Well, that's an interesting little twist! It was my assumption after posting the "origin story" of my Protovelo that I probably had many of the details wrong and that there would be a long list of clarifications/modifications to the information that I had pieced together about it. In particular, I assumed that there had been additional owners of the frame that were unknown to me, and that perhaps Daniel M. had never really "owned" the frame but had just borrowed it from Grant for the one journey, etc. But I had never seen anything regarding the "proto-Hunqapillar" making the Great Divide trip. I'm sure there are others on the forum with more information about this than me, but my initial thought is that perhaps my frame was very "interim" and included both Bombadil and Hunqapillar elements/geometry??? On the other hand, the fact that Daniel referred to it pretty precisely as a "new unpainted Bombadil" in the Reddit thread seems to slot it in timeline-wise as an early Bombadil rather than a later Hunqapillar. As always, I will defer to the experts and look forward to possibly fleshing out more details as we go along.
Thanks, though, for pointing out the discrepancy. Willet M. On Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 12:42:39 PM UTC-7 J J wrote: > Willet, this is a fascinating backstory indeed. Thanks for sharing. > > One piece of it is curious, and it both clarifies and clouds things: the > Hunqapillar copy also states that the the “proto-Hunqapillar” was ridden by > Daniel on the Great Divide. > > From Riv: > > And it's a trail bike. > The tubes are stout, but reasonable in weight, and the strong lugged > joints should last or decades. There’s clearance for 58mm tires. If you > need fatter than that, get a Pugsley. > *Trivia: Former employee Daniel rode a proto-Hunqapillar the entire > 2700-miles of the Great Divide trail. No problem. The current ones are vast > improvements over that*. > > So this strongly suggests that the proto Bombadil and the proto > Hunqapillar were the same proto frames. Right? > > > > On Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 1:51:19 PM UTC-5 WilletM wrote: > >> >> Just by lucky coincidence, I had recently been considering starting a >> definitive "Bombadil origins" thread, which would hopefully document all >> the current (and maybe former) Bombadil's owned by forum members, with pics >> and stories about ownership history and builds and any other details that >> would help to flesh out our collective interest/obsession with this >> particular Rivendell model. But Eric saved me the trouble by starting a >> thoughtful and interesting thread that covers most/all of the same >> information that I had hoped to aggregate in my proposed thread. >> >> My own personal Bombadil obsession started, as so many others apparently >> have, with provocative pics that I saw online depicting >> Protovelo/Bombadil's naked as a jaybird, with brass flowing in copious >> amounts out of the fancy lugs. Back in the mid-90's, I had ordered a >> custom Bilenky coupled touring bike with Nervex lugs and had it finished >> naked, which, in combination with the lugs and couplers and other >> braze-on's, made for an abundantly visually interesting frameset to >> admire. And then along comes the naked Protovelo, which seems to have >> scratched the very same itch for me that the Bilenky did. >> >> Not surprisingly, owning a naked (Bombadil)Protovelo zoomed to the top of >> my bucket list and remained there for 3-4 years while I searched for one on >> ebay and craigslist and elsewhere. In reality, I had very little hope of >> ever finding one, let alone being able to afford one if I found it. But >> then, out of the blue, popped up on ebay in October of 2019 this repainted >> Protovelo that had started out life naked and with a very interesting >> history. Below is a pic and some description (in italics) of that >> frameset, shown built and complete in a for-sale posting by Erik from >> Oakland on this forum from April of 2018. >> >> ************************************************************************ >> >> [image: image.png] >> >> >> *60cm ish upsloper, fits me like a glove. 93 is my PBH. All my other riv >> bikes have been 62 to 66cm. Second top tube is beautifully fillet brazed. I >> liked the improved standover compared to my 62cm Hunqapillar. The bike has >> a slightly higher bottom bracket though and a slightly shorter set of >> chainstays than the eventual production Bombadil - I like how nimble it >> felt by comparison. Way shreddier than my old Toyo Hunqapillar, it carves >> turns - after I got this bike the hunqapillar was sold. Best bike I have >> ever owned, to be certain.