A Little Year-End Tease from Rivendell

This cropped up via the RBW Group a day ago.  It's actually the photo which finally got me to join Instagram, but that's a whole different tangent.  Just an orange downtube (or orange wrap-around decal - we don't know which...) with part of a few letters.

But, scrolling down the comments a bit, rivbike states, "It's our new gender neutral mixte for the masses. we'll have some photos of it built on the Blug soon"

Can't wait to see more!

Two Brooks Blogs With a Rivendell Twist

Ha - I seem to be on a Rivendell-referencing jag of late, but hey - when you are retuning and laying in a base, it's best to go with the proven...

Anyway -
For your Friday amusement, a couple of links to the Brooks Saddles (& Stuff) Blog -

Grant Petersen – “Short Rides Beat Long Rides”



Photo - courtesy of  Reno Rambler




blog.brooksengland.com/wps/grant-petersen-short-beats-long/

"The most underrated ride in all of cycling is the shortie, the opposite-of-epic neighbourhood ride that beats walking but doesn’t make you sweat or hurt. The kind of ride kids and non-cyclists do out of need; the kind of ride you gave up when you got serious and came under the influence of racing."

(original and complete article)


And I was much chagrined to see that I had missed this event in its entirety.  But, other things were happening through December which had my attention.  But, I did enjoy this vicarious evening at Huckleberry in S.F.

Dashing Bicycle Show, San Francisco

Grant Petersen holds forth before the gathered throng at Huckleberry Bicycles

Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycles was on hand to fill in the blanks at Huckleberry Bicycles
The Brooks Dashing Bicycle Show kicked off this past December in San Francisco, California with an evening party at host shop Huckleberry Bicycles, bringing together a group of stylish, functional and unique brands from all over the world to showcase the finest in urban and transportation cycling.
Photo by Matthew Reamer, courtesy of Momentum Mag.

(original and complete article)

Jay Bird Films: Rivendell People

Nice film from Jay-now-of-Arizona-who-used-to-be-Jay-At-Rivendell.  Jay Bird Films presents "Rivendell People".  Nice use of about 30 minutes of your time.  GP called it a "Rivideo"...

Rivendell People from Jay Bird Films on Vimeo.

Current Classics Gallery Updates

Cyclotourist's Rivendell Road
One of the more prolific photographers of "ride shots" has got to be Cyclotourist - aka Dave in Redlands.  He's one of the few folks who has actually made me mildly nostalgic for the winding fire roads in the Southland (that's the greater Los Angeles area, for those of you who aren't familiar with the term).  If you haven't run across his images on Flickr, you owe it to yourself to follow his stuff.



He's also managed to put together some very appropriate bicycles - finding some truly pristine examples of early Rivendell models.  Here, he shares his Road model.

The "Road" was made during the first generation of Rivendell models. I'm currently developing a bit better documentation of bicycles from this period.  The Road model arguably became the branch which begat the Rambouillet/Romulus, then the Hilsen.  At the time the Road model came out, finding decent reach brakes was an exercise in NOS patience - the commercial offerings were pretty minimal. But, even so, this bike was spec'd for maximum clearances with the components at hand, and staked out the idea of good clearance, stable and versatile "road" bikes that didn't need to stay on pavement.




New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery -


#839 - David Horne's Mario Vicini
#840 - John Tsataros' Schwinn World Tourist
#841 - Ted Town's Gardin
#842 - Robert Hill's Raleigh Professional
#843 - Cyclotourist's Rivendell Road

Four Current Classics for a Four Day Week

The process of organizing and cleaning up can be a little ugly - found a nested folder on the computer that had a bunch of things which folks had sent in late last year, that "I was gonna get to..." but didn't.   Within that unremarkable digital repository is a goodly chunk of cool bicycles.  I may end up threading them into the newer submissions, or just try to do those sequentially (which may in turn build up the backlog for more recent entries.....) We'll see.

Again for those of you who have sent stuff in and have yet to see it represented, patience please! (And Thanks! - both for the images and descriptions and for the patience!) Hang in there, subscribe to the feed and enjoy these fine bicycles.

Nick Roth's Schwinn Superior

Along with the early Trek bicycles, another set of bicycles which I've always secretly lusted after has been the fillet brazed Schwinns.  This under appreciated segment of Schwinn's lineup seems to be largely unknown to folks.  It first caught my eye when I read about them on Sheldon Brown's site -  in Mark Rother's article posted there.

Now, certainly,  I like lugs.  But, there's something really beautiful about a fillet brazed frameset - a smooth, seamless quality to the work that flatters the elegant simplicity of a bicycle frame. The Schwinns such as Nick's Superior just seemed like really undervalued framesets.

Hopefully (since we presumably ride in the same county) I'll cross paths with this bicycle one day - but in the meantime, enjoy these images of this bicycle.

New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery - 
#829 - Nick Roth's Schwinn Superior
#830 - Gernot Huber's Raleigh Woman's model
#831 - Angus Lemon's Rivendell Atlantis
#832 - Tyler Los-Jones' Miyata 1000

A Good Helping of Current Classics

It's much safer to stay out of the post-Thanksgiving retail scrum and enjoy some great looking bicycles. Between gorgeous images of pre-fall mountain bike vistas and the details of resurrections and renovations which are contained within this batch, my hope is that you'll find some enjoyment and respite from the pending holiday craziness.


Eric Bagdonas' Miyata Ninety Mixte

Mixtes seem to be enjoying a bit of quiet resurgence.  Appearing in  more advertisements and articles to be sure, but it does seem as though I'm seeing them more frequently on my commute and locked up around town as they quietly go about their day being useful and stylish. 

Starting with a well-rendered Miyata mixte frame, Eric has created a sure-footed, weather-resistant bicycle for real world use on the streets of Portland, OR. It's funny to consider how many features I would have poo-poo-ed a decade or so ago - basket, fenders, IGH (Internally Geared Hubset)... indeed, the very notion of a "drop-bar" bicycle itself.  But, now, there it is, with just enough glimmer and glint from the silver fenders to catch your attention as it goes about its way each day.

New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery - 
#817 - Bob Hague's Motobecane Grant Touring
#818 - Justin Becker's Rodriguez Tandem
#819 - Kevin Mulcahy's ALAN Guerciotti CX/Road
#820 - Tris' Fort Touring Audax
#821 - Michael Kullman's Surly Karate Monkey
#822 - Don Genovese's Rivendell LongLow
#823 - Nick Roth's Raleigh Commuter
#824 - Mauricio Orantes' Trek 1500
#825 - Eric Bagdonas' Miyata Ninety Mixte

Singlespeeds For a Short Week

Everyone is supposed to be tying off work quickly this week and gathering for contemplation around an unfortunate bird.  Which means you're probably stuck in some airport, listlessly overhearing folks complain about the TSA intimate frisking they just endured. Hopefully, the addition of eight new entries to the Singlespeed Gallery will help you divert your attention to something fun and healthy...

It seems to be getting more difficult each time to choose one entry to highlight, mostly because each and every bicycle has something unique and intriguing about it.  This selection of single speed bicycles is particularly diverse - including purpose built commuters, repurposed mountain bikes, and stripped down road machines.  The wonderful thing is that these bicycles are all getting enjoyed and used now.
In the end, the nod went to a fine example of early mtb history...

Jeromy Hewitt's Fat Chance Buck Shaver
As I've mentioned before, it was from the writings of Mike Ferrintino back in the inky newsprint pages of California Bicyclist that first made me aware of single speed cycling. At that time, I recall thinking "why would you want to get rid of the gears?"

But, somehow as I read through the article, in which he talked about the weight which would be jettisoned and the simplicity which would be attained, there was an attractive kernel of resonance.  At that time, even seeing a singlespeed was a rare thing. 

Since that time, I've always thought of mountain bikes first when someone spoke about singlespeeds. On the roads with a single geared setup, you do sometimes have to accept the multi-geared folk whisking past you now and again, when you are spinning along at just under the butt-bumping cadence.  But, on the trails, there's that sublime flow and near-silence, the simplicity of knowing that speed comes only from effort, and momentum must be maintained.

The Buck Shaver came from the east coast, and was a move to bring out a less expensive offering from the workshop of Chris Chance and company. At the time, hard to remember now, there was the talk of "east coast geometry" - a tighter wheelbase and sometimes higher bottom bracket which gave those relatively unknown bicycles kind of a bad rap out where the sun set.  We liked our 44" wheelbases and slack-angled frames.

