What role does your Joe A. fill?

[Josh Chambers]

Hello All,
First time poster here. I‘ve been riding a Joe A. just since spring and it’s taking over many roles in my bike arsenal and I wanted to see how others are using their’s. I’ve got a gravel bike, an All City Cosmic Stallion that I mostly ride for fast rides and exercise, but the Rivendell has mostly overtaken that role. I’ve got a surly bridge club that has 2.4” tires on it, but I’m finding that for slowly riding around or bickepacking through forest service roads and mild single track Joe is up to the task. The only bike it’s not replacing is my commuter, and that’s only because I like having a cheaper commuter that I don’t have to worry about locking up for a whole day.

Curious to see if anyone on here is using a Joe A. to do various types of riding.

[Raymond Henderson]

I don't have a Joe A. (or a Riv at all unfortunately), but I was wondering what the bars you have on there are. I like the way you have that set up.

[Tim Bantham]

I love my Joe A. For me this is the bike I would take on a week long tour, it's also great for S240, grocery getting and rides with my wife on the bike path. The bike is a home run and I absolutely love mine. It's set up pretty traditional for a Riv. Triple silver cranks, Billie Bars, fenders etc. 

Tim

[Bones]

Yep, sounds like my Joe. It does everything well. I built mine initially to attach my young children to, and for that task it was brilliant. Now that they are a bit bigger I have attached an Xtracycle to it, and it is still brilliant, but I may move that to a different bike because I miss the way it was. I have a Wabi single speed I use as my work commuter, but it is also a nice bike so I bring it indoors at work.

P.S. Keep an eye on your oxygen saturation there bro, running on the low side.

Bones

[Tom Horton]

I love my joe 62 though it's just a smidge on the small side for me. Trying to find the right bar/stem configuration to take it from a very good tourer to a perfect one. Albatross bars will be my next move in this quest. I find compass 55mm antelope hills, no fenders, suit it well. it truly is as close to an all arounder as a bike can get, I think.

[Ryan M.]

I built my Appaloosa, size 51 and grilver in color, as a single speed with a Paul Melvin and Choco moose bars originally. Rode it for a few months like that but went to a rear XT 10 speed set up I pulled off my Trek Fuel EX but with the Silver double crankset and a set of regular bullmoose bars. It’s been like that since But I have switched up bags and racks depending on my mood.

I have basically been riding it exclusively for the past...well, since the pandemic started. It’s taken over as my main gravel bike, main bike I ride from the house so I can make an attempt at keeping some level of fitness up, and I’ve even stuck it onto the indoor trainer a few times. I find the bike super versatile and it has such a nice ride. The only thing I really don’t want to do with it is ride the local mountain bike trails...they are just too tight, twisty, and rooty for it.

[getjosh...@gmail.com]

Geez.  I didn't realize how messed up my pictures came out.  Some person's ABG from work and a sideways pic of my bike, not cool.  I'll try better next time.  As for the question about the bars, these are the billy bars and I just taped them up and stuck on some cork form the riv site.  I do love this bike. 

[Johnny Burrell]

Keen looking bike, though the PH seems to be a bit basic for my liking :) 

I've often wondered the same about a Cosmic Stallion type bike vs a Riv Joe A.  I'm tempted to sell the herd and simplify...  How's braking vs. disc?  Rim brakes are just so retro and less effective than disc, especially in wet weather.

[Mark Roland]

And yet, I just rode in the pouring rain the other day with my centerpull brakes, equipped with vintage 35-year-old pads, and stopped just fine. I also ride frequently with a buddy who has a Cosmic Stallion (in the sharp black/white/gold colorway), and I stop just as quickly as he does.

Rim brakes have been safely stopping bikes for billions of miles. It will be a while before discs catch up to that record. Not to start a disc vs rim thing, we've been there. Just pointing out that rim brakes are not "less effective." Maybe you like the feel of your particular set of disc brakes better than the particular rim brakes you've used. But there are all kinds of disc brakes and all kinds of rim brakes, so it's kind of silly to make generalizations, never mind ones with no factual data. I would not call rim brakes "retro" just yet, though that is subjective.

[hugh flynn]

It's my everything bike.

I bought it To primarily be a tourer, and it does that very very well.

However, it's also been my main distance bike, grocery bike, gravel bike, and has even done some my bike duty.

It's really been a marvel. 

Hugh "Appa" Flynn

Newburyport, MA

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Hugh Flynn
Newburyport, MA