* >> >> >> >> *It's built for resilience and singletrack adventuring. Before I rebuilt >> it from the repainted frame, a raw clearcoated it rolled down the >> continental divide with Daniel from Tumbleweed Bikes. Some scratches, but >> cared for in my travels with it and riding like new. I can equip it with >> Albatross or Raw Bullmoose bars. Right now it has albatross bars. Paul >> Cantis, Paul Levers, Paul Thumbies. 3 Bottle Cages. Hands on wheels, >> shimano hubs, heavy rims (I think cliffhangers) front and rear. Will >> include a set of knobbies. Also happy to include a porteur rack up front if >> you want it.* >> *This bike has ridden me through many a mile of twisting californian >> backcountry, and has thousands of miles to go.* >> >> ************************************************************************* >> >> Of particular interest to me in the posting above from Erik was the >> reference to Daniel from Tumbleweed having taken this particular Protovelo, >> with Grant's blessing, on an epic adventure down the Great Divide Route. I >> later found another reference to this trip in a thread from Daniel Molloy >> of Tumbleweed Bikes on Reddit, where he talks about how he got interested >> in bikes and started out at RBW. A snippit of that conversation is below >> in italics. >> >> *********************************************************************** >> >> *RipVanBinkle* <https://www.reddit.com/user/RipVanBinkle/> >> *·4 yr. ago >> <https://www.reddit.com/r/xbiking/comments/b9izw4/comment/ek4updb/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3>* >> >> *What was your time at Riv like? How did you end up there? Any major >> takeaways from that experience?* >> *tumbleweedbikes* <https://www.reddit.com/user/tumbleweedbikes/> >> >> *·4 yr. ago >> <https://www.reddit.com/r/xbiking/comments/b9izw4/comment/ek4vgg8/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3>* >> >> *Working at Riv was my dream job at the time, I was in school and >> completely idolized the brand and Grant's philosophy about riding. I >> literally showed up at the shop and asked if I could volunteer. Grant said >> they don't take volunteers and that I would have to get paid. I worked >> there part time all during college and did every overnight campout that I >> could, many times it was just me and Grant. He's an incredibly supportive >> person who genuinely cares about people. I was obsessed with riding the >> Great Divide Route and Grant let me use one of the brand new unpainted >> Bombadil mountain bikes for that ride and was super encouraging. We would >> nerd out for hours and hours about all kind of camping gear and tents and >> cameras and fly fishing. It was really great. He's continued to be >> supportive and encouraging as I went through the terrifying process of >> starting my own small business.* >> >> ************************************************************************* >> >> And that, my friends, is the origin story of my Protovelo and its >> adventures and incarnations from birth through Daniel and then Erik and now >> me. The fact that I mostly or even completely know its provenance and some >> of its adventures from the time that it was originally built adds some >> definite richness and texture to the pride of ownership that I feel every >> time that I take it out for a leisurely ride along the river here in >> western Colorado. I have toyed with the possibility of returning the frame >> to its naked roots, as that's what caught my eye and spurred my interest in >> these frames some years ago. But for now, I'm sticking with the nicked-up >> repaint and tattered decals that tell more of an authentic story than a >> fresh repaint ever could. >> >> Willet M. >> >> Carbondale, CO >> >> [image: 20200525_191952.jpg] >> >> >> On Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 10:33:27 AM UTC-7 Chris L wrote: >> >>> My first run gray/orange Hunqapillar fits Antelope Hills (700 x 55) on >>> Dyad rims with plenty of clearance. >>> >>> On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:35:21 PM UTC-6 J J wrote: >>> >>>> James, I can’t enumerate the all the differences, but I’m running René >>>> Herse 29" x 2.2" (700C x 55) Antelope Hill tires on my green Waterford >>>> Hunq >>>> 58, built in 2012, and there’s clearance to spare. Even with the 65 SKS >>>> fenders. I know early literature on Hunqs said that 55 was the maximum >>>> width. Later literature said the max was 2.3/58. >>>> >>>> On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:37:40 PM UTC-5 mcgr...