It took about 14 years in total. Rivendell's are super rare over here in France. It's much better now that we have a reseller (La Chouette) but otherwise getting hold of Rivendell required international shipping, a bit of trust, and it was practically impossible to find one to try out sizing.
In the meantime, I went through around 20 + different bikes (Dutch bikes, randonneuses, cyclocross, road bikes, VTC, etc) and learned a lot about maintenance and building up from a frame (and got into a co-dependent relationship with cantilever brakes). I no doubt spent more than I would have done had I just bought a Rivendell all those years ago. Last summer, I bought a Sam Hillborne frame and love it to bits. On Wednesday, August 13, 2025 at 8:52:06 PM UTC+2 Chris L wrote: > I will say eight years, but part of that was financial. There were > probably one or two opportunities in that timeframe that I couldn't take > advantage of. > > I ended up with a first-run Hunqapillar (gray/orange). It came up for > sale here and we just happened to have the sell price as hobby disposable > income. I quickly called my wife to get permission and then messaged the > seller. He said I beat the next person by one minute!! > > I've had people see it in the bike shop, when it was in for repairs, and > then ask the bike shop employee to ask me if I'm interested in selling it. > A surprising number of people actually know what it is. > > On Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 11:38:41 PM UTC-5 John Dewey wrote: > >> Good question. >> >> I recognized quite a while ago that my favorite bicycle is—the one I’m >> riding. >> >> For that, I am eternally grateful. >> >> Jock >> >> On Sun, Aug 10, 2025 at 8:10 PM Philip Williamson <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> It took about a year for the Quickbeam to come to fruition after it was >>> first hinted at. It matched my Sheldon-influenced dream bike almost >>> exactly: fat tires, two fixed gears, fender mounts. When they arrived at >>> Riv HQ in February 2004 I called up, “Are the Quickbeams sold out??” They >>> had plenty, but I assumed such a perfect bike would sell out in minutes. >>> The bike came with Noodle bars, but I found a Salsa stem I’d had from >>> the 80s and a vintage WTB flared dirt drop dialed the fit perfectly. I >>> painted and ran a couple different fender sets, first plastic and then >>> metal. I got to play with different wheelsets over the years without >>> changing the fit: automatic 2 speed, 3 speed fixed, but mostly a dingle >>> fixed setup. >>> Early this year, due to a broken wrist, I swapped the cockpit to a >>> tourist bar and Ritchey Force stem and the wheels to a kickback Sturmey S2. >>> I love it. I may never go back to the dirt drops, which is shocking, since >>> that’s my signature bar. >>> >>> Time to get the grail bike, almost no time. >>> Time to turn it into other similar grail bikes? 20 years or so. >>> >>> >>> Philip >>> Santa Rosa, CA >>> >>> >>> On Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 11:01:40 AM UTC-7 [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/45074eb8-b53e-40a0-87fe-0a70f506911en%40googlegroups.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/45074eb8-b53e-40a0-87fe-0a70f506911en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- 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/0fa66b15-7d82-4153-8d4c-c90da36ce69en%40googlegroups.com.
