Correction/clarification: The Atlantis does now succeed in achieving the 2-inch tire clearance. Maybe more, I'm not sure.
On Jan 21, 2012, at 9:11 AM, James Warren wrote: > > Now that's the kind of question we need on the list right now! > > The Atlantis came about around 1999 as Rivendell's Japanese-built version of > their legendary All-rounder. The all-rounder is/was a bike-style designed to > work well in the following ways: > > as a road bike for people not set on racing lightness or racing geometry. > as an offroad vehicle once you mount some wide tires, and the tire clearance > is wide. Grant would shoot for two inches, although the first Atlantis's in > 99 through 2001 only got to about 1.9. > as an excellent touring bike > and in other ways you can think of, because the bike is so versatile. > > The versatility came through the very high clearances and cantilever brakes > which gave no problem mounting fenders and very wide tires. The bike has a > pretty long wheelbase and pretty long chainstays (although still shorter than > the 80's Trek 720's). It has a low bottom bracket which improves road > handling and invites larger tires, especially for offroad use. The other part > of the versatility is the rack braze-ons and really nice fender mounting > spots. In the earlier part of the 90's, one of the distinguishing features of > the all-rounder was basing it around 26 inch wheels. This came from the > Bridgestone days, when they were one of the few companies making "hybrids" > based around the more useful at the time 26 inch wheel size when offroading > is even considered. When Rivendell started, the All-rounder model would > continue this 26-inch wheel design, and that was one of the features that > made me want one then. But early in Rivendell's existence, they started not > liking the 26-inch wheels on the larger sizes, and began selling the larger > ones with 700c wheels and the smaller ones with 26 inch wheel. As a tall guy, > this bummed me out until I was convinced that in the late 90's, offroad 700c > tires, even 2-inch varieties, were beginning to blossom, mostly from WTB and > Schwalbe. > > In the late 90's, the all-rounder was a model made in the US and was fairly > expensive, and Grant wanted to make a version of it in Japan that would cost > less. This is where the Atlantis came from. It has those all-rounder > qualities described above, the big tire clearance, the great touring > behavior, the offroad capability, nice bike to ride unloaded for road rides. > It's an amazing bike, and it's still available as originally designed, only > now it has more rack braze-ons for added versatility (mini-racks and such). I > speak from experience regarding the Atlantis. I got mine in 2001, and it > really can do everything I would want to do riding. All my other bikes are > specialists in some specific cycling arena that the Atlantis can hold its > own: sporty road rides, cross-country mountain biking, commuting, sub-24-hour > overnighters, country biking with long days and mixed surfaces. What the > Atlantis excels at that the others can't match is touring rides that include > camping. 700c in the large sizes and 26 inch in the smaller sizes. Amazing > bike. One of the higher price Rivendell production models, but worth it. And > the 700c tire options are wonderful now. I don't long for 26ers much anymore. > Additionally, the Atlantis was ahead of the mainstream now so excited about > these modern "29ers!" > > A Homer Hilsen: > Perhaps without the All-rounder, the AHH could not have come about. Let's say > you never want to tour, you love country rides, you like to veer off-road, > you like to go overnight, just not days on end, you like to be comfortable > for a long day. You like to carry stuff on your bike, at least sometimes, and > you like road rides. But most importantly, in addition to all of the above, > you want to do most of it, including the road rides, on tires that are > between 32 mm and 40 mm, because you've discovered what an awesome size that > is, including for road rides. Also, because you like that tire width so much, > you don't want to scale the tire down just to mount a fender. If so, then the > A Homer Hilsen is the bike. Also, the A Homer Hilsen has a cool refinement: > dual pivot sidepulls work well and still provide the clearance needed to do > what's described above. > > Another way of describing what's above for the AHH is to say that it sort of > splits the difference between the Rivendell Atlantis and the Rivendell Road > model. So the AHH is a refinement of the all-rounder, moved closer to the > road end of the spectrum. Or maybe it's the other way around, because the > tubing of the AHH is lighter like the road models. The Atlantis uses more > sturdy tubes for its loaded duties and probably greater offroad duties. > > The AHH probably tours for days on end better than many bikes that have been > taken for days-on-end touring by many people for the past 50 years. > > I'll be that big-tire, fast road-biking is something that few people know > exists, and I'll bet the AHH is the best bike in the world at it. Also, > Rivendell calls the AHH a country bike. You should read Grant's description > of the term "country bike." I'll try to find it. If you take fully loaded > touring out of the equation (which could be valid, because it's a rare thing > to do), then I think the AHH is the most versatile and coolest bike ever made. > > San Marcos: > Rivendell has almost always had a road model available, a bike not designed > for heavy loads or too much offroad use (but with Rivendells, you can stretch > those rules even.) Rivendell road models have always had slightly longer > wheelbases than typical road bikes, and their comfort levels are extremely > high. You get handlebar position versatility (high included) and big tire > clearances. The production Rivendells for the road that came before the San > Marcos have been the Rambouillet, Romulus and the Roadeo. With the San Marcos > and the Roadeo, you can use 700x33 tires with fenders which I think is > extraordinary. If the main thing you want is a road bike, get one of these. > They are superb performers as road bikes and they are very comfortable and > versatile. The San Marcos is much less expensive than the Roadeo. You're not > supposed to load them too much, but listen: I have a Rambouillet and I > stretch the rules often. I put a rear rack on it and take it on overnighters. > I put Jack Browns on it (700x33) and veer offroad sometimes. If I had to > knock the whole bike collection down to 1, on paper and for > practicality/versatility, that one should probably be the Atlantis. But even > still, in the end I'd have a hard time not picking the Rambouillet. I don't > know what the San Marcos rides like, but I'm guessing it is similar. > Rivendell road models are amazing. Also, some people (brilliant people who > know their stuff by the way) will tell you that the optimum tire size for > these models is 700x28. They are probably right, but for me, ever since I put > Jack Brown greens, 700x33, on my Rambouillet, I have vowed not to take them > off, the ride is so wonderful (and I think fast). > > And remember my friends, it is better to feel fast than to be fast. > > -Jim > > > On Jan 20, 2012, at 4:58 PM, Mike Goldsworthy wrote: > >> i'll take a look at it. thanks! >> >> what's the difference between the san marcos, AHH and Atlantis? >> >> On Jan 20, 2012, at 4:15 PM, DustyMerkin wrote: >> >>> Have you looked at the Soma San Marcos, the 54cm does not have the 2TT but >>> I believe the geometry is similar to the 56cm but not sure. >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/p8xMS9KuPU0J. >>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
