Hi everyone, I’d like to share the story of my new purple Appaloosa. I’ve gained a great deal of insight and enjoyment from reading this forum, so it’s only right that I return the favour with a story of my own.
From the first time I had heard that there was a company called Rivendell, I knew that someday I’d be riding one. I’d avidly read Tolkein in my childhood, so to hear that there were LotR themed bicycles - and that they were so beautiful! - was just fascinating to me. The more I read about the bikes and the philosophy, the more I was convinced. The final straw was coming across ‘Calling In Sick Magazine’, aka the unofficial Rivendell fan magazine. Reading the stories and looking at the photos of those people riding on dry hills near the ocean, in terrain not to dissimilar to what I ride here in Adelaide, Australia, gave me the impetus to make my dream a reality.
So, why did I choose an Appaloosa? To answer that, here is a little bit about the other bikes in my stable…
Surly Straggler
This was my first ‘nice’ bike, the first bike I actually did any research on before buying. I bought it to be my only bike and a do-it-all bike, one that would be reliable and fun both day-to-day and on riding anywhere and everywhere when I felt like adventure. In that, it’s met all my expectations and then some. It’s set up with a rack and fenders as a commuter, but over time I’ve tweaked it with wider, flared drops, fatter, more supple rubber and lower gearing to suit my increasing desire to explore. I’ve ridden this bike on two (metric) centuries, countless suburban explorations, in the rain, on gravel, and on single track. It does it all, more or less. I’ve never liked the looks of the stack of spacers I needed to get the bars high, and the gearing is probably a bit high, though that has made me stronger. Descending on the dirt, even with the flared drops, is a whole-body workout. Side note - I actually wanted a Cross Check, but they weren’t available to order in Australia when I bought this bike.
<IMG_0580.jpeg>
Bassi Bloomfield
It took a while to allow myself the thought that it was ok to have more than one bike. I’d been browsing Blue Lug and watching Terry Barentsen during the pandemic and fell in love with the idea of 650b, fat tyres, upright bars and front baskets. The day after I’d decided that I could get myself another bike, my local bike shop listed a whole bunch of Bassi frames for sale. The clearance for wide 650b tyres and the flower head tube graphic sold me instantly!
This bike has been a revelation for me. There’s something about it - the wide bars, the light frame, having no gears - that just clicks with me. It’s like the bike is hard-wired into my brain. And the basket! It’s so practical. More than that, though, this bike looks great. It’s a bike that non-bike people complement me on. And it sold me on how good it feels to ride upright.
<IMG_8340.jpeg>
Why Appaloosa?
Which brings me to the Appaloosa. In the last two years I’d begun to the explore the range of hills that flank Kaurna country / the Adelaide plains. I like riding from my door, winding through the suburbs to a trail head, then climbing and exploring the trails, going a little further each time. I wanted a bike that would be fun to ride on the road but more comfortable and capable off it than my other bikes. In short, I wanted a touring bike, and the Appaloosa seemed like it. I liked that the 2.2” tyres looked like a balance of speed and comfort, and the long chainstays promised to smooth out bumps and make hair-raising off-road descents more palatable. Spoiler alert: both of these things were true!
I’ll spare you the story of sourcing the frame. I’ll only say that I initially hesitated on the purple colour, which in hindsight was absolutely ridiculous. Purple is my favourite colour and THIS purple is amazing. It’s perfect.
First Impressions
I picked up the Appaloosa on Thursday after my bike shop kindly managed to get it ready before the Easter long weekend. Since then, I’ve taken the bike on a couple of long rides and a handful of short ones. The long rides include a 50km-or-so out and back along the linear trail of Adelaide’s main river, and one of my regular, rocky, single-track heavy foothills climbing loops.
The comfort of the riding position on this bike is incredible. My chest feels so open, and I can look around freely. I’m almost too carefree and sometimes need to remind myself to look at where I’m going! Despite this, pedalling isn’t a chore either. When climbing, the combination of long wheelbase and low gearing (24 x 36 low gear) makes it feel like there’s a motor behind me, pushing my up climbs without losing traction. Descending is impressively stable, both on road and off. It’s almost a joke how much more calm and in control I was riding down a steep, dirt hill face this morning. On my Straggler I was physically exhausted from the short descent from the effort it took to hold myself in the drops / on the brakes. On the Appaloosa - it was just like any other part of the ride, and I could gaze at the panorama of the city as I descended. Wow.
Yes, the rocky trails were still bumpy, but overall I’m far more refreshed hopping off this bike than I ever have been on the Surly. I’m still working out this whole friction-shifting thing, and had a bit of issue changing through the very low gears while bumping around and climbing. I’m not convinced on Brooks saddles either. I’ve bruised my behind from the few rides that I’ve done to date, and if that continues much longer then I’ll be swapping the Brooks out for an Ergon like I use on my other bikes. But there’s plenty of time for that. I’m looking forwards to riding and exploring with this bike a lot more over the coming months and years!
Build list
- 57cm Appaloosa, purple
- (I was initially worried about the standover on this big frame, but so far it’s been absolutely fine. I’m 183cm/6’ with a ~89cm PBH)
- 2.2” Panaracer Driver Pros on Velocity Cliffhangers
- SON front, Bitex rear hubs
- Crust Ron’s Ortho bars on a Velo Orange Grand Cru stem
- They can slip a little if I try to push them down, but haven't moved while riding yet.
- MKS Gamma pedals on a SpaCycles TD2 42-24 crankset
- Deore RD running a 12-36 9sp cassette
- Silver2 thumb shifters and DXR V brakes
- Memento Ant front rack - this thing is beautiful to behold and SO strong.
- Dynamo lighting and basket to come!
<IMG_0825.jpeg>
<IMG_0804.jpeg>
<IMG_0820.jpeg>
--
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
rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/66d4d677-e3d3-45ae-809e-8e027195ff47n%40googlegroups.com.
<IMG_8340.jpeg>
<IMG_0804.jpeg>
<IMG_0580.jpeg>
<IMG_0825.jpeg>
<IMG_0820.jpeg>
