I "groan" at the lifestyle/philosophy part. RBW is only a bike company. I like some of the bikes, I like some of the stuff they sell, I like some of the approach they espouse. The libertarian in me reacts against going with everything and joining the RBW club entirely. Which reminds me of a story a friend of mine once told me. When he was a teenager in the redneck bit of CT (his description) he was into muscle cars and he went to a big rally for all the local car clubs. There were loads of nice restorations and a lot of competition between different clubs. Off to the side was a latino guy all by himself and he had the best and craziest car at the rally. Propped up on the hood was a cardboard sign with the following acronym
L.W.N.C.A. my friend asked what it stood for.......Lone Wolf No Club Affiliation There's I guy I admire, I'd join his club....oh wait a minute......... On Apr 14, 8:31 pm, Paul Sanders <clown.emp...@gmail.com> wrote: > Rivendell is a fascinating company to me, on many levels. The "groans" (to > me) are actually what I love most about them. I bought their wool penant and > have it on my office wall...only because I loved the product description > "all time worst seller." I thought the Bombadil double top tubes were > preposterous when I first saw them. Now I own the bike. That probably says > more about me than Rivendell. > > I think the bikes are works of art, and the products all support an overall > philosophy. It's like strange art that I can use and ride. Or, maybe like > music that you don't always like at first, but really grows on you. I > thought John Coltrane was tedious at one point in my life. Now I want > Interstellar Space on vinyl AND iTunes :-) > > Paul > > On Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 7:02 PM, usuk2007 <clive.stand...@umassmed.edu>wrote: > > > > > I'm interested in the amount of comment my original question has > > provoked. From all that I can learn from reading and sales > > interactions RBW seems like a good company. I like their bikes (I have > > 3), but nothing is perfect and all great things are worthy of > > criticism and that should be encouraged to produce improvement. I do > > not agree with all things Rivendell, I ride clipless, would not be > > seen dead in MUSA knickers with braces and haven't warmed to the new > > bikes yet, but I enjoy the perspective of RBW as it's an important > > part of the cycling world. For the majority of cyclists it should be > > far more relevant than the racing style. But I still sit glued to the > > Spring Classics and would ride a Specialized Roubaix if I thought I > > could do it justice or it had any relevance to the way I ride, but I > > can't average 25mph over a hundred miles. I like to tour, ride to the > > shops and do the odd club ride so the Rambouillet is perfect for me. > > > On Apr 14, 5:51 pm, Mike <mjawn...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Grant's personal bikes are the epitomy of beausage. > >http://www.rivbike.com/products/list/bicycle_models#product=50-998 > > > > Hopefully the link will work and take you to the picture of Grant's > > > AHH. That bike looks so perfect. > > > > Also check this old shot of his Saluki. Be sure to scroll down to the > > > bottom of the page. > > > >http://web.archive.org/web/20060321050644/www.rivbike.com/html/bikes_... > > > > On Apr 14, 8:16 am, Shaun Meehan <meehan.sh...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > On Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 10:08 AM, GeorgeS <chobur...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > Ok. I can't stand being culturally out of the loop any longer. What > > > > > is "beausage"? > > > > > George Strickler > > > > > It's Grant's concept of "beauty through usage". The idea that the small > > > > nicks and scratches in your bike's paint and the natural wear on your > > > > leather saddle, etc. actually adds to the beauty of your bike. > > > > > Shaun Meehan --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
