This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing. You had a perfect day for shooting with a giant softbox in the sky. I was searching your name after seeing Drew's thread, and I was having a heckuva time finding anything, so this is perfect. Really appreciate you putting this gallery together. Matt in STL
On Friday, November 7, 2025 at 8:09:13 PM UTC-6 Ben Miller wrote: > On the the Crust bikes portion of this thread. Starting with the > Lightening Bolt! I scored this as a complete build off Craigslist from a > bike mechanic in Palo Alto for a good price. And as an amazing build! A lot > of this his original, but with some notable modifications from me: the > Analog Cycles fingerling stem in clear Keracote and the White Ind rims I > personally de-anodized and polished up. There's a few other small changes, > but again, alot of the credit goes to the original owner on this one! > > [image: DSC00648.JPG] > > On Friday, November 7, 2025 at 6:03:14 PM UTC-8 Ben Miller wrote: > >> My last and newest Riv: the Bomb-baddy! I also obtained this frame for a >> list member and fellow SFer. I just love how this build came out and how >> smooth it went. Well, it wasn't all smooth... I originally had a sweet TA >> Pro Vis triple on there, but the NDS arm was wallowed out and ended up >> rubbing the chainstay :( But the Sugino made White Ind crankset still looks >> pretty sick to my eye! I also absolutely love the Shovel Research bits in >> brass/black :) >> >> [image: DSC00625.JPG] >> >> On Friday, November 7, 2025 at 5:58:46 PM UTC-8 Ben Miller wrote: >> >>> Next up: the Hunq! I got this bike from list member and real life >>> friend, Reed. We traded and he got my Homer frame. This bike has gone thru >>> more than a few build designs, but I think I'm pretty happy where it's at >>> now. As I said before, the "inferno" Kooka cranks and Waxwing x Analog bag >>> really round out this build for me. Will rock the GK special ed in >>> Cranberry at 45 mm until Ronnie makes some Rad Mars in 700c! I think I put >>> that bug in his ear when he visited this summer :) Sorry about the wonky >>> pedal in this photo, but the Hunq does what it wants! >>> [image: DSC00667.JPG] >>> >>> On Friday, November 7, 2025 at 5:52:18 PM UTC-8 Ben Miller wrote: >>> >>>> Next up is my Rambouillet. I've written about this bike on more than a >>>> few threads on here, so not going to go over the history too much, but it >>>> was from another RBW Owner Bunch member. It was built up around the Huret >>>> Ecopar RD, of which this is the 2nd (first one famously and tragically >>>> exploded at a Nutmeg Nor-easter). Just absolutely love this bike :) The >>>> new >>>> RBW bidon really rounds out the build for me! >>>> >>>> [image: DSC00632.JPG] >>>> >>>> On Friday, November 7, 2025 at 5:47:28 PM UTC-8 Ben Miller wrote: >>>> >>>>> Gonna start this off with my first Riv and the one that when I saw in >>>>> in the old Bike, Book, and Ax Riv themed store I immediately knew I >>>>> wanted. >>>>> I got it off Craigslist in 2014 and was told I am the 3rd owner. Like I >>>>> said on Drew's thread, it's my "let the frame speak for itself with a >>>>> classic look" build. I'm trying out the Rene Herse Crank on there, which >>>>> replaced a Sugino compact double, so yeah I know the front derailleur is >>>>> too high and chain is too long. I think I might have made the gearing too >>>>> low, so I'm trying to decide what direction I want to go next with that. >>>>> Things of note: blue Paul Funky Monkey, re-skinned shifters to gum >>>>> (originally black), very old Swift Ind rando bag with custom matching >>>>> colorway, and Special Ed Brooks saddle. >>>>> >>>>> [image: DSC00643.JPG] >>>>> >>>>> On Friday, November 7, 2025 at 5:38:49 PM UTC-8 Ben Miller wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Over on Drew's wonderfully titled thread Persnicketiness with color >>>>>> combos/Wider aesthetic convo... >>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/cxgHr0NMW-U> I wrote >>>>>> a "dissertation" (Drew's words, not mine, but I like it) on my >>>>>> philosophially on wider aesthetics and bike building. At the end of that >>>>>> post I added a few words about about some of my own builds, but left out >>>>>> photos as I didn't want to clutter up Drew's thread with what was >>>>>> already >>>>>> an overly long post and I also didn't have necessarily have up to date >>>>>> photos for all those bikes. >>>>>> >>>>>> So today I spent a couple of hours photographing my entire stable, >>>>>> plus my wife's Platypus. It's something I've been meaning to do for a >>>>>> while >>>>>> now, and this was a good motivator! That's 11 bikes total, but only 5 >>>>>> Rivs. >>>>>> So be warned, this isn't 100% Riv content! Only 45% Riv content :) But >>>>>> they >>>>>> are all steal bikes and heavily influenced by RBW philosophy. >>>>>> >>>>>> My idea is a create a post for each individual bike on this thread, >>>>>> but here is the link to album if you just want to see the photos without >>>>>> waiting for the rest of the thread. Link to Google Photos Album >>>>>> <https://photos.app.goo.gl/pVnKsNNnRnqYRGrWA> >>>>>> >>>>>> And as I said in my dissertation, I welcome any honest, constructive >>>>>> feedback :) >>>>>> >>>>> -- 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/4e9c79a2-8258-4710-8cc1-13016bf5a4d9n%40googlegroups.com.
