This
is nothing more than a continually evolving page to bring together
various Rivendell items which have been dispersed to the web:
Riv-Triv
about newer models, product previews and some catalog
and Reader scans, when requested by the folks on the RBW Owners
Bunch list. I've wrangled things around so that the newest stuff
is first - and clicking
on Newest Rivendell "Spy" Photos and
Intel should jump you down past this intro to the most recent
entry.
In
addition to the blog-like entries, there are a few other items of
interest which have sections of their own -
Most
of these images were originally shared via the Rivendell
Bicycle Works mailing list, which had been maintained at bikelist.org.
As of 3/25/07, this list is no longer operational, following a decision
by Rivendell not to participate in the list. In the wake of this
decision, I've created an "RBW Owners' Bunch" list through
Google Groups in order to continue the idea of the list - a focus
on Rivendell products.
If
you are a Rivendell bicycle owner, enjoy their products, approach,
or even just have a curiosity about things Rivendell, please feel
free to join in. Google groups allows posting for members through
either regular email or a web interface. The first step is to join
the group, which you can do by using the links below:
Newest
RBW Updates, Spy Photos & Intel - Starts Here
Just
Some Notes - 9/08
I
have a nascent project to create a timeline of Rivendell Bicycle
Models. Thought I'd stick the model names here for now, and
then deal with the year attibution later. If there's one you
can think of that isn't here, give
a holler.
Rivendell
Road (semi-custom/build tuned to order by GP)
Rivendell Road Standard
Rivendell Mountain/Expedition
Rivendell Longlow
Rivendell All Rounder
Rivendell Cyclocross (not the Legolas)
Heron Road
Heron Touring
Rivendell Atlantis
Rivendell Rambouillet
Rivendell Romulus/Redwood
Rivendell Custom (true custom)
Rivendell Quickbeam
Rivendell Saluki
Rivendell Glorius/Wilbury
Rivendell Legolas
Rivendell Bleriot
Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen
Rivendell Bombadil
Grant
Petersen: Rivendell Bicycle Works article by Gary Boulanger
Don't
quite know how I missed this one, but there was a nice Grant
Peterson interview article which appeared on Bikeradar.com,
written by Gary Boulanger. It seems to have been written in
2007.
I've
also reworked the files into separate directories, so that
you can get to the individual models by just adding "/rbw/modelname"
to cyclofiend.com. And even though the AHH uses "hilsen",
you can still use "ahomerhilsen" and get to the same place.
If
you have old links to the original model pages which ended
in ".html", those will simply redirect to the new pages, so
yo don't need to worry about changing your links or bookmarks.
which
have pulled together flyers, tidbits and scans, as well as
aggregate all the Gallery listings for those models.
Grant
Peterson Interview on Cycloculture - 8/19/08
Forbes
B-B over at Cycloculture.com
just posted an interview he did with Grant Peterson. Always
interesting to read what GP is thinking about, and if you
haven't been following Forbes' stuff, he's had a succession
interviews with interesting folks as of late - you can see
the GP Interview here.
Maxway
produces a wide variety frames for many bicycle companies
centered in the US. This video seems to be a promotional
piece aimed at potential new customers. Didn't notice anyone
brazing lugs when I watched it (and I think the music alone
may keep it off my "most-played" list...), but
these are the folks who more than likely will be building
the four new models for 2009.
More
Grist for the Rumour Mill - 4 New Taiwan Made Rivendells for
2009 - 5/08
The
announcement that the Bleriot was going away provoked a number
of responses, and Grant emailed me a couple of updates regarding
the newer models - both of these appear in the RBW
List at Google groups, and I'd encourage you to follow
through all of the discussion which followed. But, I have
found myself quoting the original posts so many times, I thought
it would make sense to put them somewhere easy to find:
Bleriot etc:
I got tired of too many dealers de-dignifying it as a loss
leader, and so I'm just pulling the plug on the whole Bleriot
program. That means that after about late June, no dealer
who doesn't have them will be able to get them. We'll then
be obligated to buy up QBP's stock, which will give us enough
'riots for a few months, maybe even through winter. They will
not go on sale; still $750.
