WTB 650b conversion parts for Riv Road Standard

[EGNolan]

I recently picked up a Joe Starck built, Joe Bell painted Riv Road Standard from 96/97.

Beautiful bike, rides great, BUT... I like a useful bike and this one barely fits 700c x 35.  Add to that the Campy 8 speed rear hub that severely limits my options & I'm on the hunt for the bits required for a conversion...

Testing proves 650b allows 42's + fenders (yee-haw) so that this bike can be a keeper. I don't like to have too many bikes, but this should pair nicely with my Cheviot as the Bleriot I recently found is a bit too big for me (but perfect for my 14 y/o). 

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I'd love a set of Tektro 559 (allen) (some of you recent haters have to have a set to get rid of cheap, right?)

I'd also love a decent 650b road-ish wheelset. A23/Dyad or similar rim and Novatec/105 or similar hub. 

Where it currently sits with Alba's & 35 GravelKings.. 

Lemme know what you've got & what you want. I do have lots of Nitto stems (technomics ranging from 60-120), Noodles (46cm) and miscellaneous goods if you'd rather trade.

THANKS!

Eric in Indpls.

[Ryan]

Can't help you with what you are looking for...but that's some find with a top-notch build...for a classic Riv road bike

Also, that is a very ingenious rack on the back of your vehicle. Did you build that yourself by any chance?

Good luck with your conversion...surely  the list will be able to help out.

[EGNolan]

Ryan,

Thanks, I feel pretty fortunate finding this one. The rack is a 1-up, which I also found a good deal on used, but are available new here.

Eric

[Eric Marth]

Eric, I don't have any parts for you but good luck in your quest and conversion. That's a great-looking, classic Riv. I love the paint. I certainly support the 650 conversion and fitting 42s with fenders. 

What tubing is your bike built from? 

I've also been curious how 1up racks do with fendered bikes. How well does it grab the fenders? Any trouble with the metal-to-metal contact point at the rear? 

[Jim Bronson]

I also have a Joe Starck Road Standard from that era, but mine has short reach brakes.  It barely fits a 700c 30mm under the brakes, I'm surprised you got a 35 in there.  Yours must have been built with more brake clearance than mine.   I also converted mine to 650B and have ridden it 10,000 kilometers of brevets that way and lots of other rides.  I'm not so sure you'll be able to fit a 42 in there though, the chainstay width and fork width is the limiting factor on my bike.  I'm pretty sure a 42mm would rub.  However, if you can make it work then more power to you.  I'm happy with my 38s and cream longboards I got from Rivendell.

I want to also convert my Redwood, and I'm hoping it will fit 650Bx48.  I do have the parts to do it, but you would not like the rims I have anyway, I'm 6'7" 300+ and I've destroyed too many lightweight rims to buy any more, it gets expensive.  600-650 grams is where I shoot for now.  I've gotten good service from Velocity Atlas 650B, to name one in particular.  Eventually though they all crack around the spoke bed and I have to get another wheel built.  I need to get back down to my pre-parenthood weight, more in the 240-260 range, that was easier on bike parts.

Anyway good luck with your older Rivendell!  I love mine!

Jim

Austin suburbs

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[EGNolan]

Eric Marth asked about tubing; This one was built with Reynolds 725. Not sure if stays/blades are the same, but that's what I was told. 

Jim- It's definitely tighter at the stays than the fork, but 42's fit the fork easily and in the rear with sufficient clearance if the wheel is at the back of the dropouts. The fenders have plenty of room as well so I'm pretty excited.

Thanks for all who've reached out, I think I have a line on the brakes/wheels, but will respond directly to those who've messaged me. I'll post updates once complete.

Eric

[EGNolan]

And in regards to the 1up w/ a fendered bike; this was my only attempt thus far and no issue on the 2.5 hr trip home via the interstate. I've seen others use a pool noodle on the contact point around the rack's "arm" which seems to add cushion yet keep the contact point tight enough to trust it. It's a simple mechanism in the rack, but one I've come to trust.

[Doug Van Cleve]

Are you sure this isn’t a Long Low?  I have a ‘99 JS Road Std, also with short reach brakes (that probably maxes out between 32 and 35mm) and I don’t recall the Road Std having any other brake option…

Doug

[EGNolan]

Doug,

The reasons I am saying it's a Road Standard vs. LongLow are no guarantee, but the original purchaser/orderer of the frame said it was a Road Standard, it has sidepulls (vs. cantilever on many LL's), chainstay length seems to match RS's and it fits a 35, but w/ no room for fenders and doesn't fit 38's (might be doable if you don't like clearance at the fork, but not doable in the rear where a 38 rubs width-wise). Maybe there was a bit of overlap in customization, I'm not sure, this was just JS's 14th bike for Riv... Happy to entertain this bike being anything, it rides wonderfully, looks beautiful and has lots of life left for a well ridden 25+ year old frame. I'm excited no matter the name!

PS- I've found wheels & brakes and I appreciate everyone's interest in helping out!

Eric

[Joe Bernard]

The Road Standard was the original Waterford model with short-reach brakes, a Joe Starck is getting into custom territory. I could be wrong but your current brakes look like the Shimano mid-reachers that Riv later put on Rambouillet and Romulus. If this is accurate you may not get the results you need with 559s, the reach for them works on 650B when replacing short-reach for long. Going from mid-reach to way-longer-reach may put the pads below the new rims. 

[EGNolan]

Joe,

I was just going with what the original owner told me as far as Riv Road, it may well be a custom. Luckily for me, I had a set of 559's AND a 650b wheelset sitting on a Bleriot frame. I tested fit prior to putting my requests out there. 42's fit with fenders, though I will dimple the chainstays for additional peace of mind, and the 559's have plenty of reach for this specific instance. 

I feel that I am extremely lucky in that this (road, longlow, custom?) bike works in ways others have not/do not. 

Best,

Eric

[Joe Bernard]

Custom is good. Whatever you have is working! 👍 (excellent color, too)

[EGNolan]

Thanks to all who helped with parts and thoughts, thought I'd give a li'l update on the custom-leaning Rivendell Road bike...

For reference, it fits 650b x 42 + fenders without any mods by using Tektro 559's. The bb is pretty low, but hasn't been an issue for the first few hundred miles :)

I'll wrap the bars when I've committed to keeping drops, I always try to like it, but without collecting a large quiver it's difficult me to venture too far from uprights as I ride with a coffee in hand more often than I ride a longer distance than 25 miles... 

[Piaw Na]

Low BBs ride better, especially on descents. Does your knee hit the feedbag on the bars when you switch between sitting and standing? I discovered mine does on my Roadini, and I now mount it on the other side of the bar. I guess judging from the bike setup it looks like you're far back enough that it might not be an isssue.

[richd...@gmail.com]

Looks great!!

[Jim Bronson]

More pictures of the fork/fender/tire clearance and the same for the chainstay bridge?

Yours must be different than mine, I too have had many thoughts about whether mine is a Road Standard or a custom.  It really doesn't look like a 42 could fit on mine with fenders, but maybe I'm wrong?  I have never tried it and always assumed that 38 was as large as I could go, and it's worked well, so I've been loath to mess with it.  Still, a little more would be nice if it fits.  

I did blow up your picture and it appears that your brake pad bolt is lower in the slot than mine is.  Yours looks to be pretty much at the bottom and mine is approximately 1cm from the inside of the bottom of the slot to the center of the bolt.  So maybe I should just live with a 38.  When I get around to converting my Redwood I could then swap the tires into the Road Standard/Custom and see if it fits.

Some of it might depend on how true to size the 42s are, I've read that some brands only are about 40mm inflated, so there's that as well.  Those look like Panaracer GravelKing you have on your bike?  How wide do they run when inflated?

Regarding Piaw Na's comment about low bottom brackets riding better, I agree!  They handle better also.   I have no bike in my stable that feels as confident and planted as my 650B converted Road Standard/Custom.  I'm sure taking it to a frame shop would raise a few eyebrows.  Haha.  Yes you have to be careful going around corners, it's really low and pedaling around anything more than a gentle curve is a no-go.  With that caveat stated I really like it the way it is and would not change.  When I first converted, I ran 170mm cranks because of the clearance issue, but it felt unnatural to me and I settled on 175's, I've had it that way for 7 or 8 years.  It had ran 180mm TA Carmina prior to the conversion, I'm 6'7", but I didn't really care for the low Q of the TAs and was looking to replace them anyway.

Jim

Austin suburbs, TX

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[EGNolan]

Jim,

There's a bit more room horizontally at the chainstays and fork than these suggest, it's difficult for me to show the true gap at an angle with fenders, etc. Tires measure 41 on these rims, but I initially borrowed the wheels from my Bleriot which measure 43 on (much) wider rims. 

I think I got extremely lucky that this bike fits the 42's, but I may also be willing to ride with narrower gaps between tires and steel than others on the list. I've been riding this bike consistently when I don't need to carry too large of a load and it rides wonderfully. I'm pretty used to the low bb now and haven't had any issues with the 170 length arms. 

[Fred Marsh]

I have the Tektro brakes and a Clem 650b wheelset that I ran on my Bleriot until recently.

The wheels are 135 spaced in the rear, don't know if that works, and the rear hub needs an overhaul (easy cup and cone job).

Let me know if you're interested.

- Fred

Mount Prospect, Il