The New Yorker article on Grant Petersen and Rivendell

[gravelreformist]

Nice article, I thought, from a non-industry source. The "reader" function of your browser should get you past the paywall, if necessary.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...taking-it-slow

[bikinchris]

Grant is so funny. He's SO anti exercise and anti-sport riding that he's laughable. It's just as bad as someone who ONLY road races talking crap about anyone who races track or off road or gravel and laughs at people commuting, cyclo-touring or just riding for fun.

[benb]

It's a good article. I'm not through it yet but have been reading it on and off today.

I have gone for a bunch of "no bike clothes" little rides around town with my son the last few weeks. Those kind of rides remind me of Grant. He has always been right that dispensing with a whole bunch of the "ceremony" and "ritual" of cycling brings back that childhood sense of freedom. Riding with a kid will definitely remind you of that. (My son is 11 and wants to ride a lot but usually doesn't want to go more than 10 miles)

I wish I had test rode a Rivendell back when Harris Cyclery was still around. I bought my All City at Harris Cyclery back when they were around and they had lots of Rivendells when I was shopping and test riding. Grant says he doesn't want to be like Filson selling ranch wear to urbanites but that's definitely the way I saw Rivendell back when I bought my All City from Harris. My All City is really one of only 2 bikes I've had in the last 25 years that mostly follow Grant's philosophy and I have mostly rode them that way. But the Rivendells were like 3x-4x the price of the All City's and Surly's that Harris was also selling, and that definitely had a huge effect on who was buying them and how often they went out the door, the cheaper bikes did a pretty similar thing for a lot less money and actually had a pretty similar upright fit, what you were paying for was the fancy looks of the Riv, and they sure did look a lot fancier.

Especially for a bike I'm going to ride around town and lock up places, stuff I have done a lot of on my All City, the price of a Rivendell is a negative. I am not sure if they are really high theft but the price will still make them more painful to have to replace if they're stolen.

I am still 75-90% the kind of cyclist Grant doesn't care about, but I totally get the idea of wanting a bike that excels at what he loves. Today I'd have to travel to try a Rivendell. Newton (where Harris was) is affluent, if it turns out most of the Rivendell dealers are in affluent areas than I guess that wouldn't make him that happy cause it makes the Filson comparison ring more true?

To a certain extent I think the eBikes are what threaten bikes like Rivendell, and for Rivendell money I could have an eBike that did the utility thing really well.. though it would surely not last or be as easy to maintain like a Riv.

[Peter P.]

Excellent journalism. Thanks for posting.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by benb

But the Rivendells were like 3x-4x the price

and this is why most Rivs will always be treated as a special bike that deserves to be babied and looked after (as mine is).. I totally get some folks will ride their Riv as Grant describes (and create "beausige"), but it certainly makes it hard to do when you have bought into a certain aesthetic (which Riv certainly is) and you want to keep that aesthetic nice and pretty.. much easier to lock up a $500 bike vs a $3-5k bike..

[Xrslug]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

Grant is so funny. He's SO anti exercise and anti-sport riding that he's laughable. It's just as bad as someone who ONLY road races talking crap about anyone who races track or off road or gravel and laughs at people commuting, cyclo-touring or just riding for fun.

I don’t think he’s as doctrinaire as he comes across. He road raced when he was younger and is (or at least was when I was still in the Bay Area) a strong rider who still rides “for exercise” on occasion (e.g. timing his climbs up Mt. Diablo). His larger point has always been that an overriding (p.n.i.) emphasis on racing and riding for exercise shortchanges what the bicycle can be and ultimately turns away a lot of people who might otherwise ride. People who have worked at Rivendell for years were/are racers.

[fourflys]

Grant is obviously someone who is passionate and opinionated AND has a platform to be so on.. I don't think Grant is that indifferent to any of us in that regard, we just don't have the platform.. I like much of the Rivendell idea, they are beautiful bikes (even the ones I don't care for, like the step-thrus), but I probably wouldn't buy another one.. I will never sell my Homer as it was my dad's before he passed away, but, for me, one Riv is plenty..

great article though, thanks for sharing!!

