When I lived in Portland, around 2008
or so, I used to see incredible bikes on the street – bikes made by
Vanilla, Ira Ryan, Ahearne, Surly, Kogswell, and Rivendell. I bought
a Rivendell Mark's Rack, the little one, for my Trek road bike in the
summer of 2008, and I have been a Rivendell fan ever since. I've
followed the company and freaked out every time I see one in person.
So, this year during spring break I
went out to California. I had only been to California once
previously, and my goals were these:
1. Go see 924 Gilman Street, the
legendary punk venue
2. Go mountain biking in Marin County,
on Mt Tam
3. Go visit Rivendell Bicycle Works in
Walnut Creek
Visiting Rivendell was the only one I
accomplished. I walked over the Golden Gate Bridge, which satisfied
number two on that list for me. I looked at Marin. I also went to
Broken Guitars, Green Day's personal guitar store, and chatted with
the dude running the store who I think was in the punk band Pinhead
Gunpowder (one of my favorites).
From Berkeley, it was about a 20 minute
ride on the BART to get to Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek was bigger
than I pictured it. I wandered over to the warehouse where Rivendell
was.
I was worried, after a mild obsession
with these bikes, that this would be a case of “never meet your
heroes.” Luckily, it wasn't. I just said I wanted to test ride
some of their bikes, and they measured my PBH (pubic bone height) to
get my standover. Instead of measuring tons of variables, Rivendell
simplifies things and measures only one. I kicked off my sneakers
and put my feet in horseshoes nailed to a tree stump. My PBH was 86
cm. Then they subtracted 11 and put me on a 55 cm bike. It was
their newest model, the Joe Appaloosa. It had funky “choco-bars”
on it. They didn't even take my wallet, but I gave them my bag, and
they let me ride around. I rode around their parking lot, doing laps
around their building. I really liked the bike. It felt nimble,
like my LeMond cyclocross bike, but more stable. I expected to
dislike the handlebars, but in a snap judgment decided I liked them.
I had been planning on buying their
least expensive bike - the Clem Smith Jr. - in the 59 cm size. But,
when I saw one in person I immediately realized it was too large for
me! Also, the least expensive Rivendell was so successful, it was
sold out. Will from Rivendell let me ride one anyway – their demo
one – in the 650B wheeled, 52 cm version. I hopped on it and rode
it around. My snap judgement on it was that it felt very similar to
my 1984 Trek 830 (aka The Trash Bike). If I hadn't spent years
riding the Trash Bike, the Clem would have been a revelation and I
would have been thrilled by it!
I went back and test rode some other
bikes! I rode their Hunqapillar, one with a 1x11 Shimano set up. I
loved this bike! It had the swept-back Nitto Bullmoose bars. It
felt like my Trash Bike but AMAZING. I loved that it had big fat
29er tires and wheels. I took a mental note of the parts on the
bike. The bike cost around $3300 the way I had it. I leapt off of
it. I was dangerously excited about this bike and could not afford
it. (Note: it was a 54 cm model I rode)
I also rode the Atlantis. The Atlantis
is basically Rivendell's flagship. I rode one in the 58 cm size. It
had a Nitto Dirt Drop stem and drop bars. Safety is important to me,
but this bike felt like I could ride it without using my hands. I
liked it a lot.
Then I took the Appaloosa for another
ride. Will, picking up on me saying I loved mountain bikes, led me
off down a path and down into the trails. He led me down some side
roads and to some horse paths. The bike felt very cruisery but also
cyclocrossy. He led me to some paths and then turned around and went
back to the shop.
I was in the tall grass on this bike.
The paths were all muddy, and the bike was rolling on slicker 45 cm
Kenda tires. My spring break in California was plagued with
rainstorms, and the trail was all mud. I got off the bike and
pushed. I was kind of baffled why this bike shop, one described on
Yelp as “$$$$$ ultra high end” would let me go off through the
mud with their newest, shiniest bike. My brain just really couldn't
figure it out.
I decided to head back, but I didn't
know where I was, so I just rode around for a while. I found a big
hospital. I found a big park. I asked some dude on a recumbent
where the BART station was. I rode in a big loop. The Appaloosa
felt great. I really liked how the bottom bracket, and therefore the
pedals, were really low to the ground. I liked the Suntour shifters,
even though they just clicked and didn't index. It still felt great.
I went back and forth in my head – should I just buy a Rivendell
bag and thank Will, or should I buy this bike? I went back to the
shop.
Yes, I decided to buy it. It was
different enough from my Trash Bike and my Cyclocross bike and
certainly not like my mountain bike. I was willing to spend my
money. Also, I had been commuting for 3 years on a bike I found in
the trash. Part of me, I felt, had earned this bike.
But then they told me the bad news –
there were none left! All the bikes had sold already. Sorry. I
couldn't have this bike. Even the demo I was riding had been
promised to a local customer. But, Will checked in the back and he
had one frame left, one in the mustard baby poop color (Pantone
C132).