Of course, looking at that bicycle now, none of that comes to mind.  The Fat looks like a lean and ready trails machine. The TIG-welded steel and jaunty straight fork promises nothing other than a ready companion to help you get lost on the trails for hours. 


Additions to the Singlespeed Gallery:
#317 - Allan James' Schwinn World Traveler
#318 - Vince Santiago's No Name Singlespeed
#319 - Guiseppe Rosalia's Assiolo
#320 - Lee Chae's Rivendell Quickbeam
#321 - Jeromy Hewitt's Fat Chance Buck Shaver
#322 - Mark Elam's Schwinn Moab
#323 - Gilles Landry's Raleigh
#324 - Joe's Univega Viva Sport

Also, there were some Updates to these previous entries:
CC #656 -  Don Genovese's Miyata 1000 Touring
CC #654 - Randy Pugh's Trek 1500

Catching Up - CX, Working Bikes & Updates

Finally put on the headlamp, took a shovel and pick, and started digging into the morass of confusion which are the "Updates & Revisions" to previous gallery submissions.  At some point a year ago, I figured out something clever, then promptly forgot about it until a few months back.  By then, things had gotten relatively confused and out of synch, so I've had to chip away the grunge and refind them.  Which has occurred.  So, here's the first batch:

Singlespeed Gallery Revisions:
John Busteed's Rivendell Quickbeam
Jim Mather's Rivendell Quickbeam
Gary Passmore's Trek 420
Joe Huddelston's Nishiki Sport
Bert's Bianchi

Current Classics Gallery Revisions:
Mark Rosenberg's Rivendell Road
Stu Wemhoener's Raleigh Resurrectio
Stu Wemhoener's Burley Tandem
George Dickerson's Motobecane
Robert Hill's Richard Sachs #16

So, if you sent in a Revision to a previous Gallery Submission, hang in there!  I've got them queued up and am starting to move through them.  (And if you are thinking of sending in a Revision or Update, please take a second to reference the Gallery Number of the original submission - that helps me find it more quickly.)

In the past week, there were also updates to the Working Bicycle Gallery and the CX Bicycle Gallery. 

Working Bicycle - Daniel Dahlquist's Robin Hood

Now, I'll admit that I've kinda got twin top tubes on the brain - with the evolution of Grant Petersen's Rivendell Sam Hillborne, Hunquapillar and Bombadil models all acquiring additional and entirely non-trendy tubing.  When they've appeared on various bicycle designs, whether taller framesets or more load-bearing-oriented models, I've tried to consider what the tube does, how it does it, and how it will be viewed in another 5 years or so.

Needless to say, Grant is not the first frame designer who has taken this approach.  This laid-back Robin Hood brings a stylish sweep to the genre of Working Bicycles.  Robin Hood was a brand originally acquired by Raleigh back in 1906, and was part of their bicycle manufacturing empire.

Here, Daniel has added a stylish front Porteur-style platform rack and simple but functional VO chaincase.  The additional racks allow him to use this as a camping bicycle, and it looks like it's ready to roll out into the woods.

Additions to the Working Bicycle Gallery:
#130 - Daniel Dahlquist's Robin Hood
#131 - J. Tackett's Trek Loaded Fuel 80
#132 - Lee Chae's Kogswell P/R
#133 - Robert Clark's Brompton

CX - Kevin Mulcahy's Bruce Gordon Rock-n-Road

Bruce Gordon has been steadily designing and building bikes for over a quarter century.  He has always crafted framesets which were more than happy to roll offroad, or carry whatever you asked of them.  Whether passing out pocket protectors with the phrase "Bruce Gordon Cycles - Where the Touring Nerd is King!" or engaging in the Interbike pranksterism which was SOPWAMTOS, he was making quality bikes when most people didn't care or notice, and every current builder owes him an acknowledgment of thanks.

Ooops - how did I end up on this soapbox...

Anyway, this Rock-n-Road has all the aspects of what I like in a CX bike - a stripped down robustness, the clearances which can only be found in a steel frame and an understated finish.  Plus, there's a chicken on the stem. Can't beat that!