The
QBP partnership was pleasant, I have only the best things
to say about QBP, but it was about a dozen and a half dealers
that sealed the Bleriot's fate.
We
could, I suppose, continue to get them ourselves. But the
original deal was created with the help of QBP's trading company,
and it wouldn't be fair for us to tie up its time with business
that no longer involves QBP. So rather than put them in the
position of "handing off" the Bleriot deal to a competitor
trading company--after they'd worked so hard on the details--I'm
just going to kill the fine bike and start fresh with another
trading company and a few more bikes, which--if all goes well
which it hardly ever does--will be ready in about January,
March, May, and July of 2009.
The
concepts are: Cheap Quickbeam, cheap A. Homer/Saluki, cheap
Atlantis, and cheap Mixte. The plan is four sizes each: 48-52-56-60,
all with 6-deg upsloping top tubes (like Bombadil), so each
size will fit a wider rage of leglengths/riders.
I
say "cheap," but the quality will be the same as the Bleriot.
Made in Taiwan. Our lugs, crowns, bb shells, tube pick, 'ame
& 'phics, all that. Probably they'll be one-color (no cream
head tube), and m-m-may retail for $700 or a hair less (not
$699.99!).
Our minimums per bike are 150. So, four sizes is about 37
each, which will give us good depth and stock for a while.
Meanwhile,
we are getting in a last run of real Quickbeams---70 of them
late this summer, in Silver with blue graphics.
Toyo's
production is low and slow on the normal bikes, so we're supplementing
it with Wford A. Homers and then some Atlantis frames. Toyo
sort of expects to catch up in about 9 months, but I'm not
optimistic, and that's why we're relying on Wford to fix the
slack.
Customs:
Curt's on his own now, and we're training a new builder (new
to us). I know this guy, have for 25 years, he's done repairs
for us for 3 years, he does NOT have his own brand and says
he wants nothing to do with it, and I actually believe him.
First he'll build 30 protovelos for us--or however many it
takes for him to get his groove and get really comfortable
with the particulars of our bikes.
I'm
tired of frustrations, but overall things are really good.
We have a new (second) full-time shipper; Miesha's back and
here with her baby (Freddy) and doing well. The site is getting
better. We'll soon have instructional youtube videos for various
things we get asked about all the time (twine, shellac, mounting
racks, and then just fundamentals like fixing flats).
New
RIV bike geos and fits:
The 48 will fit like a horizontal top tube (htt) of a 51 or
to to 56 or so. The 52, like a 53 to 60; the 56, like a 57
to 63 or so, and the 60, like a 62 to about-how-we-say-a 66.
The explanation is simple, and it is: The top tube slopes
UP from the seat lug, NOT down from the head tube. So front-end
height is easily had. If you're on the small end of a new
bike size, you'll probably sink the stem in deep---an odd
thing for most Rivvies (I think that's a Beth Hamon term,
not sure), but with the SU (sloping UP) top tubes (TT), it
makes sense. Saddle height is never a problem, not with today's
500mm seat posts.
So...the
new sizes will fit a gigantic range of riders, all with four
sizes.
I
know the SUTT's don't have that Stradivarius look, but the
goal of these new bikes is to make solid, fantastic, versatile,
comfortable, lugged steel bicycles affordable to more people;
to make it easier to buy (for instance) an Atlantis-style
bike (touring) even if you can't justify a $3,000 real one
because you aren't a full-time wealthy vagabond. Our bikes
have a certain look, and these will too. But the function
and the sense of the SUTT seems appropriate for the new bikes,
and I think it's good to apply a different Aesthetic Yardstick
to a $700 frame than to one that costs twice or more of that.
The
Bleriot has "that Rivendell look," true, but we could never
afford to buy enough of them by ourselves (without QBP's help)
to be able to stock sizes deep enough to ensure good supply,
and that matters.
