mongol777

Couple more shots in different light. And yes, I do prefer colored electrical vinyl tape finish to twine I like to change things up often and it is easier with tape.
One thing I completely forgot to do - chainstay protector. I did the first wrap with old tube for draft build and planned to re-do it after test build, wrap it thinner and finish with matching bar tape on top + shellac. But alas - will do it when time comes to replace the cables.

mongol777

Quoting again as you got me thinking if I can show you one of my bikes with fenders. There are some absolutely stunning fendered builds on the internet but here is one of mine. IMHO it goes very nice with the bike. My only dislike about this specific fender set is rear mount to the brake bridge. I understand why they did it this way (to maximize clearance) but wish it was a bit more elegant.
It is 2006 Marinoni Ciclo with 2x11 mix of Ultegra and 105. I built it originally for early spring/late fall rainy weather when I usually stick to good pavement but I do ride it often year round and fenders don't affect the ride.
You can also check my Centurion thread for more traditional fendered look. So if Roadini will end up getting fendered - it will be a nice looking set.

ryansu

Lovely build mongol777 I have liked those Rodini's since they came out and yours looks great. I had the good fortune to visit Riv HQ when I was in the bay area for business in 2012 and test rode a Sam which put a big smile on my face. Enjoy the ride.

noobinsf 

Wow, that's handsome!

BucksFanPedalin

Let me clarify I've got nothing against fenders in and of themselves. I have two single-speed Surly Cross Checks (it's a long story) - one is a commuter build for the smoothly paved bike path to my office, with North Road bars and black fenders that I think look sharp on that bike which is also a somewhat dignified grey color. The other is a less standard pea-soup green and more of an urban warrior build for the primarily awful streets of my hometown and some light off-road riding, with flat bars, fatter tires - it has no fenders, which I feel would be out of place on that bike, even though I'm often cursing the stripe up my back after I ride it. Fenders are on my mind right now because what attracted me to this thread is I've recently pulled the trigger on a Roadini frame from my phenomenal bike shop which happens to be one of the very few Rivendell dealers, and I'm debating the build and in particular whether I'm going to fender it. It will be the first geared road bike of my adult riding years...my knees are starting to ask for more than one speed. I'm not trying to be a racer or anything but I want this to be my fast bike relative to the others, at least in concept. I feel like fenders might not fit with the spirit. Again, though, stripes up my back. My Roadini will be the grey-silver, and for some reason I think fenders look more in place on a bike with that kind of more muted color. Your orange Roadini, to me, looks like it wants to burst out of the garage and roam free. "Don't put fenders on me! Don't make me an office bike!" Maybe I'm nuts though. Probably.

mongol777

Haha, no, you are not nuts! I hear you and I am still 50/50 on it, same thoughts as yours. For grey-silver Roadini - please post when your build is done! My initial thought would be brass Honjo's for yours with brass ferrules and brass headset spacer. I was thinking copper as well but I think it will clash with elegant grey-silver.

BucksFanPedalin

I'll definitely post the build when it's done but given the speed of the pipeline right now I'm thinking this will be an over-the-winter build for next season, so there's lots of time to mull it over, probably too much time. The decision weighing most on my mind is shifters. This bike is going to have drop bars and the few times I've tried brifters I thoroughly disliked them, but the alternatives for drop bars don't seem that great either. Also I'm suspicious of index shifting, I feel like it'll always be trending out of adjustment, but my memories of friction shifting as a young rider are also not so fond, always trimming and listening for chain noise, so I'm thinking about the unthinkable with a retro-inspired Grant Petersen bike and going with electronic shifting which seems like it would allow a bike as quiet as my single-speeds and shifter buttons wherever I want. Anyone who knows more about it, which would be just about everyone here I'm sure, is welcome to talk me out of it...on a C&V forum I assume electronic shifting is not, like, a thing haha.

Salamandrine 

Sounds like you are very happy with the Roadini so far. That's great. It doesn't really surprise me that it climbs well. This modern notion that super short chainstays are required is just not true IME. My 70s Masi always climbed great too, and it's fairly similar in geometry to Roadini, minus the sloping top tube of course...

Thanks for mentioning Green Grips tape. Never heard of it till now. I've been pretty happy with Newbaums recently. I wonder what qualities make you prefer in the GG tape?

I was thinking of going back to cotton on my Mercian Auda, but I find I prefer padded tape these days. I guess I'm getting old. Plus I don't really like feeling the cables under the tape. And I dislike padded gloves. For non aero set ups, cotton is fine.

Dfrost 

I've been using 8-speed Sachs Ergo shifting (Campy Ergo with slightly different spacing) for over 25 years. Very easy to set up, and I might tweak the rear adjustment once/year.

mongol777

I am not a fan of electronic shifting. Rode with it for a while, shifts wonderfully, etc but not for me - I could not get wiring to look half decent for one. At the moment I am down to may be about 11 bikes and half are friction and half are indexed. My personal rule of thumb:
- Road - anything up to 9 speed (including 9S) is friction. I find that 10s and up on road (Shimano) - a bit finicky but still can get used to
- MTB - don't have 12 but do have 11 and it works great with friction. Having said that - I do have one 1x11, Chromag Surface and it has indexed shifter. Most of my MTBs are SS or FG anyway

Roadini was supposed to be friction but I used up all my friction bar ends on other builds and by the time I got the frame I only had DA 10s which does not have friction mode. So rear is indexed.

