokey

Thanks, fog. I guess I'm just a stubborn old traditionalist. However, it's interesting that you consider what I'm after to be "retro" (I assume you just had a typo with the word "reto"), and I don't necessarily agree. In fact, I disagree. It's funny, because on the Rivendell site, there's an intro paragraph about the company and it's philosophy, and that pretty much echoes how I feel:

Sometimes people hear "classical" or "traditional" in the context of bicycles, and think turn-of-the-century highwheelers or '50s ballooners, or English three-speeds, or restoring vintage racing bicycles. Those are good pursuits, but they're not our deal. We just like to ride bikes, and are more influenced by the pure, practical, and beautiful design ethics of the '70s to late'80s.

I really like this company; I've spoken to 3 of their employees at some length (including the founder) and I guess we're just kindred spirits. It's going to be interesting to see what kind of reactions I get when I ride in a group with my double chainring, 14 gears, steel frame, and downtube shifters.

sydney

Atually not on the quickbeam.It's a flip flop hub,and a double crank that that has to be changed manually.

Brett 12

only problem.......how do you tension the chain!