The
SUTT is only 6-degrees, or about four more degrees than our
current bikes. It is the same as the BOMBADIL, which you can
see on our site. So: I'm a fan of these bikes even before
they're here. Of course, on one hand I have to be. But on
the other hand, we're the force behind them---they aren't
being forced on us, and now we gotta defend them. Not at all.
I'm really excited about them.
These
days, to me, a nicely detailed bike that forces on you a low
bar and skinny tires. I look at bar height-ability and tire-ability...and
lugs, somewhere along the line.
TRAIL:
I'm GETTING tired of this topic, and have only this to say,
for now: You can get used to anything and learn to love it.
The power of suggestion is strong, especially in Matters of
Subtle Differences and Subjectivity. All that said, Trail
is a stabilizing force, which means to some extent is can
make a bike safer to ride, less easily jostled-to-crash than
a bike with too little of it.
I'm
not one to quake at the thought of going against the conventional
wisdom when I think it's off, but in this case I don't think
it's off. If it were off, then the tens of millions of happy
bikes and riders in the last half century and before wouldn't
have been so happy and content. I understand that THAT logic
can't be applied as successfully to all matters in and out
of bike design, but I think it can apply to trail. There may
be certain circumstances that benefit from a little more or
a little less (with the extremes of riding out there, it would
have to be that way), but for day-in/day-out riding, trail
figures in the high fifties to low sixties work great.
Here's
an odd fact that is troubling me some: The current 52 Bombadil,
the one so many people have ridden (including Chico Gino,
who reported on it in his blog), rides great by All Accounts.
I have never ridden a bike that rode an iota better, more
pleasantly, easy flowing, easy to control, slippery and grippy
in all the right places. I have ridden it on several S240s
with weights ranging from 27 to 55 pounds, and no problem,
it feels like a bike. Unloaded, it feels like a road bike
(too much like one, for my taste). The troubling part is:
68mm of trail. It is troubling because "trailists" will see
that figure (or figure it out from other numbers) and doubt
the bike they'll never even ride. Trail theory says it should
suc* going uphills slow, yet it doesn't. So right now and
over the next week or so I have to decide between sticking
with something that I know works, or "designing to theory."
If I do that, I'll dig into my bank of experience or whatever
it is and make a conservative shot, but if I do that, I'll
feel like I'm caving in. A slight loss of self-respect, but
fewer future headaches?
FLEX:
A certain amount is fine, too much is not, and it's not a
significant source of "energy/speed loss." If you believe
that a bike can't be too rigid, then you'll naturally like
rigid bikes better, and equate them with goodness and speed.
If you believe a little flex feels good and doesn't slow you
down, might even help the way a flexy dance floor or gym floor
helps the jumps, then you'll enjoy the slight, nearly but
not quite imperceptable flex in a moderate frame. Too much
flex is a problem when it causes "ghost shifting," which is
real shifting caused by the fame flexing enough to move the
rear hub away from the upper pulley, resulting in the chain
being de-railed to the next hardest cog. If you're too much
guy for a particular frame, you may find this happening on
steep climbs; but check your shift lever tightness first,
and make sure there's no excess friction in the system. Other
opinions abound, and seek 'em out!
Rolling
resistance varies tremendously with the surface and tire pressure.
The prevailing opinion, which I go along with, says that rougher
roads need softer tires that roll over and absorb the bumps,
rather than hitting them and bouncing skyward. One example
of "conventional tire wisdom" that I doubt-to-don't-believe,
is the idea that a supple sidewall makes a whopping difference.
Sidewall suppleness is most obvious when there's no air in
the tire, and even MORE MOST obvious when the tire isn't even
on a rim. Once you mount and inflate two tires, one with a
supple sidewall (SS) and one with a firmer sidewall (FS),
then the differences are insignificant. If both tires inflate
to 75psi feel different, then they will behave differently,
too. To make the FS feel like the SS, you may have to reduce
its psi by 5, and there are no drawbacks to doing that.