I also have bikes with brifters, like Marinoni posted above and honestly after initial cable break in/stretch period - I never have to touch a thing, it just works. I do use cable strecther and my experience limited to 10s and 11s Shimano (105, Ultegra and DA), most of my brifters are 105, 5700 or 5800.

So building Roadini with electronic shifting would be interesting if you can solve cable routing and battery placement, ie make it look pretty . Did you consider wireless?

mongol777

It just feels much smoother vs Newbaum from the get go. And taping is very easy. I do a lot of tape jobs (just my habit of frequent rebuilds) and Newbaum is often a pain when it sticks to itself, creates the crease and now you have to fight to unglue it, stretch to smooth out the kink, etc

You nailed it - my firm belief was short chainstays=better climbing/faster feeling. Miyata 1000 started to change my mind and Roadini finished the job, sort of speak :-)

BucksFanPedalin

Wireless is all I'm considering. This is intended to be my "dream bike." It was going to be a custom frame, but in talking it over with my LBS while my other bikes were in for service, dude sized me up and said wait a second, and went and got the Roadini frame, which I loved instantly and should fit me perfectly, I'm right in the middle of Rivendell's ideal "PBH" range for a 57. The money I'm saving on the frame will go to components.

mongol777

Right on! I was in the same (almost) boat - I was ready to pull the trigger on Jeff Lyon's L'Avecaise but with exchange rate, shipping and customs + parts it became too much for now. Still on my list as one of the "dream" bikes but I am OK to wait.
Roadini saved me a ton, I already had lots of parts and only had to get a few small things.

cooperryder

mongol777 Your Roadini turned out great!
Very nicely done!

I like the contrast of the sage green bar tape.

What are your thoughts on the Challenge tires?

Two friends in the North Texas area have Roadini's and are really liking them.

Several weeks ago I picked up an orange Riv myself, a Sam Hillbourne which I have built up with upright bars.

Enjoy your beautiful new ride.

mongol777

My favorite is Challenga Strada Bianca 700x30, 260tpi. For me personally it feels faster and smoother even with higher pressure vs Compass Bon Pass 700x35. If you look at my Centurion thread - it wears them, actual width on TB14 is around 31mm.
The ones on Roadini are OK, good tires, 700x36 but lower TPI count and it feels even when mounting them, a bit more robust feel to sidewall compared to 700x30, 260TPI. I have several other tires to try on it longterm but happy with them for now.
I want to build another set of wheels first. Really like the current Ultegras but woud like boxed rim with eyelets, 36H, probably NOS Mavic Open Pro laced to some shiny hubs (WI or Hope, may be older Shimano Ultegra or DA).

mongol777

Couple of shots with different tires from this morning. I decided on no fenders for now so figured might as well try fatter tires. In the pics - Challenge Gravel Grinder Pro, 700x38, Race Series, 120TPI. I pumped them to ~70psi first to set the bead and check the fit. On Ultegra wheels they mount at just under 38mm sidewall to sidewall + knobs. For the ride and the pictures you see = front is at ~40 and rear is at around 45, just around 37 measured at casing.
So glad I went with TRP calipers with help of Mike Varley's post - frame got tons of clearance, you'd be limited by your brakes.


Chainstay

Seatstay and brake bridge

Fork - front view

Fork - from the rear

Marylander

What are the stack/reach numbers for the 54 roadini? I'm not seeing that on the Rivendell site.

nlerner

Yeah, Riv is all about PBH as the ultimate reference measurement, but I don’t find that very useful. I happen to just received a 54cm Roadini and measure stack as 600mm and reach as 370mm. That latter is shorter than I would have guessed, so I think I should go back and remeasure!

Also found this, which could be way off: https://bikeinsights.com/bike-geomet...7-2019-base-54

mongol777

Don't remember exact stack/reach but I did find both on rbw group (or iBob?) before I pulled the trigger. Reach was measure at around 372 on 54
54 geo:

Marylander

Thanks! I did an estimate on reach/stack using powerpoint and a little algebra (no fancy CAD or design software ) and got 374.5 and 608.5. This assumes the graphic is to scale and that measurements done in powerpoint are at least reasonably close. As someone who is all arms and legs (so, really short torso) I like to know reach.

mongol777

Same here! I did not pull the trigger untill I knew reach/stack. Having said that - I am now more comfortable with Riv's approach to sizing (for their frames)

Marylander

I'm hoping to get something with about 20mm less reach to have a more upright bike to complement my black mountain cycles road. The rivendell looks a little too close to the black mountain. That said, there really isn't much out there in the range I'm thinking of plus with rim brakes and space for fattish road tires... I'm not in a hurry though.

mongol777

So I have BMC as well, MCD. And it is super close to Roadini in terms of fit. MCD for rough stuff and wet rides, Riv more for long weekend rides

Marylander

Very nice MCD! Those are sort of on my list. I don't really want to go to disc though... VO adapter with VO happy stem?

mongol777

No adapter, just VO LD stem (lets call spade a spade ) AKA Cigne stem