@gmail.com >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> What are the differences between Hunqapillar generations? I have a >>>>> July 2010 Waterford 62cm. Right now it's got 2.1" Schwalbe Thunder >>>>> Burts. >>>>> I think getting 2.2" tires on the back would be dicey. Did the green >>>>> generation of the frame have bigger clearance? Longer wheelbase? >>>>> >>>>> James >>>>> >>>>> On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:26:45 PM UTC-5 Jason Fuller wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> One more note that I didn't think of until I hit submit - the batch >>>>>> differences that exist on Bombadils (and maybe Hunqapillars too) are >>>>>> more >>>>>> significant than the difference between a Bombadil and a Hunq if you >>>>>> remove >>>>>> the location of manufacture from the equation. >>>>>> >>>>>> On Wednesday, 14 December 2022 at 16:24:22 UTC-8 Jason Fuller wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Just catching this now, hey thanks for the shoutout Eric! And it >>>>>>> means a lot that you said that about the forest photo! That was a >>>>>>> special >>>>>>> day, first ride on the rebuild after paint. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I don't have nearly the historical knowledge that many here do, and >>>>>>> a lot has already been said. But here are my summarized thoughts >>>>>>> between >>>>>>> the two anyway, beyond the obvious difference of location of >>>>>>> manufacture. The Hunqapillar seems to me like a "v2" Bombadil - they >>>>>>> increased tire clearance over the Bombadil from 2.1 to 2.4" on most >>>>>>> sizes, >>>>>>> they made little geometry tweaks but just a smidge here and there, and >>>>>>> notably they made the frame more cost-effective by not only changing >>>>>>> suppliers but by simplifying the design a bit. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> To me they are still both "ATB" Rivendells, made to tackle trails >>>>>>> loaded or not, and also be comfortable to ride on pavement as long as >>>>>>> you're not in too much of a rush. When it comes to which is more >>>>>>> coveted, >>>>>>> it really comes down to whether the little superfluous (but beautiful) >>>>>>> details on the Bombadil are important to you, and/or which paint job >>>>>>> and >>>>>>> geometry specifics suit you better. I think of them like the Appaloosa >>>>>>> and >>>>>>> Atlantis - basically two flavors of the same bike. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Sunday, 11 December 2022 at 07:16:08 UTC-8 eric...@gmail.com >>>>>>> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> It seems the Bombadil and Hunqapillar frames are beloved. They're >>>>>>>> stout, beautiful, and sometimes have intricate additional tubes and >>>>>>>> lugs. >>>>>>>> While I've done a lot of reading about Rivendell I was a bit unclear >>>>>>>> on the >>>>>>>> origins and intended uses of these frames. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I wanted to start a thread where we could share and dump info about >>>>>>>> these bikes along with pictures of builds. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Joe and Jim were helpful in laying out a bit of background in another >>>>>>>> thread >>>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/mkxv02ciCM4/m/KqWZOIMQAwAJ>, >>>>>>>> there's >>>>>>>> some great info there. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> The original Hunqapillar catalog is up here: >>>>>>>> http://notfine.com/rivendell/Brochures/Rivendell%20Frames%20Hunqapillar.pdf >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> The first mention I can find of the Bombadil is in RR 41, sometime >>>>>>>> in 2009. Excerpted pages attached. As a few members might recall I am >>>>>>>> very >>>>>>>> into raw frames with brass spilling out of the lugs! I know that many >>>>>>>> Bombadil owners have had their frames repainted like Jason Fuller, >>>>>>>> whose >>>>>>>> absolute stunner shows up here from time to time. By the way, the >>>>>>>> picture >>>>>>>> below is one of my very favorite Rivendell images. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> [image: Jason Bombadil green.jpg] >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> There's also the butter-banana Bombadil that recently sold on eBay. >>>>>>>> I believe that one was purchased by John Watson of the Radavist (and >>>>>>>> he's >>>>>>>> got a Hunq) so we might see some nice pics of that bike sometime soon. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> [image: s-l1600-2.jpg] >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> And speaking of, here's John's Hunqapillar, more images and >>>>>>>> write-up here >>>>>>>> <https://theradavist.com/rivendell-hunqapillar-review/>. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> [image: Johns-Rivendell-Hunqapillar-29er-Klunker-76.jpg] >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Are both of these frame names borrowing from Tolkien? I understand >>>>>>>> RBW had to stop using Tolkien names. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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