But
here again, it's kind of a case of magnifying amoebas, since
(1) compared to wind resistsance, rolling resistance is insignificant,
and matters only in races won or lost by wheel-widths; and
(2) for anybody who doesn't race at that supremely high level,
it is a mistake (I'd say) to even give it a second thought.
You want a comfortable, reliable bike; a certain amount of
fitness; a friend to ride with, and a safe place to ride.
If the weather's good and the scenery is decent, that's all
you need. That's not to say you shouldn't enjoy discussions
about bicycle theoretics, but in the end, don't forget to
re-size their importance...is all.
BUILDER:
New builder is not anybodyanybody knows, I am sure. Builders
come with various degrees of fame and reputation, but no builder
imbues a frame with magical love that flows from his fingertips.
It's a romantic notion, and I'd be the first to acknowledge
that the range of skills, especially in custom builders, varies
far more than the prices they charge. In a custom Riv builder,
I am looking for a guy who loves bicycles and is at home with
metal and tools, and has personal metal- making standards
that are higher than my own, and won't take short cuts. I
also look for, and have found somebody with decades (more
than three) of experience building some of his own frames
(including a custom for me way back) and repairing hundreds
of the finest frames in the world. I know it is impossible
to stop the speculation, so speculate away, but in the end,
it will be a RIvendell frame, not a _______ _________ frame,
because it is our design, our lugs, our concept, our choice
of everything. Frames from him are still months&months away,
and when they finally start to flow, they will flow glacial-like!
Hot
off the mojo
wire - rumours of the cessation of Bleriot
production have been confirmed:
From
John @ Rivbike -
"Some
news from here. Nothing etched in stone. Details forthcoming.
The Bleriot, made in conjuction with QBP, is going away at
the end of June.
It's
been a great frame, at a great price. QBP was great to work
with, and there are no bad feelings on either side.
If everything goes according to plan, we will have new frames,
also made in Taiwan, also attractively priced, available next
Spring to our own retail customers and to our dealers. It
will be a Riv-only thing. We will still sell Japanese and
American frames. This will just be an additional tier. The
quality will be commensurate with the price. Better, in fact.
They will be good, strong, attractive bikes.
Expect
a Mixte, a Hilsen-like, and an Atlantis-type. That's all we
know for now. Pricing, geometry, colors, details, and sizes
to be determined. Have a good weekend, everyone."
Sad
to see such a fine model come to an end, but... holy-moley!
Three new models at a lower price point! Can't wait for more
info there...
Rivendell
Garage Sale and Semi-Unofficial Ride Announced
There's
been a
post on the RBW site announcing a Garage Sale which will
"take place at 8:30 and not a minute earlier" on
Saturday, July 19th at the RBWHQ&L. This is good for me,
as I am committed for the entire day elsewhere, and really
shouldn't be spending extra money for the goodies I'd expect
to find there.
I'm
more bummed about missing the 10:30 am ride which was also
announced. as I don't get over that way too frequently, and
the topography is pretty wonderful - Mt Diablo roads and trails
are well worth it. I certainly enjoyed myself at last year's
Rivendell Weekend.
So,
you should go and share photos and stories - mark your calendar
Saturday, July 19th!
Friday
Night at the Movies - 5/23/08
Rivendell's
first posted video. In which Mark at RBW carefully layers
on the base coat of shellac on a near-finished Glorius. Enjoy!
Jack
Brown's on CyclingNews.com
The
fine folks over at CyclingNews.com
have an
excellent tech article on the Hampsten
Cycles Strada Bianca Ti Travelissimo, which is the personal
ride of Andy Hampsten (profiled in a recent Rivendell Reader
as well - if you aren't familiar with Andy's exploits, see
if you can find a Bob Roll essay called "The Day the
Big Men Cried", or Andy has a description under a similar
title, "The Day the Strong Men Cried". Epic stuff.
)
"The
cleanly welded titanium frame and carbon Wound Up fork are
designed around the larger 28-33mm tires that he prefers
for their ability to handle smooth pavement or cobbles with
near-equal aplomb as well as their awesome cornering traits."
