Great thread Leah! I too love my Clem (first gen "H" frame in green for me) and everything it represents about the evolution of Rivendell's designs. I became a Rivendell devotee during the "classic" era, lusting after Quickbeams, Rambouillets, Atlanti, early Homers, etc. During the later aughts and early teens they were already making smaller departures from their lugged, level top tube road bike aesthetic (the mixtes, sloping top tubes on the Sam, diagatubes on the Bombadil and Hunqapillar, etc.), each one decried by the wool jerseyed diehards who had been following Grant since the Bridgestone days. I bought my first Rivendell, the classic Quickbeam, the same fall they brought out the "Mystery Bikes," the original long chainstay bikes, and I have to say I was really intrigued by those designs. So much so, in fact, that I spent the next four years trying various upright bars on the Quickbeam, but it never seemed to ride as well as the Mystery Bikes (two of which, belonging to others, I was lucky enough to ride).
I agree with Leah that with its long chainstays, swoopy tubes, tig welding, and really fat tires, the Clem probably represents the biggest single departure from Rivendell's "classic" aesthetics, and its success paved the way for everything that's come after it in terms of a general opening up of what was possible with a Rivendell. For me, that came together in a build using mostly black components, including a Thomson seatpost and Jones loop h-bar. With this build <https://flic.kr/p/2mELwX1>, it encompasses and goes beyond everything I had loved about the Mystery Bikes and had tried to replicate unsuccessfully with my Quickbeam. It's no surprise that shortly after I built up the Clem, the Quickbeam left my life. Aside from the occasional wistful glance over its current owner's Instagram, I don't regret it. However, to those that see the recent designs as nothing but a fundamental departure from what made Grant's designs attractive in the first place, I would say that there is one unifying feature running through all of them, and that is great handling *for the intended fit of the bike.* As anyone who has ridden albatross bars on racing bike can tell you, good handling is not just about steering geometry but also how the bike's geometry works with your weight distribution and fit. Grant's Bridgestone designs had a good reputation for handling, but were pretty much racing bikes that assumed low handlebars and a stretched out fit. My feeling is that the early Rivendell designs were attempting to replicate these handling characteristics but with a fit that was more achievable for non-racers; so things like (slightly) longer chainstays went along with drop bars roughly even with the saddle. As Grant got older and continued to experiment with things like Albatross bars, I'm sure he realized that "classic" Rivendell geometry didn't produce the handling characteristics he wanted with a much more upright posture, and thus began the experiments with longer chainstays that led to the Clem and more recent designs. His success in replicating those handling characteristics was evident to me the first time I chased friends on road and cross bikes down steep paved descents on Mt. Tam. I had never felt so confident in my bike's handling while sitting upright. Don't get me wrong, I still love the classic designs as well. A couple of years after the Quickbeam left, a green Rambouillet came into my life <https://flic.kr/p/2kSZxh9>, and it's built up following the rules, with drop bars and lots of silver Nitto and Sugino. With the drop bars and a more "athletic" fit than the Clem, it also handles great and is the most comfortable "road bike" (in the traditional sense) that I have ever owned. -Jeremy Till Sacramento, CA On Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at 9:14:04 AM UTC-8 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > [image: 84256557-932F-4AD7-99B6-8BE9DC178396.jpeg]Can we talk about the > Rivendell Clems for a minute? I hesitate as I write this, because opinions > on here tend to be strong, but I see this as a fun topic and worth > exploring. We can be nice, even if we disagree. I have been seeing Clems in > several colors, in a variety of configurations, all over Instagram. Blue > Lug and Helmet Kids are two of my favorite bike Instagram accounts, and > they frequently feature Clems on their group rides. Calling In Sick, a bike > magazine you’ve likely heard of, did an entire issue on the magic of the > Clem, which is also all over Instagram. I suppose it could be that Clem > popularity is imagined by me; I personally love Clems and therefore notice > them, so I’ll add that caveat here. But I really do think the Clems are > having their moment. > > When I first discovered Rivendell in 2012 the only social media I knew > about was the List. The bikes were all lugged, and built with silver > parts. There was a definite prescribed look. The demographics of the group > were not exactly varied. There were few women, and even fewer in my age > bracket (early 30s). But then Grant made the bike he said he’d never > make, and the TIG’d Clem was among us. With the coronation of the Clem, > those unable to afford a Rivendell suddenly could. I began seeing younger > people riding them. Baby seats began popping up on these bikes. (I felt > like I was the only one in the Rivendell world pulling my kid on my Betty > Foy in 2012.) And in several generations of Clems, the owners have now > taken that bike in new directions. Clems are for everyone! > > The Clems are pure Rivendell in manners and ride, but they are divergent. > Black parts abound. 1x gearing. Trigger shifting. Young dudes shredding all > over the ‘Gram with them. Some lucky kids are riding them! My sons have > been raised on Clems (the H version, but we have the L version for when > they are grown). Worries over the step-through frame being considered “a > girl bike” seem to have been unfounded. (And in my family we have 2 giant > Clem Ls the men ride.) People seem to really love the versatility and ease > of a step-thru frame. > > I see the Clem as a Rivendell, modernized. > > The colors have been brilliant; the Clem has never been subject to color > constraint. Atlantis bikes will be Atlantis green, but Clems are like > Skittles - we’ve had bright turquoise, black, orange (Clementines), creamy > mustard, a creamy blue, a glittery blue, grilver, lime, bronzey green… We > really do need a metallic red, but I digress… > > On my own Clem, I have been unafraid to put zany parts on it. Anything > goes. “It’s a Clem,” I say. I’ve got a red front hub and an orange rear > hub. Bright red pedals that look like shoes to me. I damaged the paint when > a U lock rubbed it off as we traveled, but I never think about it. I have > blue wire soldered into the black dyno wire and it will never irk me. I’ve > been way more picky about the appearance of my Platypus, but my Clem is > unhindered by rules. > > The newest Clems have just arrived at Riv HQ and I hope their owners will > delight us with photos and write ups here and on Instagram. I’m so excited > for another wave of customers to get to know these bikes. The Rivendell > Clems, those gentle giants, are so good to us. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5b9f52a5-a0da-4a90-a6b1-ecead33a862en%40googlegroups.com.
