Rivendell appreciation thread

Seeing as there is not a dedicated thread for the good life they represent here goes.
Any owners here willing to post theirs?

Lusting for one of these, mainly the ones with larger tyre clearance like Appa, atlantis, hunqa and so on.

any others feeling the same way?

Does anyone over here import them, or are they exclusively US?

@jontea to my knowledge only retailer outside US is blue lug

any others feeling the same way?

No

Great thread. Following

@JB very sad to hear that.

I think it's not only the beauty of the hand craft but the whole company shines to me as an example how to make great business that brings value to the customer and the employees seem to enjoy working there.

https://vimeo.com/57271334

Grant is a bit of an acquired taste, but I very much admire the way he's willing to ignore the rest of the bicycle industry and do his own thing; more power to his elbow. Rivendell's own builds like goofy-tall quill stems a bit much for my tastes, but the frames are great for lug and headbadge porn.

Reviving this thread to mention Rivendell’s formalised Black Reparations Pricing scheme - apparently they have been reducing bikes for black people at their shop @-45% for some time, now available online.

Quite a bold move. But hey, if you run a shop, you get to to run it how you like. Which they patently always have with their un racy fat tyre useful bike no discy ethos, the very epitome of retrogrouch.

I’m always pretty dismayed at the lack of a UK dealer of Rivs. Here’s another reason to consider them an interesting project.

any others feeling the same way?

Fuck yeah!

I’m always pretty dismayed at the lack of a UK dealer of Rivs.

or lack of any other dealer outside of the US other than bluelug in tokyo for that matter..

Haven't heard about the BRP-scheme but I think it goes hand in hand with the general ethos of running rivendell and atleast their instagram has been very BLM-active. I think it's a good initiative.

some mountain bike advice

Most trail crashes happen when you get scared and brake wrong (too much) instead of letting the bike roll over whatever's in its way, and trusting that it'll do that. It helps a lot to have a long wheelbase, a long front-center (center of crank to center of the front wheel), tires at least 2-inches wide, and --this is huge--a handlebar that sweeps back toward you, puts your hands and brake levers well behind the front hub, and lets you push the front have of the bike way forward. Then it's just a matter of rising off the saddle, schooching back, and letting the bike roll. You can brake the rear wheel, but go easy or just lay off the front wheel. Whether you brake the front wheel or not depends on, I don't know..how steep it is, how bumpy (bumps tend to brake the front wheel, and additional intention braking has to account for that, so the combination of bumb-braking and hand-braking doesn't lock up the front wheel. When you keep it rolling, and a Clem-Atlantis-Appaloosa-Gus-Susie will roll over ANYTHING. You just push the bike forward, sit back, use mostly the rear brake, and keep the front wheel rolling. Brake it the front wheel over the smooth parts with decent traction, lay off it on the worst bumps and in the dusty parts. It's not even hard, it's not advanced anything, it's easy, it makes sense, and just takes a little practice, so you practice on easier sections and let your skills grow naturally.

Also, don't CARE so much, and don't hesitate to walk. The trail isn't your gym or your proving ground or stuff like that. Just ride it and walk it and don't show off or challenge yourself. All that is overrated.

...........

Most of you have a suspension mountain bike, I'm sure of it. It's not a bad thing, it's just a bike, but it encourages because it forgives riding too fast over too big bumps, and there's no actual reason to do that. It's more fun only if you've swallowed the faster-is-funner pill the entire bike industry dishes out.

What's the goal of suspension, anyway? To make it so you don't feel the bumps? To "take the edge off" the nastier bumps? They're the same thing. Suspension is necessary in competition when other competitors have it, but for a recreational rider, all it does is interfere with your connection to the trail and how your ride it. With suspension you smack things you shouldn't, you ride faster than you should, and you can't just say it's all in the name of fun and safety. Slow is just as fun, makes the fun last longer, and is way safer.

Ride chubby tires at low pressure. Get your handlebars high and your braking hands behind the front hub. That's 90 percent.

Look at the roots and rocks in that photo up there, above this. Most trails aren't that bumpy. Those are extreme, at least by the standards of every trail ridden. THey're worse than they look

https://www.rivbike.com/blogs/grant-petersens-blog/late-june-2

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I intermittently see a rivendell in molesey, keep meaning to shout, nice bike. Is it any one on here?

