I was wrong to say donation, when he really just asked people to buy gift certificates. I also agree that Grant has come up with a ton of things, including many of the things you mentioned, but also things like raising the stem.

But I don't think custom steel is solely his idea. Remember, even if you buy a "custom" Rivendell, it still has to meet his requirements and he will not accept just any geometry, tubing or even paint job. Further, custom steel framesets have been around forever and builders like Richard Sachs, Sasha White/Vanilla and many others have been able to build up their following by offering true custom framesets.

Bottom line, if you like the direction Grant/Rivendell is going with their frame offerings, then that's the way to go. If not, there are tons of builders, including those who build with carbon, who can provide you with a ride that is amazing. It is a good time to be a rider with so many choices!

Of course, YMMV!

Good Luck!

And also an axe shopper.

I think Grant Petersen might be a bit more "liberal" as to what he will allow in a custom Rivendell than what our pal Richard Sachs would build. I think it's perfectly fine for a builder or designer of custom bikes to refuse to provide a bike that wouldn't represent their style and/or performance standards.

Just don't ask me for $, Richie has never passed the hat. Business has spoken for itself

I was only responding to the sentence that stated that other builders like Sachs would build true customs implying that a buyer could have Richie and the others build whatever design they wanted. I don't think that is true for the builders named.

Understood, thanks for clarifying

Richie doesn't suffer fools...but he's made a living. That's to be appreciated and admired

Wow. Didn’t know there were so many dicks on this site. What’ve you guys accomplished?

I love Grant and the ethos he espouses. He has always brought well-made, versatile, very low-maintenance bikes to market, with a lot of creativity in his designs. He has been thoughtful and inventive in bringing a joyful, liberated, utilitarian product to the world. This message is what brought me to biking to begin with. I had just started my first office job and sitting in commuter traffic was rotting my body and soul (perhaps dramatic). I commuted to work every day, appreciate fenders and a rack, enjoyed never fussing with bar-end shifters, and love lazily venturing around on a comfortable leather saddle.

I think he has lost his way a bit, in that he should go back to leading the upscale commuting and touring market with simple, proven “technologies.” He has pivoted toward something like a Danish city-bike while omitting some lugs and design flourish. Grant’s flourish and style is what his customers buy. Even folks without jorts. Perhaps he will venture back that way. Either way, his customers will happily enjoy his creations for the next 100 years, as they were designed.

A lot more than some cat with a muffin top, cut off short short shorts and sitting in a creek with a bag of shrooms and trolling for God knows what. But that bar is low, so just a month in county would be the equilibrium. I've never been there

PS: mind your language, the D word is uncalled for. This is a family place, not a hookah

In My Inbox Today
 

I know, I know there's more to it than it seems, but consider for a moment a $250 Japanese rack to support your $23 MUSA basket that actually comes with supports (doesn't require a rack, YMMV).

Is it a big improvement over the integrated struts that looks every bit the hand-crafted $250 brazed rack it is? For sure. But it is kinda funny that the same people selling you a $250 rack for a $23 basket also suggest you do this to mount a pump on a bike they themselves designed without a pump peg.

and this comment closed this thread.

remember: Grant and company put themselves in the public space, and this happens to be a bike forum, where we discuss bike related things, most of the comments in this thread have been respectful enough, and it's reasonable to discuss people and things that post to public facing web outlets like instagram, facebook, radavist, the WWW, etc.

let's face it, when you post photos of middle aged men in short cut-off jeans, there is some shock value there, and discussion of such on a bike forum should not be unexpected.

anyway, calling people "dicks" is not in the spirit of friendly discussion, no matter how you feel about the topic.