Gus pre-sale

[Abcyclehank]

Super excited to land a Gus when they are ready. So worth the wait for something slightly different and perfect for the non-touring non road, non gravel riding I do. Like the other MIT offerings I would assume a sub $2000 price tag for a beautifully filleted frame. Setting my pennies aside now for the pre-sale. Not a grand gesture by any means but saving myself $100 and sending some income Riv’s way to make this special offering easier on RBW for the paying for them ahead of the shipping adventure these beautiful frames will undertake.
Really excited to join the Deacon and get this off-road hillibike in its element.
Will often pushes the benefit of buying a fully speced Clem for the $1600 vs just the frame for $900.
Those who have 90% of the parts they need to build a bike or two like me should and can afford $1600 or so for just a F/F/HS etc should jump in line also.

Ryan Hankinson
West Michigan

[Mark in Beacon]

I have a bunch of the parts from my Clementine. I am wavering between getting another Clem L frame and fork and getting one of the Hillies. Other than taking a bigger tire and the construction method and the tubing arrangement on top, I wonder how much difference there will be. I would not be using it exclusively off-road, so it would need to roll nicely on blacktop--and with today's tire choices that should not be so difficult.

I guess my question is other than novel look and somewhat fatter tires, any appreciable differences? And will my first Clem gen Alex rims (650B) be wide enough for a Hillibike?

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Oh, Mark, I remember you being deeply, madly in love with your Clementine. I don’t remember that there was much you would have changed about it, if anything. With that kind of love, it’s hard to see you without a Clementine in your future. And the bonus is that you can have it SOON. Do you like the current offerings for color? I do remember your tuxedo Clementine and it was the bee’s knees.

But this is not to discourage anyone else from Gussing. I hope everyone orders a Gus. The more bikes, we order the better for Rivendell. I just really want to see Mark back on a Clementine. It was a match!

[Ed Carolipio]

I own a 46 Clem L (with the 26" wheels) and a small proto Gus (TIG welded but still 650b wheels). I'd argue there are significant differences between them, with my advocating for the GBW if you have the budget and if you plan to use it for off road. Deacon Patrick's experiences jibe with mine.

The Clem L is still usable off road, but the GBW feels like it was meant for that role, specially over rough single track. I find the GBW frame "flexes" in a clever and rather brilliant way that meshes with rider and wheels/tires. That's also why I think Grant opted for rim over disc brakes (discs would be too stiff in the wrong parts of the frame) and why he wants to offer a completely *different* model for lighter riders (no air adjustments for preload, no oil or spring to change damping characteristics). Read Grant's market copy on the GBW: super cheesy but a great description of what it's like to ride the bike. The Clem L can do some of that, but not all of it and, as the trail gets more challenging, not with the same elan.

--Ed C.

[Deacon Patrick]

Gus is magical on rough stuff, loaded or unloaded, from the untamed MUP to washboarded dirt road, to 4x4 roads that make you wonder how anything with four wheels makes it until you realize it's on three wheels much of the time, to singletrack that flows and swoops, then plunges into forest creekside with mud, rocks and roots and you jounce the bull ride as you wonder how your brakes got so far away and your speed was higher than you realized for being soooo smooooth (note to self!) and you settle into an appropriate speed for the trail and resume flowing over rocks and roots and unexpected climbs and it dawns on you you're bikepacking with a 110 pound rig doing things as though your on a regular rigid ride, sitting back comfy and upright, puzzling how you can jounce and glide at the same time and you imagine writing about it in a Dickensonian length sentence and figure, "Nah! No one'd believe me," so you don't. The world will find out soon enough.

With abandon,
Patrick

[Garth]

Mark, if your rims are Alex DM24's you're fine as they are 32mm outer/24mm inner.  The only other suitable rims I'm aware of are the Cliffhanger and Ryde Andra 40 and Big Bull. 

_____________________________

If I get a HillyBike I'd ride it as I ride my 60cm. Bombadil which is mostly on road which ranges from smooth to patch paved asphalt over once gravel roads.  I ride 700x50 Big Bens this year and the ride is terrific on the road and the occasional ATV paths I follow around.  I wouldn't hesitate to ride 60mm Big Apples or something like that with the HillyBike on road. I wish there was a 60mm Big Ben. There's not a whole lotta such tires above 60mm at this time though. Just because a HillyBike can take 2.8" tires doesn't mean it's a requirement of course, I'm sure a 60mm tire rides great. 

I get the HillyBike is being marketed as offroad but that's just marketing as to market you gotta start somewhere. That doesn't mean it's limited to that, or by it. It's a BIKE for goodness sake, and one rides a bike wherever one rides it. 

Hmmm ... I've heard this marketing before ..... oh yes ... When the Bombadi was introduced it was marketed as a Mountain Bike, over hill 'n dale we go !   The talk was the same, about chest thumping "stout tubes" (hear the echo of Tarzan here) and how this assists carrying your truckloads of bananas from Costa Rica. I never thought of it anything but a Bicycle that I ride.  

I'd kind of like both a 59 Susie and a 60 Gus frankly, at least to try. Besides tubing, I don't know if the Susie is smaller scaled Gus in overall dimensions or simply a shorter seat tube. