Just restored '95 Riv Road

[Peter Guyton]

This may be my first post here,  though it's likely I posted way back when  (I probably should check that!)

... So I just had my 1995 Rivendell Road restored at Waterford Precision Cycles late last Fall.  I actually ordered the frame in 1995, it was brazed at the Waterford factory in late '95 and delivered to me in January of 1996.  So I consider a 1995. It was originally Sherwood Forest Green. 

Here it is now:

By luck or happenstance, I actually worked directly with Richard Schwinn on the project and I gravitated toward the color "English Light Blue metalic"  when I saw a sample .  At first I wasn't sure the re-paint would happen as a few surface rust spots could have been worse than suspected, but all the potential problems turned out to be superficial.

I rode this bike over the last 27+ years in a variety of configurations:  as a near-racer, later a fendered commuter, at some points I added indexed Suntour Superbe derailleurs and later an old Simplex rear friction derailleur. It had Modolo brakes for years as well as some 1989 single Pivot Dura-Ace calipers. Eventually it received hand-me-down older racing bike parts, Shimano and Campy,  from my racing bikes and it is now pretty much a traditional British style race bike in the tradition of the Bridgestone RB-1, except with 11-speed drive train. 

This current build is mostly Campy with an Athena rear derailleur (I wanted a lot of chrome), Record square taper BB and crank (maybe my favorite crank of all time),  rebuilt Record hubs, Chorus calipers and record front derailleur..  The seatpost is a cool Salsa that can be tilted with out loosening the clamp. Stem is a wonderful old Nitto Pearl. Rims are Hed Belgium with 28c Rene Hearse tires. The seat is a no-name something or other I found on Amazon and bought for the color, turns out to be a great seat for me.

So I  just finished the build last week and felt this was a good place to share. I have a particular affinity for the Richard Sachs designed lugs.

 

Here is a cloud folder of frame-only photos and a few after built.

https://ln5.sync.com/dl/daf4b7440/vjrbrwbt-ipme6hme-k74hpdjr-9ky5ayyr

[Slacky Mac]

Stunning I say!  Really beautiful!

[Steve]

Wow! Beautiful restoration. I love the fact that you've owned the bike since it's inception - and are still into it enough to lavish that much love on it. Thanks for posting. Share some more pics. I'd love to see the details.

On Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 10:36:36 AM UTC-5 peter....@gmail.com wrote:

[Jock Dewey]

Peter, that is a timelessly beautiful bicycle. Bravo for spending the $$ and taking the time to preserve it. IMHO, there is nothing so satisfying as riding a bicycle you have owned and maintained for years and years. Richard is one of our greatest treasures as he keeps on keeping on. Cycling royalty right there!

BEST / Jock Dewey

[Patrick Moore]

Lovely bike. My first Waterford-built custom was delivered in 1995 and I recall the fragility -- ready to flake -- of the paint, so perhaps the new Waterford paint is more durable? At any rate, it looks beautiful. And I like the personalized, eclectic collection of parts. My 1999 has the same lugs.

What are those pedals?

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Cody Marvin]

I currently have a 1995 Riv Road at Waterford waiting to be repainted also. Mine was originally the English Light Blue, but I haven't decided whether to stick with that or go with a different color. Yours looks terrific, definitely an argument for sticking with that color. Thanks for sharing.

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[J S]

Peter, beautiful job, great color.  I hope you enjoy the bike for many more years.  

On Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 10:36:36 AM UTC-5 peter....@gmail.com wrote:

[Tom Goodmann]

What a good story of bicycle and bicyclist!  Thank you for including a great set of photos; as everyone has said, the restoration is beautiful, offering testimony too to Waterford as a do-it-all shop.  

One of the many things I appreciate about bicycles is the long lives of multiple use and pleasure they have--and in this case, with one owner only!

Tom

In Miami, where the riding weather is perfect . . . for now

[Edwin W]

Peter,

That is a beautiful bike! 

Perfect job by you and Waterford.

How much did it cost to do? Because I will do that to one of my bikes one day, and want to start saving!!

You could literally just hang that on the wall as a beautiful thing to look at every day... 

Edwin

[Peter Guyton]

Edwin,

The cost was probably about $1,100 when it was all said and done, excluding a little extra work I had to pay for (I left the headset in and they charged me to take it out and replace the cups and one other spot where a bolt was stuck behind the BB where you can attach the bottom of the fender).  It was all fair I think. 

The panels and extra touches (head tube, paint on top of fork crown) cost extra. I think you could do a more basic paint job for under $1k. Now, a new frame of this caliber would probably cost $2,500+ no?

I used to live in Stamford CT where the italian center would host a Ferrari show in the Spring most years (I think they stopped now). People would drive into the show in new and old Ferraris;  one was a 1963 GTO worth (back in 2007 or so) something like $3m or $5m and there was another 1938 (?) Alfa Romeo that won Lemans that year. At the end of the show, the owner of the Alfa (also worth multiple $millions) hopped in the car and drove hit home on the street.  I was sort of in shock but also though it was pretty cool.  So I feel like my Riv Road should be ridden, you know? I won't ride it a ton but I'll get out there!

