I got my Rambouillet in 2002 to avoid what I perceived as the rabbit hole of a custom. Grant egged me on with the under-squareness (top tube < seat tube) of the geometry, the slight upslope of the top tube, and the 2cm upper extension of the head tube, which suited my "freak of nature" dimensions. My legs are longer than stock geometry accommodates for my height, so most stock bikes I'd tried or bought turned into cobbling experiments with mixed results. That bike fit right out of the box, and I rode it for 15 years without looking back.
As my riding took me places accessible from my door, since I don't relish taking my bike for a ride, to go on a ride, I started to develop a list of wants I would like on my bike. Wider tires to accommodate rougher surfaces while being smooth and comfortable, and fenders to keep my available riding days up. That inspired me to get the Paul Racer brakes. At the max fit, 32mm, I still had to pump my rear tire to a pretty high number to avoid rim pinches because the bike, which was never touted as more than a sport tourer, it handles its light load capacity best at the rear. Hanging that 15-20# on the saddle with a Bagman support demanded the inflation that made my overnight to 5-day CC trips on the GAP rougher rides than seemed necessary, but rim pinches accompanied every attempt to lower ithat nflation pressure. My list was clarified by the 20-year mark with my Rambouillet. Bigger tires, under fenders, a more balanced (F-R) load distribution, so I don't have exaggerated inflation differences of F-R tires, but still, the ride I was conditioned to by Rivendell. A generator hub and wired-in lights, too. Maybe the braking force of the Racers tipped the design, but my seatstay bridge brazing broke in March as the riding was coming into season, necessitating a frame repair that would forever mar the Joe Bell orangesicle paint job. Nine months wait and $1200 was not in my plans since it wouldn't add anything on my wishlist, but would take my bike out of use for the season. Instead, I had a local builder rebraze the bridge at the stock position and created an ivory "panel" on the seat stays with rattle can paint and clear coat. Seen in most of my post-Paul Rambouillet pictures. Grant did not think 650B was a good choice for my frame size, but I was concerned about toe overlap with shorter top tubes on fendered 700c-wheeled bikes that otherwise solved my fit, load, and riding expectations. Through a friend, I met Johnny Coast and did the custom thing, from my perspective, which was to present my needs, my riding (not Walter Mitty dreams of what I'll do), and how I came to all this (including a video my wife shot of me riding my Rambouillet). Then I let the chef do the cooking. What I got is a 650B x 42mm Rando bike. I got my front loading via low trail, which also reduced my toe-overlap with the greater curve of the lower fork legs. I have a 15L Ruthworks custom rando bag sitting on a custom front rack, stabilized with the integral decaleur connection with the custom stem for my cargo, which equals the Carradice Nelson Longflap on my Rambouillet. The SON SL hub sends power without wires to the bike to power the seat tube-mounted tail light (protected by the seat stays) and the rack-mounted hanging Edelux. Very Rivendell-driven, but additionally forged by the experiences of my riding and having previously fit myself to stock offerings. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Monday, October 6, 2025 at 4:53:29 PM UTC-4 Michael Morrissey wrote: > I like bikes and I was thinking of implementing a new life rule: buy a new > bike every ten years whether I need to or not. Of course, I don't need to. > I bought my Appaloosa in 2016 and have been happily riding it since then. > > I was wondering, people who have bought Rivendells and enjoyed them, and > then decided to get another bike, what bike did you get and why? > > Please I want to hear from normal people who own 3 or fewer Rivendells, > not people who have one of every model of Rivendell and who get personal > greeting cards from Grant Peterson. > > Where did you go from the top? Custom? Surly? Crust? Jones? Urban Arrow > for you and your offspring? Full squish mountain bike? Moto Guzzi? > Brompton? Citibike all the time? Beater 26" mountain bike? Feel free to > message me off list if you can't admit you moved away from lugged steel. > I'm just a curious bike nerd. This is not market research. > > Michael > > -- 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/3d5deb46-c03a-493f-b2ab-a0a874b90516n%40googlegroups.com.