Over
on the front page of the Hamsten
Cycles site, there's a stunningly appointed, fully fendered
classic-looking bike which is clearly wearing a plaid Nigel
Smythe Country Bag. That'd be a Tournesol
Randonneuse, if you are keeping score.
Since
I'm battered by bronchitis and enjoying the start of antibiotics,
scanning stuff seems to be the greatest challenge I can
meet today. This is an article I had saved from the March,
1995 edition of California Bicyclist magazine. It was about
a year into the Rivendell adventure. I particularly enjoyed
rereading the second to last paragraph, which said, in part
about Grant,
"If
he can infuse the things he sells with the aura of revelation,
if he can transform friction shifters into signifiers of
the purified vision of bicycling, if he can reform the decadent
and and recruit the unenlightened, he and Rivendell may
prevail."
In
a secret testing facility somewhere in NorthernCalifornia America. Not by me. Doggonit!
UPDATE
5/08 - Gino's BombaBlog Report can be enjoyed here
Another
Bombadil Prototype - from the ToyoBlog - 2/18/08
Looks
like the fine folks over at Toyo
have delivered another prototype of the Bombadil 650B/584
mountainbike. This one features a twin top tube, reminescent
of the early days of Klunkerz on the mountain. GP has mentioned
that he wants to make this bike "bombproof" and
has been rethinking additional bracing, such as a
curved forward tube. (Toyoblog
translation supplied by Google).
There
is also a newly updated Bombadil page which aggregates information
on this bicycle
2/3/08
- Thanks For Everything, Sheldon
Sheldon
Brown
1944 - 2008
Rivendell
just posted the
interview they did with him in RR25 a few years
ago. All across the net, memorials
are blooming and recollections shared. We owe him a
debt of gratitude and should feel lucky to have enjoyed
his precense.
Russ
Fitzgerald wrote about the Lyotard "Berthet" Model
23 pedal back in 2002 (Rivendell Reader #25). This article
got some attention recently in an iBob
thread, so I'm reprinting it here for reference. Scans are
hi-rez - click on the page image below.
If
the hi-rez images are too big, I've got some scanned at 72
dpi - page 26
- page 27
Rivendell
Weekend #2 - Group Photo - 12/31/07
I've
offered to host any photos that people may have from the
Rivendell Weekends - This image (click it for a larger version)
was the Riv Weekend #2 group photo, supplied by Angus L.
If you have photos please email them (or mail them - I can
scan them) to me for inclusion.
Angus
L. sent me this photo a while ago, and I wasn't really sure
what to do with it. Normally, I don't put in photos with
recognizable people, but then again, a photo like this is
too cool not to use. Besides, it also shows a Rivendell
at what it does best and enjoys most - being ridden! To
anyone who says that Rivendells just get garaged, here's
an excellet example to refute that statement. If you click
here (or click the photo), you'll get some closer images
of the bike - one of the few "pre-Legolas" Rivendell
CX models.
There's also a bigger sized version of this image.
RBW
Article by Matt Isaacs in Diablo Magazine - 11/28/07
Matt forwarded this to the iBob list:
"Thought
I'd forward this article I wrote for a regional magazine in
Walnut Creek called Diablo, a glossy for the upper crust in
the area. This was a long time coming, years actually, from
when I first began talking to Grant about this.
Well,
it seems that the fine folks from Toyo wisely hightailed
it out of Las Vegas after Interbike - heading west to the
lands of Walnut Creek. From their
blog, it seems they had a good time at the show, and
enjoyed the follow up visit to RBWHQ&L, where they had
a chance to meet about the Rivendell Bombadil 650B mtb project
- this photo was found on
their blog. (Note - the links will take you to a Google
Translation (Beta) version of their site.)
Well
worth wading through the rough translations. And there are
pictures too! Make sure you go back an entry or two once
you get to the site - it will continue to be (beta) translated
while you are there.
