I've been looking for an excuse to comment on Grant Petersen and his many and wondrous ideas. I figured it wouldn't take forever until an opportunity arose.
While I've never met or talked to the man, for the last 15 years or so I've kept up with his thinking on bicycles. Never bought one of their bikes, but I've bought plenty of parts, and I'm grateful, for instance, for finding out about the 48 cm Nitto Noodle. My poor man's Rivendell is a Bruce Gordon BLT (Taiwan), which I've set up up with that bar and 40 mm Schwalbes -- another GP thing, fat tires -- and I love riding it.
Another thing I learned from GP is to ride with flat pedals instead of cleats or toe clips. I did a 5-day supported tour that way, and realized it wasn't working for me. Not because the cycling shoes give extra power, but because I realized that being clipped in meant there was one less thing to worry about at the end of a long day in the saddle, namely how to position my feet. For long rides, for me: SPD.
Now if you read Grant on the subject, cleats are just stupid. For all his expertise, I think he is wrong on this, and that made me question some of his other 'teachings,' if that's the word I want.
I want to say this next bit correctly, because I respect Mr. Petersen, and he has helped my riding, and my understanding of bicycles, and I think he's a great guy.
But GP is not like most people. Maybe "obsessive" is too strong, but he certainly gets "engrossed." He goes all in on his ideas, even the goofy ones. And it would probably help if folks kept that in mind, and try out the ideas in their head, or for real, and decide for themselves, and not get mad.
GP's main thing has always been comfortable and efficient bikes that are useful for lots of riding. The frames he sells exemplify this, and there's nothing 'retro' about them except the looks.
But look at some of the causes he's championed, and how passionately he pushed them, and you realize a lot of it was a bit half baked:
- The axes and hatchets. Haven't heard about those for a while, but come on...axes?
- The diatribes against indexed shifting. He has finally softened his stance, but for years it was index=bad. Why? Most of my bikes index, but when they go out of adjustment, I switch to friction and it can take months to go back... friction works so well, why bother. But it's cool when it works, with no downside, why the hatred?
- Double top tubes. Every frame over 54 cm had to have them for a couple years. That's mostly over.
- Mixte style frames, the current fashion. I lost track of all the models in that style... meanwhile, there's a presale going on for Sam Hillborne frames. They sold out in three days and "we won't have Sams again at least late 2022." If I made a living selling frames, I'd have my bread-and-butter models available at least most of the time. Step right up for your mixte, though... how big a market is that? I don't get it, but it's his store, and he's made it work three decades so far.
- Poking fun at bike shorts with 'diaper pads.' That's condescending and mean-spirited. I bet if someone pointed that out to him, he'd reconsider, because it's out of character. I ride in street clothes all the time, but for long rides I'm more comfortable in bike shorts. That's probably true for most people. Why is that even worth a discussion?
- Cost cutting by making frames in Taiwan...but at the same time insisting on lugs, and wet paint, and panels, and special paint on lugs and dropouts... and all of a sudden a Rivendell Taiwan frame costs more than a Gunnar Sport or Tour.. at which point I'll buy my frame from Waterford, Wisconsin, and take it TIG welded.. they may not be as pretty, but they're plenty strong, and MUSA -- which is a cause Rivendell champions, and I like that and respect them for it.
Visionary, passionate, sometimes myopic, and occasionally tripping over dolllars to get to the dimes. How can you not love a guy like that? I hope Rivendell stays afloat; the biking community is better for it, and certainly more interesting.
So next time you get the chance, give the man a break.
cheers -mathias