[RBW] Stumbled on The Lost City. Rode my first Rivendell

2015-03-08 Thread Pondero
Based on what I've seen of your other bikes and builds, I'm looking forward to 
your interpretation of the venerable Atlantis.  I have a feeling it will be 
special.

Chris Johnson
Sanger, Texas

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[RBW] Stumbled on The Lost City. Rode my first Rivendell

2015-03-08 Thread 'jinxed' via RBW Owners Bunch
So this happened:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42027576@N00/16755657141/

Things have a funny way of falling into place. As it turns out, my Hilsen 
found a new home with a fellow artist in one of the most enjoyable 
interactions. Didnt plan it, but had a ball with the new owner during our 
email volleys.

Unexpectedly I was in the market for a used Atlantis frame. I had a 
collection of parts ready, but was in no hurry. My knee is still bummin, 
snow is piled up, and my Rambler is at the ready as my do all number one 
slotted steed. I realized 56 frames tend to be pretty hot when they pop up 
so I figured it could be a while.

Not to be lazy, I did a quick history search on the bay to see if they even 
popped up there. Call it fate, but there was a 56 that had just been 
relisted. I made a few inquiries regarding a frame only sale, but suddenly 
found myself the owner of a complete bike. 

The way it's built is pretty far off from how I planned to use it, but it 
dawned on me that I'd never experienced what I would call a typical 
Rivendell build. I tend to keep my bikes extremely minimalist. A seat bag, 
or handlebar bag is about it. Even then I stick with easily removable 
offerings. If it's not going to get used EVERY ride, I do not like it 
bolted to my bike. This thing had front and rear racks, dyno lighting, 
fenders, noodle bars, brooks tape, and dual brake levers. AKA overload for 
me. HOWEVER. I had warmed up to the idea of giving fenders a try a while 
back and tried to fit a set of SKS to another bike, but gave up extremely 
frustrated an hour into the rear fender. I was also a little intrigued with 
dyno lighting despite very rarely riding in the dark. It was more of a bike 
geek thing, and the fact that my Rambler is built for it. That said, this 
Atlantis was already outfitted with everything and ready so I decided to 
give it a go. This is my off the cuff review of a few items that regularly 
find place on Rivendell bikes, but are my first experience with them. I did 
a few rides. Both road and dirt, wet and dry, day and night. Maybe 75 mi 
total.

Fenders. WHOO BOY, I don't like fenders! They drive me absolutely batty. 
Maybe it's my inexperience, but for something I expected to just be 
there, they negatively affected my riding. My foot kept hitting the front 
and both fenders caught going down curbs / over stuff. Also the noise of 
the pebbles rattling up through them constantly kept me unnerved the whole 
time especially in the dark. I expect I would get used to that over time, 
but honestly I'd rather be covered in mud. The SKS also look really wonky 
and crooked despite messing with them for far too long. They made a nice 
bike look like a junker to me. I plan to run fat knobbies that would not 
fit fenders anyway, so they are now in a pile with the other pair I bought.

Lighting. Disclaimer: I know extremely little about dyno systems. I'm 
vaguely familiar with Schmidt and Supernova as brands, but have no clue 
where the SON (Classik?) and E3 lights on the bike fit in the world of 
lumens. So this is a total newbie take as well. First off, I was shocked at 
the amount of resistance the hub offered trying to turn it by hand. I was 
sure it was wrong/broken/bad bearings. After a little reading, it is 
apparently normal because of the magnetic resistance, but greatly 
diminishes with the wheel in the frame and rolling. OK, yea, it was less 
pronounced but not absent for sure. Secondly, I was really shocked at how 
bright those little things are! WOW, it was awesome to cruise around the 
neighborhood at night! Keep in mind, the light I use maybe once every two 
years is a Cateye clamp on with an incandescent bulb and runs on 2 C cell 
batteries. I have 2 or three of them circa 1994-5. So yea...maybe I'm a 
little behind on the tech. Am I hooked? Still undecided. If so, it would 
get moved to the Rambler for multiple reasons. It would most likely be the 
bike used for early morning or evening rides for coffee/camping. It also 
has provision for internal routing and cable guides on the fork. The zip 
tied wires all over the Atlantis are a no go. I have since rebuilt the 
front wheel to remove the SON, and lights are off.

Racks. The Nitto campee is essentially the same Marks rack I have been 
using. It's simple, stout, and perfectly handles my Swift Ind x Ocean Air 
Docena bag. I do like the integrated single strut to fork hole mount. It's 
clean and feels sturdy. Although that is sort of negated by the p-clamps 
needed for the Atlantis fork. But hey, it's Nitto, looks great, works well, 
fits perfect and wins a spot on the bike. The rear rack is quite insane. 
It's a Tubus Cosmo. I think I could tow my car with it. Although a 
different vibe than the nitto, it is easily as nice in fit and finish. I 
have owned a big nitto rear rack and it got used exactly twice in two 
years. Completely overkill for my use. It got traded or sold for something. 
The Tubus honestly feels beefier I'm sure 

[RBW] Stumbled on The Lost City. Rode my first Rivendell

2015-03-08 Thread WETH
So glad it worked out.  Enjoy the experience.  It is a a great looking bike and 
build.

