I'd say Hilsen. More trail-ready than the Crust, but plenty sprightly on the road. Comfortable with either upright or drop bars, and big plus, it's in stock.
jim m walnut creek On Sunday, June 15, 2025 at 8:50:55 AM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > Hi folks! This is going to be a wall of words. I'm sorry in advance! > > Long time lurker, and I have recently bought my first Riv - a Clem! Which > is great! But sadly, it has made my old Bridgestone MB-3 kind of... > redundant and it's a bit long in the tooth with rust (which is the previous > owner's fault!). For slim(ish)-tire, roadie, get-in-the-drops-go-fast > duties I have a Crust Malocchio, which is great as well! > > I've got a young family and that has led to clearing out a few bikes over > the past 12 months (e.g. my big backcountry touring dreams that led to a > Romanceur purchase are never going to happen, which is ok!). This means > I've got a little money to spend, and a hole in my stable between the Clem > (which I will ultimately set up in MTB/utility mode with knobby tires, a > basket for riding to the market and a Thule Yepp Mini for kiddo outings) - > and the Malocchio which is very much the road bike. > > This hole feels like it should be filled by a bike that can do lots of > things, but is a *bit* zippy (i.e. quicker than a Clem, slower than a > Malocchio) and *mostly* pavement suited. It'll do a lot of commuting, and > would be something I could grab for a quick ride to go get coffee, run some > errands, etc. And it should be fun to ride. > > I'm super inclined towards another Riv as in Australia I have Heaps Good > Garage as a local dealer (Matt delivered my Clem!), and also Blue Lug > proximity. I've also fallen in love with step-throughs since I used to get > absolutely thrashed on my commute home by a guy on a Peugeot mixte. > > I thought I was a shoe-in for a Platypus, but then the Charlie Gallop > caught my eye. This Blue Lug video was very helpful ( > https://youtu.be/PukP_g4ct-w?t=2437), and leaned me *more* towards the > Platypus, as it appears to really sit in the center of everything. But then > do I want something lighter that is more like an upright road bike? Maybe! > Or does that overlap too much with the Malocchio? And maybe the Charlie > Gallop would be a bit wobbly/funky with a basket and my commuter load (a > laptop and a change of clothes)? > > Cost is not a factor - the Platy from Heaps Good and the Charlie from Blue > Lug (both framesets) would ultimately cost me the same. And the parts from > the Bridgestone will largely migrate to the Clem, and the Clem complete > parts will migrate to whichever frame I choose (Silver Cranks, Toscos, > etc.)! > > And so I've talked myself in circles again. Gosh, I can't figure it. > > Help! > -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6f0c19d6-8bb3-46be-a2b1-5fef2fd4be7bn%40googlegroups.com.