Evolution
of a Website - 1998 to 2007
I'm
not really sure what put me onto this - I think I was looking
for some older references on another project, and while
I was at the Internet
Wayback Machine, plugged in the url for Rivendell. I'm
not doing this for any other purpose other than general
curiosity. The webbernet changes so damned fast and incrementally
that most of the time we just don't notice it. I find it
interesting to peer back occasionally (of course, I was
a history major...). It also goes to show you that kites
which you float on the winds of cyberspace don't just disappear
when the string snaps.
I
remember all of these, and think there was even an earlier
one which I didn't see in the archives. For some reason,
posting these here compels me to comment - more as "notes
to self" on the design at the time.
We
begin in 1998 - Nice clean interface, no heavy front-ending
graphics to slow things down (as we were cutting edge with
a 56K modem...), tasteful use of columns to keep everything
"above the fold" -
1999
finds some navbar implementation - the "NEW" pop-n-fresh
graphic hangs around still, but they've moved beyond the
green ball syndrome. Again clean and workable, though a
fair amount runs down offscreen.
2000
- The yellow background is a bit kinder on the eyes, but
does have the echo of Sheldonism about it. The navbar runs
along the top (and the missing graphics is just a problem
in the archive - it worked just fine). Judicious use of
photos is nice (there were three - again, two lost in the
archive) and still kind to those who don't use DSL or Cable
connections. The columns reappear, letting us get a teaser
to most topics without having to scroll.
2001
brought kind of a clumsy step - an awkward adolescent age
if you will - it was an attempt to wrangle the seriously
increasing amount of content into a single screen. It worked,
but the big honking blue buttons always struck me as a bit
jarring.
But
that fairly quickly became the 2003 version - really a clean,
contemporary design, with big front-end photos that rotated
randomly. It sat nice and pretty in the middle of the screen
and had a color scheme to the navigation tabs. This was
a big jump forward, started to favor folks who had a bit
more bandwidth than dial-up and became what most people
thought of when they imagined the Rivendell site.
Unfortunately,
it seemed to become problematic as far as updates were concerned.
This led to alternative modes of releasing photos, and ultimately,
this section of this site - as I tried to capture the photos
and wrangle them into one place for my own use. Somewhere
in there, the search functionality started to fail, which
was frustrating if you couldn't find your way back to a
topic or article.
This
one was with us through 2006 and most of this year as well.
I guess it was supposed to be user friendly for easy updates,
but it didn't seem to pan out that way. It also rendered
ugly as heck on my system.
Which
brings us to today - Everything is right up front and easy
to find. The search function works and - this cannot be
underestimated - it's up to date in the store. Also, they've
been able to update the "Rivendell Notes" and
"View through the Knothole" a number of times.
It also passes what my personal benchmark - the clean interface
test. Just to expound upon that for a second... A simple
design is probably the most powerful, as it enables a maximum
amount to be done with a minimum amount of dinking around.
Think of the basic google page, as an example. Compare that
to what Yahoo! tacks onto the basic search page, or what
most of the other ones used to.
Riv
Sightings on the Interwebs - 9/17/07
CityCycling
UK decides they are partial to the Saluki in butterscotch
-
FixedGearGallery
runs a page of PBP fixed gear bikes, capturing a nice photo
of Eric "Campy
Only" Norris's Quickbeam (you'll need to scroll a
bit to see it at photo #6) -
And,
finally, another tremor in the 650B-on-the-Trails movement,
to which a certain GP responds (again, you'll need to scroll
down a bit to the comments section)
Lucious
Paintingly Goodness from Keith Anderson - 9/6/07
These
are two of several paint prep and process photos which were
shared over on the Framebuilders
list by Keith
Anderson. Since there seem to be some Rivendell frames
in the bunch, I thought I'd get linky wid it here. These are
the "bookends" in the series - there are a few more
in between. Check 'em out!
Vital
Country Bag Capacity Information - 9/4/07
Gino
provides "real world" Country Bag capacity information
(more)...
RBW
at PBP 2007
I
was skimming through some of Rob Hawks' photos from the 2007
Paris-Brest-Paris and noticed one fellow who had a singularly
nice rig - waving the Riv Colors while atop what I'm guessing
was a Rambouillet - came in under the 90 hour (for 1200 km!)
time limit. A fine ride in significantly adverse conditions.
