velotimbe

So, I have always coveted a Rivendell frame, but as with most, found them out of reach financially. I also noticed many of the other things they do, and taken some advice from them.

I always wondered if they were really tried and true products, or if they were huffing too much acetylene in the back room, as some of their stuff would be on the far end of the weird spectrum.

Then I saw this on their site:
https://www.rivbike.com/webalog/tires_tubes/10054.html

My questions were all answered.

RegularGuy

I saw those (on the web, not in person) for the first time a few days ago. I thought, those might have been cool when I was like 11.

Grant Peterson makes good stuff with a retro-grouchy attitude. Sometimes I think he sells the attitude as much as the bikes, but the Rivs I've seen in person are fine fine bikes.

But Speedblend tires?...well, those are just kind of weird. And this comes from a guy who thinks the lugged stems are chi chi dee-luxe!

https://www.rivbike.com/webalog/handl...ape/16132.html

https://www.rivbike.com/webalog/handl...ape/16088.html

Chi chi dee-luxe would be a goodthing, by the way.

KrisPistofferson

Don't hate on the Speedblends, they nasty, BALLS-nasty!

Noah Scape

I have been aware of Rivendell for a few years, but I really started to notice them a year or so ago when I started looking for a new frame. I ended up not buying a frame from them, but became a "member". I find them very reassuring... they believe in very same things I do. When I started paying attention to their stuff, I thought... this is the stuff I've been loyal to for years (i.e., wool, lugs, friction shifting, centerpull brakes, etc.) and now I feel like I can come out of the closet. I do think some of their stuff is a little Gucci - like the lugged stems for $200! - but I love to look at them. In bicycling, technology marches forward but the motor (humanoids) stays the same. I think Rivendell understands this and has a great appreciation for the blending of function and aesthetic. Having said all that... I think them tires is whacked!

SteelCommuter

These have been out for quite a while. My wife has two on her 'cross bike. She thinks they're cool. To be honest, they do not seem very weird. Weird is the lycra jersey worn by the average road cycling enthusiast. I know many non-cyclists think the tires are a good idea.

I wouldn't put them on my bikes (which include an Atlantis and a Quickbeam), but I've seen some frames powder-coated black with the Speedblends and it was a terrific combination.

Blackberry

Speaking of impractical, If you break a rear spoke on most high-end bikes today, you can't even ride your bike home. That's something that will never be said about a Rivendell.

drcrash

Ford had the Edsel, Coke changed it's formula, and Rivendell has SpeedBlend tires. Companies, big and small, have their follies in the push for expanding sales. But despite that, Ford is still cranking out F150's, Coke brought back the classic, and Rivendell continues to make the Atlantis.

smurfy

I think the purpose of the Speedblend tires is just for fun and not to shake up the bicycling world. Grant likes the traditional tan sidewall bike tires and the colors of the Speedblend produce tan under motion.

Kodama

Jeez, some of you seem to have lost the sense of fun surrounding cycling.

(off to go put another playing card in the spokes)

Gardener

yeah, they're just having fun. I wouldn't buy those, though..

ginsoakedboy

I've been a Riv member for a while too. Generally, I think they're one of the only voices of sanity amongst the spandex-clad, "gram-shaving" knuckleheads. Sometimes, though, I think they carry the retro thing too far -- case in point, I think the threadless headsets are a genuine advance that they could grudgingly accept at Rivendell. I do enjoy the getting the Rivendell Reader and reading the articles where they bash the aforementioned knuckleads.

Bekologist

My impression is...I want one! There's a shop near where I work and I browse thru during lunch sometimes, they have Rambouillet and Atlantis bikes on the showroom floor, all tempting me to drop over $2k on a new ride. My last lugged bike cost only $125 though, so it makes it hard to justify the purchase.

KrisPistofferson

I just wish they made threadless headsets that looked as stylish! I lean towards the Riv asthetic, but I can dig modern bikes, too.

skookum

I can't see any advantage to threadless headsets. I think Grant is right much of modern cycling is useless gimmickry. And he's not in it for the money, Rivendell rarely makes a profit

My Atlantis turns heads everywhere, but I have to explain that it isn't an antique bike.

There is an interesting interview in the latest Rivendell Reader with Kozo Shimano, the president of Shimano American Corp. Definitely some differences in philosophy
between the two.

james Haury

If speedblends sell and give Rivendell a financial boost ,I have nothing against them. I might even buy some when my current set of cumbersome tires wear out.I have been a Rivendell member for 5 plus years and look forward to the reader always.Another great read if you are into folders is A to B magazine.

valygrl

My sister has an atlantis, she hates it. It handles poorly, she can't even drink from her water bottles it's so squirmy. (she's not lame, either.) the non-faceplate quill stem makes it almost impossible to get the bars off to box the bike for touring. She paid like $2500.

In contrast, my trek 520 cost me $650 on sale, handles great, and takes a full touring load without a problem.

I ride with a club in Walnut Creek, and a few folks ride fixed gear riv's - i think it's a love-hate thing. and definitely a (anti-) fashion statement.

roadfix

Bull-pucky. She can simply pull the entire stem/bar combo for shipping.
BTW, are you originally from the San Fernando Valley?

valygrl

bull pucky? wow how rude! san fernando - no, Yosemite. I'm a climber too, it makes a lot more sense in that context.

Her bars were cabled so tight she can barely get them off - i think she has to remove the connection to the brakes. not sure about that, though. she's really dissapointed in her bike, despite several visits to grant p. about it.

anna

KrisPistofferson

So, the real problem isn't the long quill stem, it's the short brake cables?

valygrl

i guess you could frame it that way. the REAL problem with the bike is that it is unstable, and multiple trips to riv. have resulted in no help. the stem dissassembly difficulty is just a side issue, but i believe it's indicative of a 'retro grouch' attitude that doesn't recognize the reality that some innovations are positive. like the face-plate stem.

KrisPistofferson

Are Rivs incompatible with threadless? I thought you could still put (most) modern componentry on them, even though most owners think it ruins the intended design. I'm not trolling, just curious. I've seen Atlantises decked out with STI, for example.

roadfix

Whoever did the bike build should have put that into consideration, especially being a tour bike. I always allow enough cable lengths when building with quilled stems.
I think the Atlantis will lose its elegance with a removable face-plate quill stem, and definitely with a threadless stem....

skookum

I've packed my Atlantis into a bike box and had no troubles. I think her cables need to be set up differently. As to it being unstable, I am wondering at that. Mine is very stable, not squirrely at all.

You can build up a Rivendell anyway you want. Look at this one

Dougmt

Hey those tires would look GREAT on my paint color shifting raleigh... my bike looks like a rainbow trout LOL.... but once you come to a stop the fun is all over LOL
D

SteelCommuter

Unstable? I find that very hard to believe. Even Riv's detractors would be hard pressed to make that comment. This sounds like a troll. Either that, or this person hasn't fitted the bike properly, or their body is shaped in very unusual proportions, or doesn't know how to ride. And as far as the stem issue, there are quill stems available with a face plate. But as others have said, that is simply not the problem. With enough brake cable, boxing is a cinch.

The only way to make a bike more stable than an Atlantis or similar bike is to have the bottom bracket resting on the ground, and to have 4 inch tires.