Rivendell's of the UK

[Charlie Hitchen]

Is anyone out there....??

Thought I'd start a UK Riv thread... I'm curious to know how many are around. I imagine with The Woods bringing them in now they must be multiplying?? It would be great to connect and who knows, maybe one day we can do a meet-up and a ride?

I'll start, I'm up in Stockport and got my Appaloosa at the start of the year. It's such a head turner - I've never had so many comments on a bike before... I took this photo when I first built the bike. It's got a lot more dust and muck on it now as well as a few stickers, new brakes, saddle and derailleurs, lower bars and a front basket. 

[John Rinker]

A head-turner indeed! Very beautiful build. 

It seems that there are at least 3 other Riv Riders in the UK according to the map.

Cheers, John

[Mike Godwin]

Looks like a fair distribution across the island nation.

Mike SLO CA 

[Patrick Moore]

There’s a Scottish Rivendell owner, IIRC.

Let’s see an album of Rivendells from the UK in typical ride settings.

That’s a pretty bike. I’m intrigued by the drivetrain: 1X + granny and wide range cassette. What is the crank? And what are the rings and cogs?

I recognize the Carradice bag support; is the bag itself a Carradice? The shape says “yes,” but I’ve never seen a Carradice transverse bag in yellow.

Finally, I see per the map that there are 100% more Rivendell owners in the UK than there are in the state of New Mexico even tho’ we have ~29% more land area.

Actually, that’s not the case; there is at least 1 more Rivendell owner here in ABQ because he and I are to meet on Thursday. Then there’s the owner in Silver City. Will he — in Silver City -- please post a photo of his Riv in a Silver City setting?

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[Charlie Hitchen]

Thanks everyone, hopefully the others come out of the woodwork. 

Patrick, I'm glad you like it. So... yes, it's a SunXCD crank based on the TA Cyclotouriste 50.4BCD cranks. You're right, I treat it like a 1x with a hill climbing/rough stuff gear if I need it. I actually had some issues at first with it. My chain was too short and gear range too wide, resulting in a bit of chain suck and a couple of chips in the chain-stay paint - nothing some nail polish cannot fix. Now though, with a 40/28 up front and a 34t at the back I'm really cooking and I have to say it's a great set-up! The challenge with wide range gearing on an Appaloosa does seem to be finding a chain long enough. Those stays are loooong. 

The bag is a Carradice yeah. It's their lightweight Audax bag - I don't think they make it anymore. It's a nice bag! Here it is on an old bike o mine:

 

My partner has a blue one on her 80's Marin that I just finished building up for her. You can just about see it here:  

[Dan]

Not in the UK, but came here to say I think your bike is stunning. I think the Appaloosa with 50mm tyres and fenders is unstoppable!

[Steve Bishop]

Hi All

A bit late to the party. I am based in Edinburgh.

I have two Rivs, one with Billie's and the other with Rune Hilt 48cm (Nitto Noodle on PEDs) drop handlebars, Spa Cycles cranksets (as per PLP's last vlog). I like to build my own wheels so Homer (51cm) has Pacenti Brevet/Deore and Atlantis (50cm) has Cliffhangers/XT; both 650b.

Photos are of the Atlantis heading up and over the Corryairick Pass on the Badger Divide route in the Highlands and the Homer is on East Lothian gravel.

I'm up for a group ride if I'm free and let me know if anyone is planning to come up to Scotland to ride? there is a very active gravel/singletrack scene around Edinburgh with the Pentland Hills "Roughstuff" and East and West Lothian gravel a weekly feature, year-round.

(I hope the attached pics can be seen?)

[Patrick Moore]

The photos came across fine and clear; thanks for sharing. The landscape with the Atlantis reminds me of the opening to Rob Roy, tho’ isn’t he a Sassenach?

Seriously, I hope Rivendell owners outside the US will continue to share their photos; the landscapes and backgrounds are as interesting as the bikes.

On Thu, Dec 12, 2024 at 12:09 PM Steve Bishop <stephen...@ed.ac.uk> wrote:

Hi All

A bit late to the party. I am based in Edinburgh.

I have two Rivs, one with Billie's and the other with Rune Hilt 48cm (Nitto Noodle on PEDs) drop handlebars, Spa Cycles cranksets (as per PLP's last vlog). I like to build my own wheels so Homer (51cm) has Pacenti Brevet/Deore and Atlantis (50cm) has Cliffhangers/XT; both 650b.

Photos are of the Atlantis heading up and over the Corryairick Pass on the Badger Divide route in the Highlands and the Homer is on East Lothian gravel.

I'm up for a group ride if I'm free and let me know if anyone is planning to come up to Scotland to ride? there is a very active gravel/singletrack scene around Edinburgh with the Pentland Hills "Roughstuff" and East and West Lothian gravel a weekly feature, year-round.

(I hope the attached pics can be seen?)

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[Patrick Moore]

I meant Liam Neeson, the actor.