Updates to the Cyclocross Bicycle Gallery:
#64 - Esteban Diaz's Trek 700 Conversion
#65 - Kevin Mulcahy's Bruce Gordon Rock-n-Road

A Set Of Current Classics from A Couple Weeks Back

Missed getting this posted when I made the last round of updates - ahh well.... better late than never, eh?

Martin Gierke's Trek TX500

Martin's Trek TX500 hails from the time when frames were steel and designs were versatile. Yes, the heady days of 1977 when punk rock was slipping into people's awareness and the Talking Heads were just an obscure art band with a day-glo cover album out.  Regardless of the musical tides of the time, the renovation of this bicycle today is really gorgeous. 

Starting with the proud simplicity of the frameset, Martin has chosen some very tasteful current parts from Paul Components, Sugino and Honjo to come up with a build that is truly timeless - the epitome of the ideals which started this collection of "Current Classics".  

Truly a pitch perfect example, and one of the reasons that I always seem to have "Steel Trek frame, pre '83" on my want list of bikes.

Additions to the Current Classics Gallery -

#808 - Ray Shine's Rivendell Bleriot
#809 - Michael Hechmer's Bilenky Tandem
#810 - Even Elliots Univega Viva Touring
#811 - Jan Levine's 3Rensho SR Export
#812 - emor's Univega Grand Rally
#813 - Jason LePree's Rivendell Rambouillet
#814 - Jason LePree's Carrera Andromeda
#815 - Lee Hogan's Paramount PDG
#816 - Martin Gierke's Trek TX500

Crazy for S'luki - Jack Courtney's Rivendell Saluki

Gotta say up front that I have a soft spot for this model in general,  as well as the name and orange bikes in particular...

The Saluki was a really interesting bicycle, coming as it did in the first wave of 650B resurgence. At the time, no one seemed to consider using large volume tires on 700C frames (well, aside from us crazy 'crossers, but even then a 35cm tire was pretty wickedly large.)  In addition to one of the coolest bicycle names every, it had a lot of smart details. First and foremost, it paid attention to how well a bicycle can ride when you use a decent amount of air to cushion the ride and provide an ample footprint on the road and trails.

Between the time this bicycle came out and I had the resources to buy one, Rivendell had brought out the A. Homer Hilsen, which is the geared/coastable bicycle I ended up with.  Of course, since that time, the Saluki became the smaller sized AHH's, which ended the model.  But with every 650B wheelsize Hilsen I see, I know there's a lithe coursing hound underneath, chucking a bit...

Jack Courtney's Rivendell Saluki

Jack's bike is pretty much exactly the way I'd think about my own.  Fenders and racks so you can ramble long and not be phased by weather or distance.  Smart gearing for a variety of terrain.  And, it's orange.
 

Updates to the Current Classics Bicycle Gallery

#805 - Jack Courtney's Rivendell Saluki
#806 - William Spencer's Rivendell Bombadil
#807 - BP Hague's Sekai 2400

Current Classics Update: Lucky Seven on the Seventh

It's really gratifying when the randomness of submissions line up with the tenets of the Cyclofiend.com galleries.  Back in 2005 (the waning dour days of dialup?) when these Galleries started coming together, one of the ideas was to highlight the really well designed but reasonably unappreciated bicycle frames which seemed to be fading from people's perception.

While I certainly love the continued expansion of new builders who understand that the strength of a bicycle design stems from its simplicity, I've always said that reinvigorating an older model was an honorable task.  The bicycle which landed at the Milestone spot of 800 seems to epitomize that.

Current Classics #800 - Mike Hauptman's Trek 614
Mike has taken a really nice frame design from probably the golden age of Trek steel and set it up with the parts and accessories which really compliment it.

From the superb coverage of the Honjo fenders to the classic art nouveau of the font on the seat tube, it's classy and useful, yet Mike's not afraid to use the shifting system he prefers.  Best of both worlds and a wonderful addition to the gallery!

