Others’ published judgments of recent Rivendell road bikes — Roadini, for one; RoadUno? SimpleOne? — have been uniformly posititive; Bike Snob, for example, loves his Roadini and RoadUno (or whatever that track-ended, derailleur hangered 1-2-3 speed frame is); and other highly experienced riders say the same.
But my initial reaction is to agree with Shannon: Riv’s tubing, even for their “fast” road models, is perhaps stouter than needs-be. I was skeptical about “planing” but for 17 years I’d noticed that my 2003 Curt Goodrich road custom didn’t feel as easy to pedal as my 1999 Joe Starck road custom keeper. I had the Curt replaced because I wanted various features built into a geometrical clone, but I immediately discovered upon riding the resulting Matthews fixed/IGH road bike that I had spec’d with thinnish-wll and normal gauge 531 that it felt “easier to pedal” and, especially, “easier to keep turning over a given gear in given conditions” than the geometrically-almost-identical Curt; same wheels and tires (swapped over, along with the rest of the parts). The Curt weighed 7 lb for frame + fork + 2000’s Ultegra cartridge headset; a few oz over 1 lb heavier than at least on other frame in my size that I owned. I didn’t weigh the Matthews replacement. Next, the blue, second-gen Ram I owned for a couple of years also felt — not sluggish, just not “spritely.” The first-gen Sam did feel a bit sluggish, tho’ this may have been due to the Jack Brown Greens. I conclude that Riv’s stout tubing choices* might* indeed affect the “feel” of certain of their bikes for certain riders, and I conclude that I was indeed very lucky to get that instant-in-time perfect frame by Joe Starck in April 1999. *** There is no “rule” that makes one bike better than another; the only “rule” is that a given rider might experience a frame or bike differently from another rider.*** My point is that Shannon is not the only one to have the experience he describes. On Sat, Aug 2, 2025 at 11:17 PM Shannon Menkveld <[email protected]> wrote: > The newer road bikes' tubesets are significantly stouter than the frames > of yore. Yeah, they're stronger. But they're also a lot stiffer, and I > don't care for stiff road bikes, especially ones that will be ridden mostly > for fun, and lightly loaded. I know why they're the way that they are, and > for that kind of road bike, they're among the best in the world. > > But they are different bicycles. And that's all I meant. > > --Shannon > On Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 8:01:59 PM UTC-7 Dan wrote: > >> I was going to say that "pretty, sporting, >> mostly-fun-with-a-bit-of-practical, lightweight, several-purpose production >> road bike" describes the Roadini very well from my half-year experience >> owning one! >> >> On Saturday, 2 August 2025 at 21:24:58 UTC+9:30 Ryan wrote: >> >>> Shannon wrote," The pretty, sporting, >>> mostly-fun-with-a-bit-of-practical, lightweight, several-purpose production >>> road bike isn't dead, and Rivendell gets a lot of the credit for that being >>> true... even if they don't make a bike like that anymore. " >>> >>> Not to nit-pick but ...they still have lugged Roadinis on the >>> production schedule and the limited edition $2800 Roadeo frame by Nobilette >>> available and the HH which slot into the fun, pretty,practical >>> slot...Hillborne would fall into this category too....so they do still make >>> them. >>> >>> On Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 1:36:53 AM UTC-5 Shannon Menkveld wrote: >>> >>>> I don't know that I have a "grail Rivendell." I do know that I want a >>>> Clem somethin' fierce, or even better a Platy set up pretty much the same >>>> way, but sprightlier and prettier. I was, and am, deeply into what the >>>> various sporting road Rivs had going on, when they still made that kind of >>>> bike. They don't, really, but others do... Mercian, for example, just got >>>> saved from the grave, and slots into a similar niche. >>>> >>>> The pretty, sporting, mostly-fun-with-a-bit-of-practical, lightweight, >>>> several-purpose production road bike isn't dead, and Rivendell gets a lot >>>> of the credit for that being true... even if they don't make a bike like >>>> that anymore. They did it when basically nobody else was, and now that >>>> several people are, they don't really need to anymore. Still, I will one >>>> day own a sporting road Rivendell, because