show/talk about Rivendells

[danielpack22@ma]

My Rivendell Quickbeam. Very comfortable ride with lots of tire clearance.
Since this picture was made, I've "upgraded" the stem and seatpost to lugged Nittos and replaced the brake levers with the really nice Tektro levers.
Which reminds me, I really need to take some new pictures.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by christian

Um, guys, I am 99.9999% sure that Don is 63 now. And started riding bikes in 1984. Not that he started riding in 1984, at then age 63.

I guess there were two ways one could read that sentence - your version is certainly more likely...

-Ray

[malcolm]

I had a romulus for several years and sold it to someone on the forum, I think. I liked it and did a bunch of centuries on it. Not very sexy and was never really a conversation starter like some of my other steel bikes, but still very nice and functional. Best compliment I can give it is I never really had to think about it, it just took me where I needed to go.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by malcolm

I had a romulus for several years and sold it to someone on the forum, I think. I liked it and did a bunch of centuries on it. Not very sexy and was never really a conversation starter like some of my other steel bikes, but still very nice and functional. Best compliment I can give it is I never really had to think about it, it just took me where I needed to go.

The Romulus was their budget version of the Rambouillet IIRC. I had one of the first run of orange Rambouillets (great color, terrible paint!) and it was a great bike. But it was a bit truck-like (maybe like a pick-up) - not as much as an all-rounder / Atlantis / Heron Touring (damn near an 18 wheeler), but pretty deliberate for a road bike. I did a lot of long rides and a good bit of light touring on that bike. But when it came down to it, I liked a more responsive bike for almost anything short of pretty bad dirt roads and/or carrying a load. My original Riv Road and my RB1 were much better for fast-ish road rides. Until I got my first Spectrum, which left everything else I'd ridden in the dust...

-Ray

[spacemen3]

I once had an All Rounder. Grant was friendly to work with over the phone and very tolerant of my frame fitting ignorance. The frame details were exquisite and the ride was great, but in the end touring wasn't my thing.

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by Ray

I've never had a bad experience with the Riv folks on the phone - in the old days Grant used to answer a lot and I had a few really nice talks with him. I never had a problem with Peter White either - he wasn't real personable but was never rude and generally quite helpful...

Yep. all that^

In any case, Rivs are nice, stable, and pretty. Had a Ramb and AHH a while back. Would be nice for commuter touring etc.

fwiw, my Kirk w/ 853protubing has nearly Ramb geometry but is far more sprightly. Go figure.

[rodcad]

Originally Posted by sparky33

Yep. all that^

In any case, Rivs are nice, stable, and pretty. Had a Ramb and AHH a while back. Would be nice for commuter touring etc.

fwiw, my Kirk w/ 853protubing has nearly Ramb geometry but is far more sprightly. Go figure.

According to a recent thread by Dave Kirk newer steel tubing is far lighter and better than the old stuff so your comment makes perfect sense.

[MerckxMad]

I've downed the Riv the Cool Aid. Age and three broken vertebrae hastened the conversion. I started with an orange Ram that looked better than it rode. Then moved on to a Roadeo, a fendered and racked Bleriot, a custom 650B, a San Marcos, and most recently the proto Romulus, which after a refresh, is being ridden constantly. For a rider and not a racer wannabe, they are tops in my book. I'm not convinced about the latest crop of what I consider to be grocery-getters.

[professerr]

I got a town bike set up with a lot of stuff I bought from Rivendell, and I like their vibe a lot.

I've never ridden one of their bikes, though I've seen a fair number on the road. I definitely have noticed that people I see riding them almost always look happy and are typically in groups of 2 or 3.

[eddief]

when I've been in there. Would not paint the whole place with Mark as the only data point. You gotta consider what it would be like to be there full time and what sorts of personalities it would attract = all sorts.

[bigflax925]

I've had two Quickbeams; three Waterford-built All Rounders (including one that was S&S coupled); an Atlantis; and a cantilevered Romulus.

All were well built, well designed, and rode wonderfully.

[Drmojo]

Originally Posted by Dustin

Fwiw, my experience with Riv in general has been quite the opposite. Your experience was clearly a low point for them, but I would not call it typical.

Always chatty and friendly in the shop.
Nice on the phone when I ordered some stuff. Grant is anti-snooty

[Ray]

Originally Posted by bigflax925

I've had two Quickbeams; three Waterford-built All Rounders (including one that was S&S coupled); an Atlantis; and a cantilevered Romulus.

All were well built, well designed, and rode wonderfully.

I had an S&S coupled Waterford All-Rounder. Green with cream/white lugs and cutouts. I bought it used and later sold it - I wonder if it might have been the same frame???

I tried using it as a mountain bike but the stays were too long to keep my weight on the back wheel when it got really sketchy, and the M-bars killed my hands - it was tough enough but not responsive enough. Great on dirt roads though. Finally made it a light touring bike - it was overkill for most of my riding but I did a lot of fun rides on that thing. I rode the Cabot Trail on it - some of the toughest climbing I've ever done. In retrospect I wish I'd had a somewhat lighter and more responsive bike for that, but I had the low gears and the way that bike handled kept me from getting too exuberant, which probably made it easier to get into a rhythm and just keep moving...

-Ray

[malcolm]

Originally Posted by Ray

The Romulus was their budget version of the Rambouillet IIRC. I had one of the first run of orange Rambouillets (great color, terrible paint!) and it was a great bike. But it was a bit truck-like (maybe like a pick-up) - not as much as an all-rounder / Atlantis / Heron Touring (damn near an 18 wheeler), but pretty deliberate for a road bike. I did a lot of long rides and a good bit of light touring on that bike. But when it came down to it, I liked a more responsive bike for almost anything short of pretty bad dirt roads and/or carrying a load. My original Riv Road and my RB1 were much better for fast-ish road rides. Until I got my first Spectrum, which left everything else I'd ridden in the dust...

-Ray

I think truck like is a good descriptor. It's hard to put the romulus in words for me. It was comfortable over long distance, faster than it seemed but never really inspired me. It did everything I asked but never really motivated me to throw a leg over it. I used it almost exclusively for rough pavement centuries cause it was comfortable and had the widest tires I owned on it.

In contrast my newest Kirk was built as a light tourer, longish stays, very stable but somehow Dave made it more fun to ride, it feels fast and crisp. May be just in my head or I've heard Dave and Tom share some special sauce they use to design and build.

[merckx]

Originally Posted by malcolm

I think truck like is a good descriptor. It's hard to put the romulus in words for me. It was comfortable over long distance, faster than it seemed but never really inspired me. It did everything I asked but never really motivated me to throw a leg over it. I used it almost exclusively for rough pavement centuries cause it was comfortable and had the widest tires I owned on it.

In contrast my newest Kirk was built as a light tourer, longish stays, very stable but somehow Dave made it more fun to ride, it feels fast and crisp. May be just in my head or I've heard Dave and Tom share some special sauce they use to design and build.

I wonder if the trail/wheel flop was too high on the Romulus, or too much weight on the FC?