Hillborne review

[Paul Yeoh]

Tried to post this to rivbike.com, but they only allow 1000 characters and this review is about 5X that. 

Hope it helps anyone looking at the Hillborne. 

This review is overdue, I have had the bike almost 2 years now, and its been through a few configurations. I didn't love it at first, but I really do appreciate it now, I guess I've grown into the bike. 

It might be good to first state that I don't fit the usual Riv customer profile. I've been riding XC since 13 (age 32 at time of writing), and more recently gotten into road riding. I love my go-fast kit, enjoy racing and train with a heart rate monitor. That's not to say that I don't ever "Just Ride" - I ride in a variety of ways. 

I first specced my Hillborne with moustache bars, a schmidt dynohub (powering B&M lights front and rear) , phil rivy 7 speed rear hub, 42mm marathon extremes (knobby) , tektro 720 cantis, MKS Sylvan pedals and B17 saddle. I went to town on this build, thinking it'd be my bike to tour the world on. I didn't enjoy riding it so much, it felt slow on the road, and not nearly as much fun as my racing hardtail off road. The moustache bars have the cool XO look, but felt awkward to me - I could never settle into a position for long.

I didn't start to really enjoy and appreciate the bike until after making several changes... which I would recommend to anyone who enjoys aggressive riding.

- Noodle bars and technomic stem: this handlebar setup gave me enough positions to play with, both aggressive and relaxed. The only way to go, imho. Much more comfortable over a long trip, and easier to crank out power  than on a moustache bar. 

- Jack Brown tires: The best 700c tire for this bike! These make it possible to keep up with slower roadies while being very comfortable and secure. For the same effort that I can keep my 23mm road racer going at 40 kph, I can keep these tires going at 35 kph, which is pretty darn good considering 50psi comfort and the Hillborne's significant heft. I feel that a fatter, knobby tire like the 42mm marathon extreme is overkill for this frame, and doesn't allow me to ride off road any faster anyway. 

- Crankbrothers 50/50 platform pedals : these were actually for my full suspension trail bike but were put on the Hillborne while the trail bike was out of service. Its much easier to put power down on the bike with a grippy platform pedal vs. a more slippery MKS Sylvan. It lets me charge over rough surfaces and accelerate with a great deal more conviction = more fun. I'd tried clipless pedals on the Hillborne too, but platforms allow you to embrace the Rivendell / Grant philosophy properly, and it works really well. 

I've not been a huge fan of the Silver friction shifters, and I am just about getting used to them now. I don't shift very often on this bike, whereas I am constantly shifting on my road racer to keep power output at a max. I prefer my dura-ace brifters, but I can appreciate that friction bar ends do work well for this bike's intended purpose. 

I ride this bike every where now. In any type of clothing, into any non-extreme terrain. Commuting, adventuring, training, its never a bad time to take the Riv out, especially when the terrain or weather is unexpected. Ridden at an easy pace, this bike is effortless. Ridden hard, its fast enough to feel fun and nimble. Not as quick as a road racer, but certainly quick enough. The ride is like most would rave about - supple, confident, secure. I agree wholeheartedly with Grant that if you had just one bike, you couldn't do better, though knowing what I know now, I might've sprung for a Roadeo instead, specced it with a full Ultegra 2x10 drivetrain, and reduced my stable by one bike.

Complaints: I did have regular trouble with chain suck when the bike from new. It tends to be a problem when riding very muddy/dusty terrain.  I generally don't ride so much dirt with the hillborne now, and also keep the drivetrain clean and well lubed, and the problem is not present then. Dirt roads are generally fine, singletrack tends to cause problems. 

I also managed to break the frame whilst riding some singletrack. Not a very big impact, riding up a river embankment, nothing that threw me off the bike, but I cracked the joints joining the headtube to downtube and lower top tube (56 cm, Waterford, double top tube model) This is not  a strike against Riv or Waterford - these things happen, and no manufacturer is 100%. To Riv's credit, John handled the matter most graciously and offered me a chance to buy a shop model at a deeply discounted price w frame swap. My problem was that being based in South East Asia, shipping would be prohibitively expensive. Since one of the selling points of a steel bike is its repairability, I went with that route, and found a local builder to braze the joints back. Its probably stronger than new now. 

All said and done, I know I'll be keeping this bike forever. 

[lungimsam]

Pics, pics!! Love to see it.

[cyclotourist]

Great to hear the repair-ability part. We hear how steel is easily repairable, but never really hear of anyone doing it!

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Cheers,
David
Redlands, CA

**
“I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.”

[James Warren]

7 years ago, I had to bend back my front dropout on the Ram fork. Good as new in just a few minutes for something that initially had made me gasp. I was happy to have steel then.

Sent from my iPhone

[Paul LZY]

Pics here! 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulatwork/sets/72157631135084942/