[Ryan]

Northern Irish...so I think not; Sassenach was reserved for the hated English

[steve bishop]

Funnily enough, I met Liam Neeson at the Premier of his first notable move "Big Man", here in Edinburgh with Billy Connolly. ..and he's from Belfast originally.

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[Joe Steele]

I'm was excited to see this thread pop-up in my email this morning.  It's great seeing the UK bikes here, love the Appaloosa...I really wanted one in that colour.

I became riv-curious thanks to Russ on PLP and finally got so curious that ordered a Sam frame from the 2024 batch.  To my horror, the frame arrived with a bent der hanger, but Rive (Will) were amazing and just sent me a new frame immediately.

It sounds like I've taken a pretty similar approach to Steve; Spa cranks (44-34-24) and built my own wheels with Cliffhangers and in my case a Son dynamo hub and basic Deore rear (just to see if cheap Shimano hubs make much difference vs the expensive ones).  I've made a couple of changes since the photo below and have gone full RivOrthodox with a vintage rapid rise rear derailleur (love it!), and put a slim Nitto rack on the back.

Loving the idea of a meet-up, I'm based in Leeds, further evening-out the geographical spread.

Joe

[Joseph Gilling]

I live in York. Don't have a Riv, but here's my own "British Rivendell" build inspired by Riv philosophy.

eardstapa

[steve bishop]

If we're going to get pernickety,  a Lowland Scot is a Sassenach...smiley.

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[Charlie Hitchen]

Great to see more emerging from the woodwork! 

Steve, somehow I feel that Rivendell bikes belong in Edinburgh - it just feels right! 

Joe, that hillborne is ace - so new and fresh looking. I'd love to get out in the dales some time... 

Joseph I love that build. What frame is that built around? Is it an 80's ATB?

[Ryan]

It's a Dawes...that's a name I haven't heard in a while...and the reynolds decal on Joseph's bike not only tells you the tensile strength, it specifies all-terrain tubing. Very classy looking...love the color and those wavy-patterned fenders!

[steve bishop]

Joe, I need to try out your Sam as I now think it's the perfect balance of my two. (Privileged, I know!)

Next time I'm in God's Country I'll bring a bike down. Mum was Horsforth and Chapel-le-Dale with Ribblehead family history. We can natter over a pint?

Joseph, I was looking for the right vintage Dawes

until I fell down the Riv rabbit hole. Beautiful bike.

Thanks for starting the thread Charlie. 

Pint???!!!

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[Joe Steele]

Steve, mos def! Although, I suspect my Sam is a bit bigger than your bikes at 60cm (I've got a 92 PBH), I'd be intrigued to try either of yours.

Charlie, thanks for the kind words, I absolutely love that bike and have hardly ridden anything else since I built it.

FYI Comms are a bit delayed on this channel for me as I'm still in my probationary period for moderation it seems.

[Charlie Hitchen]

Steve, that's interesting... I'm from Clitheroe with family history in the Dales too. Some living still in Burnsall. Curiously though I have never really done any riding in the Dales having moved to Manchester at 18 and starting my bike journey there. Would love to change that!

On Monday, 16 December 2024 at 18:05:19 UTC steve...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:

[steve bishop]

Charlie...last fsmily holiday was Threshfield.

Next time...

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[Michael]

Joe, thats a nice looking Sam, those black fenders have me reconsidering the polished aluminums I recently purchased.. Are those tires 700c x 44?

[Charlie Hitchen]

Little shot from my fave local route from where I live in Stockport. Looking out toward the moorland in the Dark Peak. 

[Joseph Gilling]

Thanks Ryan! I actually painted the frame myself. 

Charlie - it's a Dawes Ranger from 1984, repainted and rebuilt by me. It was the first commercially produced mountain bike in the UK to my knowledge. Handbuilt at the Dawes factory! It's essentially a very stretched out Galaxy, extraordinarily long wheelbase and the most amount of tire clearance I've ever seen on a vintage frame - making it the perfect candidate for a "British Rivendell" build. 

[Patrick Moore]

So damned green! Here in high desert NM grass is an exotic, like orchids, and lawns are artifacts and require gasoline-priced water and hard labor, as I know from my struggles with a 100’ X 25’ rear lawn 20+ years ago. Of course, along the riverine bosque we get a lot of green when the cottonwoods are in leaf between April and November, but all the grasses are desert grasses, dust colored. Now, everything is gray.

Patrick “9” average annual citywide precipitation” Moore, whose yards are xeriscaped in ABQ, NM

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[Ant Warland]

Hi everyone,

So good to see shots of other Rivs in the UK.

