Rivendell "Keven's Bike" build

[lconley]

Not totally complete yet - still have to do fenders, a wired rear light, rear rack and rear box, but I am riding it.

Frame: Rivendell Mark Nobilette fillet brazed custom with front cargo rack - no Rivendell decals or head badge because it does not have a Joe Bell paintjob. They did put a Rosco Bubbe head badge on it. Tange/IRD NeedL BlastR Headset

Wheels: built by me - 650B - 48 spoke polished velocity Cliffhanger rims, SON front dynohub, NOS Sansin tandem freewheel hub, sealed bearing, bolt-on. Wheelsmith DB SS spokes. Kenda Kwick Seven-5 Sport tires - 27.5 x 2.25.

Saddle - Brooks Aged B-68 on SR seatpost. To me, the aged B-68s are the most comfortable saddles ever built.

Brakes: Tektro 849AL - the longest arm V-brakes on the planet, VO orange housing

Pedals: Ergon large

Drivetrain: Sugino RD-2 single crank, 170 arms, 48 tooth, Wipperman Connex SS 9 speed chain, Shimano MF-TZ510-7 7 speed freewheel with integral spoke protector, 14-16-18-20-22-24-34, Shimano Altus M310 rear derailleur, Shimano Revoshift indexing twist shifter. Jagwire orange shifter housing

Cockpit: Nitto Technomic 110 stem, Nitto Wavie handlebars, Ergon GC-1 twist shift grips, VO Gran Cru V-brake levers.

Basket: Wald huge racing basket

Lights: B&M IQ-X headlight (dyno), B&M Toplight Line Senso (battery), B&M saddle rail mount. Dyno tail light waiting on fenders and rack.

Other: VO retro cage on VO handlebar mount, Rokform phone mount & safety tether, no-name chrome pump, double Pletscher kickstand, VO steering stabilizer

Yet to be installed: Honjo H-95 fenders with PDW safety tabs, rear rack TBD, NOS Vetta Box - orange

This is going to be my commuter bike, rides great, nice upright position without a mile of stem sticking out.

Laing

Delray Beach FL

[lconley]

More pictures

 

Laing

Delray Beach FL

[lconley]

More pictures

Laing

Delray Beach FL

[lconley]

More pictures

Laing

Delray Beach FL

[Doug H.]

Laing,

Sweet looking bike! How high above the saddle are those handlebars?!?  I'd call that a custom swoopy mixte and the orange cables and rack look so good with the frame color.

Doug

Athens, GA

[lconley]

The handlebars are somewhere around 4 to 6 inches above the saddle. I originally had a dirt drop stem on it, but then the bars were way too high and too close.

Laing

[lconley]

I measured last night and the top of the stem is 7" above the top of the seat - definitely higher than I thought.

Laing

[Doug H.]

It's a cool design I think. How's the ride? And, how far do you commute? I have commuted here in Athens but the traffic is a little heavy on one stretch of road that makes me a little nervous. The round trip for me is about 19 miles.

Doug

[lconley]

Just over 11 miles each way for a round trip of a little over 22 miles. Fortunately, more than half of the commute is on a dedicated trail that runs along canals (glorified large drainage ditches) and not beside roads - and under the most of the major cross roads. I ride the sidewalks/bikepaths when not on the trail, I don't trust the retirees and cell phone junkies down here in South Florida. I only get forced on to the road for a couple hundred feet of the commute. Strava says the elevation change is 24 feet. I keep the bike inside the office and in the garage at home.

The bike rides: well I would have to say stiffer than expected given the frame design. I haven't dialed in the tire pressures quite yet - I am riding 45 front, 55 rear at the moment, but I believe that they can be lowered.

I was riding my Rosco Bubbe V1 single speed which was geared a little high (~72), but this bike has a lot better top tube clearance.

Laing

Delray Beach to Boca Raton

[lconley]

Changed the handlebars and stem to Nitto fillet brazed Bullmoose from the parts stash. Original Wavie bars and Technomic stem were a little too flexy in some situations. Much better now.

Very, very tempted to get that IRD setback seatpost that Rivendell has in stock right now.

Just rode in to work. It was Iguana day on the bike path today. Hundreds of them but I was too lazy to try and get a picture of them. 

Laing

Resting at the desk in Boca Raton FL

[Joseph]

Awesome Bike! Really dig the Cargo rack

[frank_a]

Hi Laing,

 Would you mind telling me the saddle height in the photo? I remember Keven was a tall guy and I’m curious what size that frame is.
Thanks,

 -Frank

[lconley]

Top of saddle is 34" above top of pedal. Frame is 61cm C of BB to top of seat lug. I am 6', but have short legs (83 pbh) and a long torso-> think 5'8" legs / 6'4" torso. That is why the seat is so low, but it works for me because of the mixte / omafiets style frame - I hate pullback bars with basically parallel grips (Bosco, Losco, Tosco, etc), so Wavies, Jitensha, Bullmoose, etc. that keep the bars more forward help. I also rode a 60cm Betty Foy.

It was evidently supposed to be a "cargo" style bike with the front frame rack, but the high center of gravity (CG) kind of quashed that idea for me - with a mega-size Wald 157 basket, it wouldn't stay upright with a side kickstand, even empty. The Wald 157 basket was also uncomfortable close to the handlebars and didn't turn with the handlebars. The Wald huge racing basket works to keep the CG lower and it has become my commuter. The Wald 157 is going on my Clydesdale forked Clementine for a cargo bike.

The bike one of my Rivendell keepers. I currently have 12 Rivendells and need to thin the herd, so I have decided to keep, at a minimum, the American made Rivendell frames - 3 Mark Nobilette built: Custom, Keven's bike, and Mystery Bike - Protoveloosa;  Waterford built Bombadil with Nobilette added tentacles, Waterford built Rosco Bubbe V1. That is 5 plus the wife's Betty Foy makes 6.....

Laing

[Edwin W]

Laing,

Love everything about it!

Can you tell us a little more about the front rack?

Who made it?

How does it attach at the top?

How does it attach at the bottom?

Any issues with it?

Cool!

Edwin

[lconley]

The front rack was built by Mark Nobilette along with the frame. The only reason that the bike does not have Rivendell decals and head badge is that it does not have a Joe Bell paintjob. They were willing to put a ROSCO BUBBE head badge on, but afterward I got to thinking that it is more of a Platypus. The rack is attached to threaded fittings on the "napkin rings" top and bottom. These are the standard head tube "napkin rings" as used on the Clems to reinforce the head tube on the tig'd frames. This is a fillet brazed frame, but the same principal applies. As far as I know, this is the only Rivendell ever built with the twin mixte style mid tubes between the head tube and the seat tube, but someone may know better and correct me on that. The middle ring is rotated 90 deg from the normal orientation so the threaded parts don't cover up the 'RBW" cast into the ring. The rack works fine, but being attached to the frame it doesn't turn with the front wheel, and that can make maneuvering in tight spaces challenging. The rack includes a headlight mount.

Laing

Delray Beach FL