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[RBW] Stumbled on The Lost City. Rode my first Rivendell

2015-03-08 Thread 'jinxed' via RBW Owners Bunch
So this happened:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42027576@N00/16755657141/

Things have a funny way of falling into place. As it turns out, my Hilsen 
found a new home with a fellow artist in one of the most enjoyable 
interactions. Didnt plan it, but had a ball with the new owner during our 
email volleys.

Unexpectedly I was in the market for a used Atlantis frame. I had a 
collection of parts ready, but was in no hurry. My knee is still bummin, 
snow is piled up, and my Rambler is at the ready as my do all number one 
slotted steed. I realized 56 frames tend to be pretty hot when they pop up 
so I figured it could be a while.

Not to be lazy, I did a quick history search on the bay to see if they even 
popped up there. Call it fate, but there was a 56 that had just been 
relisted. I made a few inquiries regarding a frame only sale, but suddenly 
found myself the owner of a complete bike. 

The way it's built is pretty far off from how I planned to use it, but it 
dawned on me that I'd never experienced what I would call a pretty typical 
Rivendell build. I tend to keep my bikes extremely minimalist. A seat bag, 
or handlebar bag is about it. Even then I stick with easily removable 
offerings. If it's not going to get used EVERY ride, I do not like it 
bolted to my bike. This thing had front and rear racks, dyno lighting, 
fenders, noodle bars, brooks tape, and dual brake levers. AKA overload for 
me. HOWEVER. I had warmed up to the idea of giving fenders a try and tried 
to fit a set of SKS to another bike, but gave up extremely frustrated an 
hour into the rear fender. I was also a little intrigued with dyno lighting 
despite very rarely riding in the dark. It was more of a bike geek thing, 
and the fact that my Rambler is built for it. That said, this Atlantis was 
already outfitted with everything and ready to go so I decided to give it a 
go. This is my off the cuff review of a few items that regularly find place 
on Rivendell bikes, but are my first experience with them. I did a few 
rides. Both road and dirt, wet and dry, day and night. Maybe 75 mi total.

Fenders. WHOO BOY, I don't like fenders! They drive me absolutely batty. 
Maybe it's my inexperience, but for something I expected to just be 
there, they negatively affected my riding. My foot kept hitting the front 
and both fenders caught going down curbs / over stuff. Also the noise of 
the pebbles rattling up through them kept me unnerved the whole time 
especially in the dark. I expect I would get used to that over time, but 
honestly I'd rather be covered in mud. The SKS also look really wonky and 
crooked despite messing with them for far too long. I plan to run fat 
knobbies that would not fit fenders anyway, so they are now in a pile with 
the other pair I had.

Lighting. Disclaimer: I know extremely little about dyno systems. I'm 
vaguely familiar with Schmidt and Supernova as brands, but have no clue 
where the SON (Classik?) and E3 lights on the bike fit in the world of 
lumens. So this is a total newbie take as well. First off, I was shocked at 
the amount of resistance the hub offered trying to turn it by hand. I was 
sure it was wrong/broken/bad bearings. After a little reading, it is 
apparently normal because of the magnetic resistance, but greatly 
diminishes with the wheel in the frame and rolling. OK. Secondly, I was 
really shocked at how bright those little things are! WOW, it was awesome 
to cruise around the neighborhood at night! Keep in mind, the light I use 
maybe once every two years is a Cateye clamp on with an incandescent bulb 
and runs on 2 C cell batteries. I have 2 or three of them circa 1994-5. So 
yea...maybe a little behind on the tech. Am I hooked? Still undecided. If 
so, it would get moved to the Rambler for multiple reasons. It would most 
likely be used for early morning or evening rides for coffee/camping. It 
also has provision for internal routing and cable guides on the fork. The 
zip tied wires all over the Atlantis are a no go.

Racks. The Nitto campee is essentially the same Marks rack I have been 
using. It's simple, stout, and perfectly handles my Swift Ind x Ocean Air 
Docena bag. I do like the integrated single strut to fork hole mount. It's 
clean and feels sturdy. Although that is sort of negated by the p-clamps 
needed for the Atlantis fork. But hey, it's Nitto, looks great, works well, 
fits perfect and wins a spot on the bike. The rear rack is quite insane. 
It's a Tubus Cosmo. I think I could tow my car with it. Although a 
different vibe than the nitto, it is easily as nice in fit and finish. I 
have owned a big nitto rear rack and it got used exactly twice in two 
years. Completely overkill for my use. It got traded or sold for something. 
The Tubus honestly feels beefier I'm sure due to the larger diameter 
tubing. The Supernova tail light fits the rack with precision. Like they 
were made for each other. If my romantic dreams of multi day camping tours 
ever come to reality, this