[David in Maine]

Even though I don’t fully share Grant’s cycling ethos, I highly value and appreciate his voice. He also seems to be a really kind and loving guy who leads with his heart. Of all the well-known cycling “personalities” I would choose Grant to join on an SO24 ride. I liked reading the article.

David

EDIT: on the other hand I tried bike touring the Riv way once with baggy shorts, wool boxers, leather saddle and flat pedals with sandals. Definitely didn’t work for me!

[rowebr]

I like to go fast, even on dirt! So the Rivendell way of riding isn’t really for me. But I would absolutely love to take one of their bikes for a ride in that part of CA just like the author did, that looks awesome.

[gravelreformist]

While I love the competive aspect of the sport - it's what motivates and excites me - I also appreciate Grant's vision of what cycling can mean as well, and I think there is time in most of our lives to explore these many different avenues.

Despite my lycra and electronic race bikes, it was a Bridgestone XO-1 in pumpkin orange that brought me back to the sport after a multi-decade hiatus. After over a decade on my Ebay 'watched items' list, a mint example in my size showed up, and a year or two of riding that bike in Grant's way, often with my kids, was what got me going again. And I know there will be a time when I circle back down that path again.

[rowebr]

Originally Posted by gravelreformist

While I love the competive aspect of the sport - it's what motivates and excites me - I also appreciate Grant's vision of what cycling can mean as well, and I think there is time in most of our lives to explore these many different avenues.

Despite my lycra and electronic race bikes, it was a Bridgestone XO-1 in pumpkin orange that brought me back to the sport after a multi-decade hiatus. After over a decade on my Ebay 'watched items' list, a mint example in my size showed up, and a year or two of riding that bike in Grant's way, often with my kids, was what got me going again. And I know there will be a time when I circle back down that path again.

That’s really good to hear. My son is into riding right now, I’ve been riding my single-speed CX bike with him and having a great time. That bike is just about perfect for the little parks and trails we do, except it’s a race bike with no luggage capacity. Hmm…

[thwart]

Thanks for posting that.

FWIW, I’d never sell my Romulus… glad Grant is around and still influencing cycling.

[blakcloud]

My Rivendell instills a different ethos when it comes to cycling. It is the bike I use for riding around town and it is the bike I use when my wife and I go on our picnics. My Riv is not babied, it is beat to rat crap but it rides just the same.

That bikes gets ridden on average 1 hour a week, my Domane gets ridden 10 hours a week. If I could only choose one bike it would be the Rivendell. As I age ungracefully it is a bike that can age with me.

I am grateful that we have so many choices when it comes to bicycles. Grant has a vision, so did John Burke from Trek and Andrew Ritchie from Brompton, not one better than the other, just different. (These are the bikes I own). I am just glad I can purchase a bike and ride.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by blakcloud

My Rivendell instills a different ethos when it comes to cycling. It is the bike I use for riding around town and it is the bike I use when my wife and I go on our picnics. My Riv is not babied, it is beat to rat crap but it rides just the same.

That bikes gets ridden on average 1 hour a week, my Domane gets ridden 10 hours a week. If I could only choose one bike it would be the Rivendell. As I age ungracefully it is a bike that can age with me.

I am grateful that we have so many choices when it comes to bicycles. Grant has a vision, so did John Burke from Trek and Andrew Ritchie from Brompton, not one better than the other, just different. (These are the bikes I own). I am just glad I can purchase a bike and ride.

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[marciero]

Originally Posted by Peter P.

Excellent journalism. Thanks for posting.

I'm a fan of this writer. Her "Uncanny Valley" is a great read.

Thanks to the OP for sharing. I share many of the sentiments expressed. I only take the Grant thing so far, but Rivendell was a resource when I started doing non-racing cycling in the aughts. I even have one of his books- Eat Bacon Dont Jog.

Edit: Reading the article I am reminded that I also have "Just Ride".