Fantastic video. Really like Rivendell, would love to own one some day.

I'd own a Riv in a heartbeat if I weren't always flat broke when preorders open.

I really liked the look of the Quickbeam in green, with the simple way it allowed for a single-speed/fixed gear set up to change the front chainring by moving the rear wheel in an unusual rear drop-out:

[edit: image shows in Firefox, but not in Chrome for some reason]
Source: http://www.mile43.com/cycling/quickbeam.html
It is a pity those framesets are not available anymore.

They also have a great video on YouTube showing how to fit the awkward SKS Chromoplastic mudguards.

why is it the Americans will sell you retro modded bikes like this but the uk frame builders are all

"you'll have this bike from 1980 and you'll fucking like it you yuppie prick, and no, you cant fucking have it in a colour from this decade, dont you fucking dare get any ideas of fitting something larger than 35, finally, cut the bullshit about seeing examples of the work, the 500x500 pixel un-expandable jpg on my site is plenty"

"oh by the way we're now closing. Nothing to do with us not keeping up with market trends or being in the slightest bit flexible. We're actually very successful, but old and nobody wants to work here despite us being successful. Bye"

the other end of the spectrum is equally eye catching

"hello, i am not your typical bike maker :3 i make bikes for the working person! the proles!!! these are hardworking utility bikes meant to be ridden every day UwU not of that race bike type :(( yucky each one takes me 9 years to construct as i have no concept of production or business but an assumption of everything needs to be "artisinal" blushing with all this in mind i offer bikes starting at the peoples price of £4000 ::)))"

just want a characterful frame with trad styling which takes modern wheels for a price your average email miner can achieve

i mean i have one, but i would like another

for a price your average email miner can achieve

At current exchange rates, a Riv frameset's about £1,200 before shipping; it's not ludicrous, but by the time you've added shipping, import tax, etc, you're surely looking at at least £1.5K? For that kind of money I'm sure you could get something locally built.

aye, which is what drives the lamenting,

i think the nice thing about rivendell, and crust to a point, is they're not custom (for the most part), frames with niche styling/ build philosophy without the faff of custom and all the pros of OTP like consistent sizing, ride reports, detailed pictures, test ride, replacable etc

the uk options for this type of bike with this sort of look non existent, without going custom/semi custom and all that entails,

imagine a company like brother, fairlight, stooge, pipedream, stanton, but knocking out 1" steerer 26r tourers lugged to the gills in nice paint for £900 per season in quick release and v brakes.

The dream

Stanforth and thorn probably make the bikes closest to these here, but they have thread less steerers

Still look good tho

https://www.stanforthbikes.co.uk/kibof-f

But as we know, most the magic in a Rivendell is that cult of personality they have and the parasocial, retrogrouch persona

That and good taste and eye for a bike being more than just it’s frame

But as we know, most the magic in a Rivendell is that cult of personality they have and the parasocial, retrogrouch persona

Well quite; pretty sure Stanforth would build you a Kibo with a threaded steerer, mind - I think the frames are built to order (or possibly in small batches?) by Lee Cooper, aren't they?

That would be sweet if they did, I’m not sure who builds them, I assumed they were OTP but they might be semi custom?

for I am that “yuppie prick” with no eye or ear for uk frame building history

Update after looking:

Seems they’re completely custom

The specific tubes tubes used on your frame, within the Reynolds 631 range, will be chosen based on your weight and planned load. The tube wall thickness and diameters have a significant bearing on frame stiffness so your frame can be designed specifically with your planned touring in mind.
​
All of our frames are custom made to best fit you. You can either send us some key measurements or better still, come and visit us for a fitting. The frame will be designed specifically for you, no two frames are the same.

As well as being hand built in the UK, our frame and forks are lugged. We can build fillet brazed versions of the Kibo, just email us on info@stanforthbikes.co.uk to discuss. Please note we don't tig weld as tests have shown joins to be weaker using this process, we braze only with either lugs or by fillet brazing.

https://www.stanforthbikes.co.uk/product-page/kibo-ex-display-with-quill-stem-1

Yeah, looks like they're standard frames built to order with the option to customise. Not particularly cheap, but their ex-display bikes look like good value for what they are; thankfully this is too small for me: https://www.stanforthbikes.co.uk/product-page/kibo-ex-display-with-quill-stem-1 (edit - beaten to it!)