Updates to the Current Classics Bicycle Gallery

#798 - Rudolph Luciani's Dave Moulton FUSO FR-1
#799 - Byron Kerr's Surly Long Haul Trucker
#800 - Mike Hauptman's Trek 614 - Milestone!
#801 - Tad Broussard's Jamis Aurora
#802 - Tad Broussard's Schwinn Tempo
#803 - Tony K's Curtlo MTB
#804 - Bob Stoltz's Rivendell Custom

Countdown to Cross Season

I don't know if it was the mucky, rain-filled stage of the Giro the other day, but all of a sudden, I'm thinking about CX season.  Realizing that my running shoes are a bit crackly and threadbare.  Thinking that if I run smooth tires on the trails this summer, I can probably get another season out of my Mud2 tires. Looking forward to hanging out with the hooligans from Team Paul at cross races here and about.

In other words, "Hi, I'm Jim, and I'm powerless over cyclocross..."

(It's considered polite to say, "Hi Jim!" at this point.)

Now, a good addiction always has enablers, and - while some may argue that the Cyclofiend Galleries are exactly that (or possibly a Gateway Drug) - the lust-worthy submissions from other mudders serve just that purpose.

Jim Mather's Rivendell Legolas

Cyclocross Gallery #63

Certainly, the sharp-eyed among you may be crying "Foul!" as Jim is running smooth tires on this bicycle. But, to that criticism, I would suggest a closer look - there's a decent rim of mud at the sidewall.  And, as I've stated a few times recently, tire placement and weight distribution handles about 87 - 93% of the issues you face on unpaved surfaces. I expect this bicycle will continue to see a fair amount of dirt.

The Legolas is a rare bird, indeed. I'd be surprised if there are 50 of them. They were delivered by Rivendell back in fall of 2006, and have been made by Mark Nobilette and possibly Waterford.  A couple have cropped up on Rivendell's "Frame Specials" page, but luckily for my finances, those have been 62's.   This may have been one of those, as I do recall the stunning copper finish - a memorable color choice for such a fine bike.  (A deep red seems to be the most common, but I've also seen images of blue versions.)

Jim has set it up nicely - a good combination of new and used parts - and the bike looks ready  to rumble. Hopefully, I'll even get a chance to see this bike in person someday.


Additions to the Cyclocross Gallery - 
#61 - J.D. Kimple's Mongoose Croix Comp
#62 - Rick's Motobecane Cross
#63 - Jim Mather's Rivendell Legolas

Single Speed Gallery Reaches 300 Bicycles!

With today's update, the Single Speed Gallery has notched itself up to 300 entries. A pretty impressive number of one-speeds. A quick shout out to Mike Ferrentino, author of the Grimy Handshake column in BIKE magazine.  It was his article some mumble-mumble years ago back in California Bicyclist which made me actually aware of the focused and self-flagellatory world of single speed mountain biking. Taking gears off your bike? That seemed crazy talk when I first heard of it, and yet it was oddly enticing.  That article was one of the things way back when which gave the weather vane a good and hearty spin away from the normal and accepted practices.

It's been interesting too, to see the number of singlespeeds which would be considered more "road" bike oriented.  As readers of my main blog know, a comfortable and reliable frame designed for good clearances and large tires blurs the distinctions between on or off road, but the trend of this gallery has been more towards drop bar equipped models than a traditional mountain bike setups.

But, enough about trends and theorizing...

Ron Hampel's Rivendell Quickbeam - Gallery Entry #300

Singlespeed Gallery #300

I was really pleased to see this bike come into the queue at #300 (though I was equally chagrined that it wasn't Paul Germain's stunning custom Ellis).  As most folks know, I own a Quickbeam as well, and consider it to be one of the best riding and most versatile bicycles I've ridden.

But Ron's has some unique aspects to it - first of all, it reminded me of some of Grant Petersen's writings about how he sees Rivendell designs in the bigger scheme of things.  He wrote some time ago that he hopes that his bikes stand the test of time, specifically that they will be recognized, sans paint and decals, in the future.  That there are certain hallmarks of design and philosophy which will make people say, "...hey! That's a Rivendell!"

And here, underneath a gorgeous clear powdercoat, is evidence of just that.  The clean and simple lug lines. The good clearances.  The useful braze-ons. Those robust and cleverly angled rear fork ends.  Yep, that's a Quickbeam.

 New Singlespeed Gallery Entries:
#297 - Ana Semijalac's Unis Sprint - 
#298 -  Paul Germain's Ellis
#299 - Evan Wilson's Spicer
#300 - Ron Hampel's Rivendell Quickbeam