I'm based in Cardiff and got my 2023 Appaloosa (60 cm) from and built up by The Woods Cyclery at the start of this year having been inspired by the Bikepacking.com article featuring Tom Farrell's Appaloosa. Bars are Crust Towel Rack and wheels are Velocity Cliffhanger on Son28/Hope RS4 hubs. Full build can be seen on The Wood's build gallery: https://thewoodscyclery.co.uk/blogs/build-galleries/rivendell-joe-appaloosa-for-ant

I've done 3,500 kms on it since then including completing the 1,600 km Pan Celtic Ultra but most of my rides on it involve some form of rough stuff and exploring in the South Wales area. It's an absolute dream to ride and behold. The high wide drops make riding trails ridiculously fun but I'm about to switch the cockpit over to an albatross-like bar as I'm upright-curious.

Here's mine with Pen-y-fan in the background on a ride over The Gap in March:

I recently purchased a bronzey green Sam Hillborne for more efficient road/gravel duty, which will have a compact drop bar to start with. Otherwise similar spec to the Appaloosa (dynamo lighting, bar end friction shifting, wide/low double, etc), but with Velo Orange Voyager rims and narrower 45 mm tyres. I've just built the front wheel and am astonished that anyone can build wheels in less than 2 hours I think it took me about 12!

Would love to join UK Riv riders meet if one is arranged. And If anyone fancies a ride in South Wales sometime, please DM me.

My insta @antfairweathercycles is mostly pictures of Rivendells at this point.

Ant

[steve bishop]

A beauty indeed.
I'm just about to do a bar swap on my Atlantis to Rune Hilt 48cm and sweep bar (TBD) on my Homer.
I highly recommend Billie Bars on the longer top tube Appaloosa. You can really use the whole bar if you use longer than normal grips like ODI Scooter grips and the recurve in the bar up front will be close enough to the hoods reach (I'm on a 51cm frame and 120mm stem), plus they are fine on the roughstuff if you don't hit the jumps...
A Rivride should be on our Minds...somewhere central to us all, like Yorkshire?

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[Joe Steele]

Merry Christmas/happy festive interval y'all!

I'm really enjoying seeing these UK rivs coming out of the woodwork.

@Steve - yes we absolutely should be thinking of a Rivride.  Obvs, Yorkshire would be convenient for me, but happy to travel.

@Ant - a) love that pic, gorgeous bike and scenery. b) I'd love to try for a ride in South Wales sometime, not an area I know, but would love to see some of. c)  I hear you about wheel building.   I'm getting down to about 4 hours now, not that it really matters, but couldn't make a living from it!  I love the process though, and enjoy the thought of riding on wheels that I built myself.

@Michael - thank you kindly, I am inordinately pleased with it myself :D The fenders are 55mm SKS plastics.  I carefully considered the various boutique fender options, but really wanted to fit those 44mm Snoqualmie Passes in with fenders as well.  The clearance is fine at the back and tight but OK at the front, I've not had a single issue since I fitted them.

@Patrick - the UK is indeed green and beautiful, but also cold, wet and with salty roads in winter.  My drive train is a rusty horror show right now and is likely to stay that way until March.

[Kath Sparrow]

Hi Riv owner from North Wales long story but given my Leo Roadini which was brought over from Los Angeles by generous Sister. Don’t worry she has 5 more. She also gave me shinny mudguards - Americans call them Fenders. Did 100 miler in July. Kath. 

[P W]

Kath,

Lovely to see!

Whereabouts in North Wales? I grew up in Powys.

Which feels a long way from Los Angeles, especially today.

P. W.

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On Jan 10, 2025, at 1:12 PM, Kath Sparrow <lynk...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Riv owner from North Wales long story but given my Leo Roadini which was brought over from Los Angeles by generous Sister. Don’t worry she has 5 more. She also gave me shinny mudguards - Americans call them Fenders. Did 100 miler in July. Kath. 

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<GOPR0216.jpeg>

[Kath Sparrow]

Rhyl Denbighshire. 

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[P W]

A perfect photo!

P. W.

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On Jan 10, 2025, at 1:42 PM, Kath Sparrow <lynk...@gmail.com> wrote:



Rhyl Denbighshire. 

<IMG_7215.jpeg>

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[der_amerikanische_freund]

Hiya,

I used to live in the UK, sadly not anymore, but I'm followying this thread fondly.

Charlie, I wanted to ask you what tire width are those Panaracers?

I'm considering getting one of the next Atlantis or Appaloosa frames, and have always liked Gravelkings but I don't think a 47mm would look good on the bike, hence why I'm curious on the size you are using.

Thank you very much

[Charlie Hitchen]

Hiya! 

They're 50mm ones. A nice width for the appaloosa imo!

[Charlie Hitchen]

A couple of phone shots I took in the brief moments I could endure taking my gloves off yesterday. From a ride in the Peak District with a friend of mine. Rougher than it looks!! Definitely put the Joe through it's paces. Used every bit of my 26|34 gearing.

[Ian A]

Hello Rhyl

Where was this photo taken?

IanA who's from the south coast, but spent much of his childhood summer holidays in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Now in the north of Canada, a long way from home.

[Dorothy C]

Ian, Rhyl is the town, not the poster’s name. It is on the North Wales coast, this picture taken on Rhyl seafront

[Ian A]

Thank you Dorothy!