So
- who is that mystery man?
STOP
THE CLOCK!
- Within 15 minutes of this post, I received an email ID'ing
this as Larry Powers.
Rivendell
Production Frame Geometry Charts - 8/22/07
One
of the things which does not now reside in the new Rivendell
website is the selection of frame geometry charts (other than
the A. Homer Hilsen).
So,
I pulled the old charts off of the Internet
Wayback Machine's archive from mid-2007, and have landed
them here in aggregated form.
It's a little quick & dirty, but other projects on in
the fire this week.
A
bit of free press slung the way of Rivendell - cover
story on the newest Momentum
Magazine. I was not aware of the publication, but it was
a
nice article focusing on S24O's, interviewing Grant. It
seems to be issue #29, so as usual, I'm reasonably off the
back.
Nice
to see a sparkly blue A. Homer Hilsen hanging out there as
well.
Thanks
to RBW list-member Allen who spotted this.
If
you want a version to read other than in front of your monitor,
there's a downloadable pdf version on the
site.
Seeing
the reasonably established publication made me wonder what
else I'd missed recently, prompting me to poke around the
web a bit while waiting for the coffee to brew, and I came
across some recent Rivendell-centric mentiions in a few blogs
and some other things. In no particular order (and in some
cases, things I've seen before, but couldn't find an easy
link to) -
There
was a bit of suprise when I ID'd the
frames over on the Toyo blog by the existence of a kickstand
plate. Before I could even pose the actual question to the
folks in Walnut Creek, GP forwarded over some detail photos
of the kickstand plate, as well as a description - I've stashed
it over on the A. Homer Hilsen page.
A
Glimpse Behind the Magic Curtain - Toyo's blog photos
Sharp-eyed
RBW Group Member Ed Felker tips the list to these photos which
appeared on the Toyo Blog - If your Japanese language skills
are anywhere near mine, you'll need the
Google (Beta) translated version. But, the photos show
raw A. Homer Hilsen frames brazed up and getting ready for
painting. Click the photo to jump to the Google (Beta) translated
version of the page.
This
was the third thing that I'd been wanting to archive for wider
distribution - the Rivendell "Women Only" Survey
which appeared in Rivendell Reader #37.
There
has been some interesting discussion regarding the need for
high quality, classic bicycles which will work for women riders.
I'm not sure if this survey will help (and it's already past
the cancel date for the Riven-dollars), but perhaps some people
will be spurred to send it to RWHQ&L - maybe with a letter
adding any other concerns which weren't asked about here.
One
of the scariest things in marketing or product development
is a bunch of men sitting around trying to figure out "what
women want." So, maybe this can continue to be a valid
reference for Rivendell.
I
happen to think that the care with which the RBW folks approach
fit - as well as their core beliefs on the subject - go a
long way to getting a wider variety of people comfortably
set up on bicycles. But, then again, I'm male, and relatively
average in terms of fit issues. Maybe they need a specific
"women's set-up package" for the Bleriot - a shorter
stem, different saddle, etc. - or there might be enough demand
for a specific frame option with a shorter top tube. I reckon
it'll take folks asking for it before it happens.
Someone
on the RBW
Owner's Bunch list made reference to the 603 wheel size,
and based on some follow-up comments, it appears that some
folks were unaware of the idea or the project. It's one of
those topics which verges dangerously close to core beliefs
and seems
to invite polemics. My hope is that by including the entire
article from Rivendell
Reader #35, the points can be taken within their context.
So,
rather than seeing this as an argument for another wheel size,
and beginning a discussion as to whether that may or may not
be needed, perhaps it's best approached as food for thought,
and a way to make limited-use bicycles into useful, contributing
members of bicycle society. Or you could just get a Hilsen,
which solves clearance issues quite nicely, IMO... ;^)
Click
on the image to get a pretty reasonable sized scan, and the
"click for hi-rez" to get a high resolution version
of the same page.
