Any commuters here?

[lungimsam]

I have heard mention of tours, overnights, and recreational riding.

 

Does anyone commute on their Rivendell?

 

I have since about August and I really enjoy the stability on descents and the great handling and cush of the bike and wider tires.

[Scot Brooks]

I do, and I'm sure there's a lot of that around the bunch. My preferred combo is my Sam H. with a large Saddlesack and dynamo lighting. Seattle weather be damned!

[Rob]

I commute every day on my Saluki, year 'round, rain or shine. In terms of miles ridden over the last couple years for me, it's about 10:1 commuting miles vs "recreational" riding miles.  Riding the Saluki, even if it's only the 8 miles/day back and forth every day to work, is such a pleasure. It's the nicest bike I've ever had. I say: Life is short. Why have a beautiful-riding bike if you don't feel like you can use it for everything? (That is, no, I don't have a "beater" I ride in the city.) 

Rob in Seattle

[Matt Beebe]

I'm in the same boat as Rob.    Year round, 5 days a week if I'm at work I got there by bike.   Current commute duty is divided between QB and my '83 specialized sequoia, which I love.   It's good to have a backup, or three :)

[David Spranger]

I also commute 5 days a week, 10 miles one way, on my 2 (soon to be 3) Riv bikes and my LHT. Have to say, the SimpleOne has getting about 85% of the commuting time this past summer.

David 

Charlotte, NC

[Rick]

I average three-four days a week on the Atlantis. Have to take the
car when I'm required to leave the office and travel to distant
points, but I ride if at all possible -- it's a little under 10 round
trip, and leaving to get on the bike is one of the best parts of my
day.

[Joan Oppel]

I commuted in DC and Arlington on my Bleriot from the day it arrived in late 2006 until I retired in mid 2008.  I put away an old Bianchi hybrid because I really enjoy riding the Bleriot.  Now the Bleriot goes all over Arlington, DC, Alexandria and sometimes into Maryland, loaded with stuff from my errands.  I don't know how much stuff but sometimes I can hardly lift its rear end over a curb because I've got so much "stuff" in the panniers and trunk bag(I don't weigh, I just go: library books, cat food bags, six pack of beer, multiple potatoes and vegetables, cereal, fruit, cleaning stuff ).  Plus I carry 2 locks because I'm a little paranoid, not enough to stop taking the bike all over but enough to warrant the extra weight.  

And as an aside - once I get going, I kind of stop noticing the weight, just am aware that I have to gear lower for certain hills and am going slower than unloaded on the same roads.

Joan

And "lungimsam" - I think you live in the DC metro area, and if you want to "ride with someone", let me know and maybe we can get a small group together for a weekend ride.

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[Addison Wilhite]

I don't always use my riv but it's a great commute bike to be sure.  Here are some photos of my new commute (I'm a teacher and just switched schools) with one photo that includes a bit of my mustached All Rounder:

 

http://reno-rambler.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-new-bicycle-commute.html

Cheers

--
Addison
http://reno-rambler.blogspot.com

[Lee Chae]

A gaggle of commuting Rivs:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/rivendellcommuters/

Enjoy,
Lee
SF, CA

--

[Jim Mather]

Thanks for that link; I hadn't seen that Flickr group.

Every Riv owner I've met commutes at least some of the time by bike. I
think it's part of the personality that attracts us to Rivs.

jim m
wc ca

[Larry Powers]

I have commuted on my QBeam for the last 6 years, year round.  Standard QB build but it has a Shimano gernerator hub and fenders.  In the winter it easily handles 35mm studded tires with the fenders.  That was a main factor in deciding to buy it.  My commute can be as simple as a 5 mi flat commute or when time allows I have rolling routes of up to 25 miles to get here.  The QB handles it all.

Larry Powers
 
Get a bicycle.  You will not regret it if you live. - Mark Twain

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Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:42:01 -0500
From: oppe...@verizon.net
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [RBW] Any commuters here?

[Peter Morgano]

I wish I had the time to commute by bike but I just do not. Tried a few times to get from South Brooklyn to Midtown but it was hellish and took over an hour.  On the Subway it is 35 minutes where I get to read a book so I try to ride as often as possible but not practical for commuting. Maybe when my daughter is out of school and my schedule isnt so tight. I do like to think of us as a low carbon family though, we have no car and only use the subway when we dont use our bikes or go for walks. Friends from upstate wonder how you can get by without a car, it is a tough adjustment at first but after 7 years it just makes alot more sense and makes me wonder why anyone in NYC drives at all.

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[Peter Pesce]

I commute most days, but not on mt Rivs. The ride isn't that long - 3 miles - and is not really conducive to "enjoying" the bike.
That said, I still decided to replace my LHT with a Double Cross to get a nicer ride...