[Peter Guyton]

Steve,

Here are a few more photos. 

I'm a  mostly-retired IT director/executive and more recently a photographer (and thus the studio shots). I was actually surprised how nice they came out as it was a rush job with a single light source (which was a 72" umbrella). Anyway, sometimes less is more!

 

[Peter Guyton]

I just love the color. The original Sherwood Forest just never did it for me, it sort of hid the nice lugs or made them less obvious.  Good luck with the restore!

[Peter Guyton]

Jock,

As additional info: Richard Sachs designed the curvey lugs for the first RIv Roads. I didn't know that in 1995 but saw it in one of the original catalogs.  Yeah, there is definitely a difference when you turned the wrench yourself.  Been a while but it was fun.  I didn't wrap the bars so great but may try to do it again (can't tell in the photos hopefully).

[Peter Guyton]

Well I live outside Portland Maine and the weather definitely has not been perfect ! .... though I did actually see some people riding outdoors today (it hit a balmy 45 today after being -17 last Friday).  Riding here is great from April thru September though, and the summers don't get so hot. 

[Peter Guyton]

Patrick,

The pedals are Speedplay Zero, now part of the Wahoo product line. I've liked the float of speedplays for my knees for years. The non-drive side has a power meter build into the pedal so that part sticks out a bit.

[Ryan]

My 1997 A/R was painted Sherwood Green..which I really  like. But the lugs are less elaborate...so they don't show up....but given those gorgeous RS designed lugs you have, you make a really good point that the blue highlights them  well. That is a beauty!

[Ted Durant]

On Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 9:36:36 AM UTC-6 peter....@gmail.com wrote:

... So I just had my 1995 Rivendell Road restored at Waterford Precision Cycles late last Fall.  I actually ordered the frame in 1995, it was brazed at the Waterford factory in late '95 and delivered to me in January of 1996.  So I consider a 1995. It was originally Sherwood Forest Green.  

Holy Moly! That is an absolutely stunning restore/rebuild! And lovely studio work to show it off. There's a good chance I saw your Sherwood Green frame at the factory - we were pretty busy working on the Heron concept at that point, so I was down there a lot. I agree with that Sherwood Green wasn't a great color for Rivs - as you said, doesn't show off the lugs.

My wife and I gave each other a Santana tandem for our wedding gift to each other in 1986. Not long ago we had Waterford paint it in Light English Blue, so I'm a big fan of that color. The Santana graphics are white and gold - perfect combo! As for the question about durability of Waterford's paint - they had a period back then when something went wrong with their chemical pre-treatment bath. The first batch of Herons suffered from that. In addition to the tandem, I had them repaint my Proto Bleriot in metallic copper (root beer!) and both paint jobs were excellent and have been durable.

It's not just by luck you worked with Richard, as he does all the customer facing stuff for Waterford. If any of you are ever talking with him and are interested in music, ask him about the orchestra he plays in.

Ah, the fabulous Salsa seatpost. I wanted Grant to work that mechanism into the lugged post. It's such a great "screw the weight, it's functional!" kind of thing. Is the saddle from Fyxation? If so, it's the same as the Soma Ensho, which is the same as what used to be sold by Dimension as the Afton Classic. It's made by Velo in Taiwan. If that's what it is, you'll see Velo molded into the bottom. Sean Virnig tipped me to that saddle and I have either the Afton or the Ensho on almost every bike. Sean referred to that color (which is usually real leather, unlike the other colors) as Baby Poo Brown. I put it on my son-in-law's Rambouillet (Waterford repaint in dark blue metallic) with brown leather bar wrap, and it looks just right. 

As others have said, kudos for putting the love back into the bike. As I said about one of Eric Marth's projects, I love seeing people do this sort of thing where it's clear they're not thinking about "what can I sell this for?" 

Ted Durant

Milwaukee WI USA

[Russell Duncan]

Love that 753 Rivendell. Here’s a few pictures of my similarly painted blue Waterford 753 1200, also from 1995. It’s a great ride as I’m sure yours is too. I’m currently in the midst of replacing its cables and housing.

Russell Duncan

Leverett MA USA

[RichS]

Peter,

Your much loved and well thought out Riv Road takes my breath away! How appropriate to have Waterford handle the restoration. Keeping it all in the family!

I recall Grant saying how lighter colors reveal the lugs better; and indeed, those Sachs lugs deserve to strut their stuff.

Well done on the photography too! Thank you for sharing your story.

Best,

Rich in ATL

[Armand Kizirian]

God that is gorgeous. Good you on for being content with a bike/frame for so long! Cheers to another 25 years of riding.