that's what I've wanted since I >>>> first became aware of their existence about 25 years ago. >>>> >>>> --Shannon >>>> >>>> On Friday, August 1, 2025 at 12:02:55 PM UTC-7 Mackenzy Albright wrote: >>>> >>>>> I remember seeing Dominic's orange Clementine posted and absolutely >>>>> fell in love. I didn't think I would ever find one, nor really tried. I >>>>> snagged a newer Clem Jr. I decided to sell off my Crust Romanceur I, to my >>>>> delight, was offered a 59 clementine in orange on trade! The deal nearly >>>>> fell through due to some cracking on the bent tube - only to realize it's >>>>> the really really really horrible thick paint. >>>>> >>>>> It probably took me 3 years to track down an affordable Clem from when >>>>> I decided it might be the way to go - another year before I was offered >>>>> the >>>>> clementine non trade on a fluke. So probably only 4-5 years? My only >>>>> regret >>>>> is not getting a Rivendell sooner. The Orange Clementine is my all time >>>>> favorite bike Rivendell has produced, probably only seconded by the >>>>> Hunqapillar. I like the tighter wheelbase and deep orange and blue >>>>> lettering. It just really hits the spot. The new Clem's FEEL great - and >>>>> even had an orange run - but the clementine just is a little tighter to my >>>>> liking. >>>>> >>>>> On Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 5:37:46 PM UTC-7 RichS wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> My grail Rivendell is the 2014 Sam Hillborne. I knew it would be a >>>>>> keeper early on. Still exceedingly pleased with it. Previous Rivs have >>>>>> been >>>>>> an Atlantis, Rodeo, Clem (H model), and Taiwan built Homer. >>>>>> >>>>>> Best, >>>>>> Rich in ATL >>>>>> >>>>>> On Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 2:02:43 PM UTC-4 [email protected] >>>>>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Finding my grail Rivendell took virtually no time at all. I heard >>>>>>> about Rivendell from a wise friend. I appreciated the aesthetic >>>>>>> immediately. I sat on a Hillborne in a shop. It felt so right that I >>>>>>> bought >>>>>>> one as soon as feasible. That was 2010. It has always been and is still >>>>>>> my >>>>>>> primary bike today. (My secondary bike has been a 2012 Hillborne of >>>>>>> different color but pretty much identical.) >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Obviously I was pretty lucky. Had I sat on a different Rivendell >>>>>>> model would I have had the same response? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe I >>>>>>> would >>>>>>> have rushed out, spent far too much money on something not as perfect >>>>>>> for >>>>>>> me as a Hillborne, and spent the remainder of my years on the edge of >>>>>>> poverty, buying/building-up frame after frame, seeking perfection that, >>>>>>> once missed, may have not been obtainable in the wake of the trauma of >>>>>>> initial failure. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Yours, >>>>>>> Thomas Lynn Skean >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 1:01:40 PM UTC-5 >>>>>>> [email protected] wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I know I am looking for a unicorn: a Hunq or Bomba in the 56-58cm >>>>>>>> range, so it seems to be taking a long time which is fine. The search >>>>>>>> has >>>>>>>> become a bit of a fun hobby in itself and I have no shortage of other >>>>>>>> bikes >>>>>>>> to ride so I'm ok there too... >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> But I am curious, for others who have looked for and eventually >>>>>>>> found their "grail" Riv. What was your experience like? How long did it >>>>>>>> take? Did you get lucky and find something quick? Or did it take weeks, >>>>>>>> months, years or searching? Did anyone give up and go with a different >>>>>>>> model? Or something slightly too big or small that they regret buying? >>>>>>>> Anyone end up getting a completely different bike all together? Share >>>>>>>> your >>>>>>>> quest for your dream bike! >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -Joe >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- > 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/8b447349-ff86-48ab-a02d-e4625b6dc596n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8b447349-ff86-48ab-a02d-e4625b6dc596n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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