-Pete in CT

[soapscum]

I commuted on my Hillborne virtually every day I worked after I got it in Feb 2010. I did mixed mode, bike/transit commuting for about 3 months before taking a job closer to home when my bike-only commute was about 9 miles RT. Rain or shine, because if you let rain keep you off the bike in Seattle the riding season can be damned short. I expect my Hunqapillar will also be equal to the task. Fenders, hub dynamo, a decent rain jacket... it's not so bad in a deluge and quite pleasant in the type of rain we usually get here, the type my grandfather used to call "the kind of rain you can work in all day and not get wet". My Riv is my only ready-to-ride bike, but it's ready to ride anywhere, anytime, any weather.

[jimD]

Me.

It's become the thing I most look forward to.

I do club sorta rides with friends on the weekends.

Try and get in a supported tour or two during the summers.

-JimD

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[C.J. Filip]

Everyday on my Hilsen. Just put on Longboards for the rainy season
and inevitable snow. Only about 1.2 miles one-way but I just can't
resist the smooth ride.

Homer gets chosen every time even over my lighter and single speed,
rigid mtb.

[bingomck]

Definitely... Commute 3-5 days/week from Mill Valley to SF and back on either my Quickbeam or salsa Vaya. Quickbeam has the dynamo so I tend to ride it more.

I see there are tons of Quickbeam commuters out there. I pass a man in Sausalito riding on a SimpleOne from time to time, think he rides to the ferry. Also see an orange double TT Ram rider (64 or 66, second TT installed while making frame repairs) who says he rides 5/week and I believe it.

Few other rivs as well I'm sure I'm forgetting. Like others said, getting to ride my bike to work is often the reason I get up in the morning!

[Stonehog]

Agreed. I do 3-4 days a week year-round in Seattle. The trip varies from 7 miles for the direct shot in, to 14 miles for the scenic waterfront route I have been enjoying. I captured some pics last November on my Miyata, but usually ride the Hilsen or Hunqa as of late:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjwNmPob

Brian Hanson
Seattle, WA

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[Benedikt]

One more Seattle commuter here. We probably all met on that Seattle New Years Riv ride a few years back. I use mine for everything. Fun rides, commuting, errands and the occasional tour. Always the same set up.

-Brian

On Sunday, September 23, 2012 9:34:58 PM UTC-7, lungimsam wrote:

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

I commuted on an Atlantis from 2004 until 2006. Then I lived close enough to walk to work for a few years. Now I'm back to bike commuting, about 5 miles each way, 5 days a week. I ride a variety of bikes, none of which are Rivs, but all of which are modeled on principles I learned from Rivendell. Commuting bikes include: a Cross-check, Disc Trucker, Pugsley, Curt Goodrich tourer, and Brompton.

I also walk-commute sometimes, to mix things up. Five miles takes me 75 minutes or so. I've been pondering skateboard commuting, but haven't tried it yet. Or maybe a unicycle. Cross-training!

[Matthew J]

> I've been pondering skateboard commuting, but haven't tried it yet. Or maybe a unicycle. Cross-training!

 

I see some, not a lot, of skate board commuters in Chicago. Lately a number of them are using the long boards.  Somehow I managed to resist skate boarding as a youth despite hitting my teens when boarding was what Fixies were a few years back.  Those long boards have me tempted.

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

Matthew J: I fooled around minimally with a skateboard as a kid, but I also think the longboards look like fun. I'd twine and shellac mine, of course.

[SteveD]

When I'm not working from my home office, I ride  to whatever office I work out of. The thought of driving to the office in Seattle traffic is abhorrent to me. It's more enjoyable to pass all the bumper-to-bumper traffic on my Atlantis than to be part of the pack at a stand-still.

On Sunday, September 23, 2012 9:34:58 PM UTC-7, lungimsam wrote:

[Burton]

99 percent of my riding on my Sam was commuting until recently. I bought it when my commute went from 10 miles round trip to 46 and i wanted a bike that I would enjoy sitting on for a few hours everyday. I set it up with a SON dyno, wired lights front and rear, and a DiNotte rear flamethrower for good measure. Medium Sakville seat bag holds a latop and clothes. That long commute finally broke me, especially the Boston winters, so I bought a house closer to my office, and ended up working from home most days. Now I use the bike to haul my kids to school in a trailer.

I went for my very first recreational ride, (not counting a couple entries in the D2R2) about 3 weeks ago.

[Burton]

[Adam]

I commute every day either in Berkeley or San Francisco on my simpleone with a big front rack and a large front basket. It is a joy to ride and fast for my cross city commute. I see an
Atlantis rider many days right where duboce meets market st. These bikes are built to be used!