I got a 2017 Sam Hillborne and it was my only bike for a few years. After changing up the cockpit a bunch between 'semi-chill trail bike' and 'road/gravel/touring bike w/drops' I decided to get a second bike. My plan was to keep the Sam as an upright trail capable do-it-all bike, and find a road bike. After trying out some vintage and modern road bikes, I decided to get a Roadini frame and build it up with the lighter parts + drop bar cockpit I wasn't using on the Sam. Two bikes, no compromises really. I ride them both equally.
On Saturday, October 11, 2025 at 8:22:10 AM UTC-7 Bill Lindsay wrote: > That's a hot take, and I agree with it: The Rivendell Bombadil is a Road > Bike. A very very good Road Bike. I will buy the next 56cm Bombadil that > crosses my path, and use it for what it is: a Road Bike. > > Bill Lindsay > El Cerrito, CA > > On Saturday, October 11, 2025 at 5:05:10 AM UTC-7 Garth wrote: > >> >> I have one Riv model, a 60cm Bombadil which I have setup as a road bike >> with 38mm tires and drop bars. I'm also 74+ inches tall and propotionately >> long inseam. While I love looking at model after model of many a bike >> brand, regardless of material or any other parameter, there are very few >> production models that offer a combination of frame dimensions that are >> accetable to me, as in they just aren't very long front-of-center. One of >> the few is a VO Rando road bike, a frame I bought a few years ago. >> Otherwise it's custom, in particular from Jack of Franklin Frames in Ohio. >> I have one from '99, and one soon to be. I'm also intrigued by their(VO) >> Chessie and Piolet frames. Variety ! >> >> I'm interested in frame designs, desiging them. I don't care about the >> branding on the side. A cow can be branded any which way but the cow is >> still the same cow :-) It doesn't become any more or less than it already >> is. I'll look at any frames geometry, regardless of the material. I'm >> mostly checking out the variety of gravel based frames, and sure enough it >> varies wildly. I'm not sure if I could ever get carbon or alloy frame >> designed for intergrated everything, brifters and the like, but I can use >> the geometry and make a steel frame with such qualities. I'm designing one >> right now and I'm contemplating a front end of a 71-71.5d HTA, with a upper >> 50's to low 60's trail, and 17-20mm, of wheel flop. The steering, the combo >> of HTA, rake and tire size is what gives a bike a "stable" feeling, not BB >> drop alone. The trail and wheel flop along with the BB drop, and really the >> entire design. I could have 80mm of drop with a very low trail front end >> and it would never be considered "stable", hah hah ! Grocery carts are >> very low to the ground, with no trail, and anything but stable ! My Bomba >> for example has about 70mm of BB drop(measured by me) with a 20mm-ish of >> wheel flop and low 60's trail and exhibits the "stability" Rivendell is >> known for. I'd call it more "predicatable" or "intuitive" as the >> desinger/Grant has defined and designed it to be. One way of the many ! >> >> >> On Friday, October 10, 2025 at 4:37:49 AM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: >> >>> Liang, please post photos of the new BF. >>> >>> And, how small does it fold? Do you know if BF folders fold as small or >>> smaller than Dahons? >>> >>> Curious: I notice the greater ease of “roll-over” of our wide pavement >>> expansion cracks with 29er tires (~29” tall with 50+ mm tires) compared to >>> 26” 42s at 25 3/10” tall, and certainly compared to 24 1/2” tall wheels >>> with 26X1.1” (559X28 mm) tires. >>> >>> I am very curious to learn how a 20” wheel rolls smoothly over bad >>> pavement. What tires do you use? >>> >>> Of course, tire width, inflation pressure, and casing quality matter >>> almost as much or unqualifiedly as much as diameter, IME; but I do find >>> myself being much more careful riding over a 10” expansion crack with 28 mm >>> 24.5” tires at 55/60 (otherwise, very smooth indeed) than with 622 X 54s at >>> 20 psi. >>> >>> Some years ago I rode a 451 bsd Dahon fixed gear with ~340 mm tires at >>> 30 psi over the same expansion cracks. I never worried about it, >>> particularly, and the tires were pretty beefy and not gossamer RH’s, but >>> you did feel the bump more than with taller tires. >>> >>> On Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 9:55 PM Laing Conley <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> I don’t qualify as a normal person who owns less than three Rivendells, >>>> but I will answer nonetheless. I am awaiting delivery of my new Bike >>>> Friday >>>> Diamond Llama frame (in yellow) at the end of the month. I have a 21 year >>>> old Bike Friday Metro and I plan on swapping all the current components >>>> over except the quill stem and bars as the new Bike Friday is threadless. >>>> I >>>> plan to use a Nitto threadless Bullmoose. The rear derailleur is a >>>> Rivendell sourced Shimano Altus, ideal for 20” wheels - better ground >>>> clearance (7x1 drivetrain). A true built in the USA steel frame. A >>>> correctly designed folding steel bicycle is a wonderful thing. Incredible >>>> smooth ride, easy step-through frame. Something that I never expect >>>> Rivendell to make. Now that I am retired, and don’t have my Element any >>>> more, a folding bike fits into the hatchback Integra more easily. I am >>>> getting the new frame as I am too heavy for the old one. I have lost >>>> weight >>>> recently though, and did not have the get the custom reinforced model. >>>> >>>> Laing Conley >>>> >>> -- 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/7ad1d0cf-aed2-49c7-9f13-fac1e4036de0n%40googlegroups.com.