I handed over my credit card! YES! I
was so excited. I also bought one of their Shop Sacks, a handlebar
bag, some Rivendell official twine, and two strips of reflective
tape! I threw everything in my bag and left.
I also test rode the Cheviot! It is
their step-through bike. I test rode the Albatross bars on it and
kind of liked them. I loved the deep green color of the Cheviot. If
I had a girlfriend, I would buy her one of these Cheviot bikes.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER:
Waiting for the bike to come in the
mail was agony. I started buying parts online. I couldn't decide a
lot of what I wanted. I made a spreadsheet of parts. There were a
few things I knew I wanted:
1. a “one-by” setup with no front
derailleur
2. probably 2.00” x 29” tires
3. move my Paul Brakes over to it
4. Nitto rack on the back
5. Spurcycle grip rings for grips!
6. Thumb shifter!
Other than that, it was kind of up in
the air. I decided to sacrifice my LeMond Poprad as a “parts bike”
for this bike. I took the LeMond to the front stoop and disassembled
it. I felt like I was a lonesome cowboy shooting my injured horse.
It was pretty sad. I have had so many good times with that LeMond
bike. It was also filthy. I'm glad I took it apart. I put each
piece into grocery bags and collected them into a backpack.
I priced out everything and set a
budget of $500 for all the parts to get the bike together, then
promptly forgot about ever giving myself a budget.
I started putting together a collection
of parts. I took the wheels from the LeMond and was disappointed
that the rear wheel did not fit. The LeMond has a road standard
130mm rear hub, and the Rivendell has a mountain standard 135mm rear
hub. I ordered a Velocity Dyad with a Shimano Deore LX hub wheel
from Nomad Bikes.
Here's what I put together:
Nitto cockpit: dirt drop stem,
albatross handlebars, stainless shim and oh so trick Sim Works
“Between You and Me” nitto bar ends. Also, random colored
spurcycle grip rings
Brakes: Paul silver neo-retros and
matching paul levers, nitto rear hanger, tektro front hanger
Cranks: Sugino x White Industries 94bcd
– an ebay find from the mid-1990s, Wolf Tooth narrow-wide chainring
with 32 teeth, my favorite VP Vice pedals, Wippermann chain
Rear Wheel: Velocity Dyad, Shimano hub,
12-25 tooth Shimano cassette
Front wheel: Bontrager standard from
the LeMond
Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Mundial –
35mm x 700c
Shifting: shimano 105 road derailleur
and a Sunrace 9 speed thumbshifter, Jag-wire cables throughout with
corresponding white cable outers
Seating: Kalloy 26.8 seatpost with
Brooks Cambium C17 saddle in the “natural rubber” color
Extras: Nitto / Rivendell “big back
rack” in the old style attached with Wolf Tooth purple anodized
bolts
ENOUGH ABOUT THE PARTS, LET'S TALK
ABOUT THE RIDE:
I stop at every bike shop I pass, and I
often take new bikes for test rides. Last year, I was very close to
buying an on sale Surly Disc Trucker – in size 58 cm, on sale for
about $950 new. I liked the bike a lot, but it was just not that
different from my beloved LeMond Poprad, and frankly not that special. The Rivendell is a cruiser, but its parts are as solid as any cyclocross bike, and light as a result.
The Rivendell is very, very different.
First, the bottom bracket is lower. I scrape my shoes on turns,
which sounds like a bad thing but is actually quite fun. It's like
Moto GP racers dragging their knees through corners. Of course, perhaps this is due to my
tires being very small for what Rivendell had in mind. But, I like the
stability. In comparison with the Trash Bike, the saddle on the
Rivendell is over an inch lower. That means putting my foot down at
stoplights is quicker and more comfortable.
The bike flexes. Also, this sounds
bad. But, after changing forks on the Trash Bike I have become
sensitive to the subtle give of a gracefully curved fork. The
Rivendell's fork, with its cast lugs and beautiful curve, is not for
show. It gives a nice floating ride quality, which though it may
sound like riding in a Cadillac, actual translates to smoothness, not
bounciness.
The bike is stretched out. The
chainstays are comically, cartoonishly long. It actually still
looks, well, strange. The rear wheel is wayyyyyyy back there. The
bike is stable as a result. The Trash Bike has long chainstays too,
and it made it stable and confidence-inspiring in the snow.
The bars are raised up as if they are
praying to heaven. Will at Rivendell highly recommended the
Albatross Bars, and I got carried away with them. I put them up very
high. It's like – I'm getting a Rivendell so let's put the bars
all the way turned up. But, I'll probably lower them. The steering
could be a bit more weighted, a bit less cruiser-ish. I also am
planning on turning the thumb shifter underneath the bar so my hands
can use the entire width, like a steering wheel almost.
FUTURE RIVENDELL PLANS:
Ride a lot
Put fenders on
Change the saddle (probably to a Brooks
with springs)
Get fatter tires (probably 700 x 2.0 Big Bens)
Get a front wheel with a dynamo hub?
Put reflective stuff on it
Ride more
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