What A Great Looking Old Bike!

[jimD]

This seems to come in waves.

Several times this week I've had folks complement me on my great looking old bike.
Usually they want to know how old it is. When I say it is about three years old it often starts a great conversation.
Folks seem genuinely interested in hearing about Rivendell though they often seem to be a bit skeptical about
'steel' bikes. Brooks saddles seem to be a pointer toward anachronism or at least 'old school'.

Generally my answer to the question as to why I have such a bike is, 'Rivendell make great riding bikes'.

This picture doesn't prove much except that these things can be 'colorful!'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rasterdogs/8018448319/in/photostream

-JimD

[Dave]

The Brooks saddle does seem to draw attention. I was taking a break
once on the side of a local paved trail when two women walked by. They
stopped, pointed, and commented, "That's a beautiful old bike. Is the
seat made of wood?" All I could do was tap on it with a knuckle and
say, "Nope. Leather." At that point the "old bike" comment was more
than moot. (It's a five year old green Ram with a six year old honey
B-17 pro saddle...)

[bingomck]

I think it's mainly the leather saddle as well. Few years back before I sold it, I had a honey Brooks Swallow on a 2008 indy fab ti crown jewel with a modern campy groupset. On group rides people would wonder aloud how I could keep up on a "vintage" bike. Also, Jim, beautiful bike you got there.

[John Price]

JimD that is a great looking bike.

 

I've also had my Brooks saddle questioned as a wooden one.   

[Jeremy Till]

In my experience, it's even more broad than that--anything that isn't carbon (or maybe aluminum) and doesn't have brifters, people don't know how to date.  I have a 2008 Salsa Casseroll, built up with downtube shifters, but with a racy Specialized Saddle and 31.8mm short reach ergo bars.  A bike that looks much more "contemporary" by Riv standards.   At the Solvang Century back in March I was getting comments like, "That's an oldie but a goodie!"

[jimD]

Props to Rivendell and Joe Bell!

It truly is a great riding bike.

-JimD

Oh, and folks who have some vague idea about Brooks saddles often comment on how uncomfortable they are.

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[dougP]

Just yesterday a guy guessed the age of my Atlantis as "...at least 20
years old". He rides a nice old lugged steel Italian race bike
himself but doesn't keep up much with bike technology. On the other
hand, a fair number of Riders of a Certain Age in our club have Brooks
(usually black) on their MCRBs.

dougP

On Sep 27, 9:04 am, jimD <rasterd...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Props to Rivendell and Joe Bell!
> It truly is a great riding bike.
> -JimD
>
> Oh, and folks who have some vague idea about Brooks saddles often comment on how uncomfortable they are.
>
> On Sep 27, 2012, at 8:08 AM, John Price wrote:
>
>
>
> > JimD that is a great looking bike.
>
> > I've also had my Brooks saddle questioned as a wooden one.
>
> > On Wednesday, September 26, 2012 10:12:31 PM UTC-6, JimD wrote:
> > This seems to come in waves.
>
> > Several times this week I've had folks complement me on my great looking old bike.
> > Usually they want to know how old it is.  When I say it is about three years old it often starts a great conversation.
> > Folks seem genuinely interested in hearing about Rivendell though they often seem to be a bit skeptical about
> > 'steel' bikes.  Brooks saddles seem to be a  pointer toward anachronism or at least 'old school'.
>
> > Generally my answer to the question as to why I have such a bike is, 'Rivendell make great riding bikes'.
>
> > This picture doesn't prove much except that these things can be 'colorful!'
>
> >http://www.flickr.com/photos/rasterdogs/8018448319/in/photostream
>
> > -JimD
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

> > To view this discussion on the web visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/RChPqxfZYcQJ.

> > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

> > For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Peter Morgano]

My Dad saw my Bombadil and asked if it was vintage, when I told him it was brand new a year old he asked why "they" were still making steel bikes if they could make them out of CF or Alumninum. We then went for a ride on some 40 year old schwinn typhoons he had in the basement in an effort to point out why steel is an awesome material for a bike.  Both bikes had ancient brooks saddles on them that still felt comfy to boot!  Took back an old JC Higgins with me for a fall/winter project.  Time to take my first crack at straightening wobbly wheels!

[lungimsam]

I was at my LBS and a customer was standing there looking at the Bleriot and he kept saying "That is an OLD bike.", over and over again.

 

I had never seen a Rivendell in the metal before I got mine. I must say that is has an antiqu-ey look you don't see in the pictures of them. But I love the looks of my bike.

 

The employees at the LBS have always stated how nice the bike is when they see it.

They also seem delighted to see a Rivendell bike in person. They have heard of Rivendell bikes, but I guess they don't see them often.

I wish they would become a dealer. Surly is getting sold at another store nearby. My shop could compete with Rivendell bikes.

The money is there in my county for it.

[pam]

I get that all the time on my Betty Foy that's a little over a year old.  Ok, she does have almost 5000 miles on her and some beausage but most people are referring to the style not the condition.  I don't mind because I don't want anyone to think about stealing her and I like that it's not as well known so maybe they'll think it's not worth stealing - less resell.  It helps there are a few other old bikes that look similar to mine and really are old.