I'd
been meaning to get the A. Homer Hilsen announcement from
RR#38 scanned onto the Hilsen page.
Finally sat down and had a little scanning marathon to get
some pertinent pages into the archives.
Here's
step one - the A. Homer Hilsen:
Jack
Brown - "Blue" - First Published Photos - 6/27/07
All
sorts of cool developments on the Jack Brown Tire front...
Just got a few photos of the new Jack Brown "Blue"
version - like a Ruffy Tuffy in that it has a stronger casing,
an extra .5mm (to 2mm) tread thickness, and a kevlar belt.
More info...
Pedal
Pictures Provided for your Perusal - 6/22/07
After
a bit o' discussion on various pedals and designs, I ended
up with a set of pedal photographs from Rivendell, showing
some measurements of the various designs they carry. A good
reference & there are some pretty good-sized photos.
That stuff is now all here.
Rivendell
Lug Calendar Scans on WoolJersey.com - 6/20/07
Big
tip o' the mouse to Joe B., who forwarded this info from the
CR List:
"Back
in 1999 Rivendell Bicycle Works published a 24 month (2000-2001)
calendar showing beautiful photographs of a variety of lugs.
This was something you just don't throw away at the end
of the year. I emailed Grant Petersen to ask if these photos
would ever be published on the Rivendell website, but he
said it wasn't going to happen in the near future. When
a question came up on the CR list regarding the identity
of an unknown bottom bracket, a couple of the responses
led me to look at that old calendar again. Anyway, I emailed
Grant again, asking if it would be okay if I scanned the
calendar and posted it on Wooljersey. He thought it was
a good idea, to go ahead.
Product
Preview (Except they have 'em now) Wool Jersey & "Stubby
Hat" - 6/17/07
Got
a nice email from RBW-Mark over the weekend, and in addition
to photographic evidence that Rich's sliced finger had healed
since the RBW Weekend, he passed along a few images of some
new clothing that's - wait for it - ready to ship now....
A wool jersey in a nice, subdued olive and red, as well
as a "stubby" cap with either RBW and A. Homer
Hilsen logos. Click on the image for more info.
"Grant
Peterson Ride" photos posted on Flickr - 6/13/07
Those
Portlanders have all the fun!
This
actually seems to have taken place on the 10th (and there
may be another scheduled for the future), but someone with
a working tongue and cheek orchestrated a ride with this description
up in Stumptown...
"Calling
cyclists of Bridgestone, Rivendell, and similar lugged-steel
steeds with a taste for tweed, shellac, cork, and francophile
tires... the Grant Petersen ride will be a rolling bike show
with plenty of interesting discussion. Good natured curmudgeons
gladly suffered. Grouchy know-it-alls will be dropped. No
lycra."
And
thank goodness, someone was there to snap some photos:
There
are more to see if you click the photo above - click
here to jump to the slideshow version
Another
Interesting Photo Blog from Japan - 6/12/07
Big
thanks to Ron L. for sharing this over to the
RBW List - a gorgeous photo of an orange Canti-Ram* in
the wilds of Japan
As
my Japanese language skills are reasonably non-existant, I've
relied once again on the translation function of Google (Beta
Japanese to English) to wrangle the text - you can see the
results here. I'd recommend visiting the
site, as there are some interesting photos of country-rambles,
along with more photos of this (and other) bicycles.
*Canti-Ram
= Rivendell Rambouillet with cantilever brakes.
Quickbeam
Rear Rack Issues - 6/11/07
It
seems that the lower tabs on the Nitto Rear Rack can be a
problem for easy rear wheel removal. Original post, other
experiences and more on the Quickbeam page.
"State
of the List" Report #1 - 6/1/07
The
first of what will be a semi-regular update on the state of
the Rivendell Bicycle Works Owners Bunch list - posted to
the list
on Google Groups or viewable here.
Grant
Peterson Interview Links
This
interview which originally appeared in November of 2006 popped
up again in a search I did last evening, and although I think
it has been mentioned from time to time, it bears a little
reminder -
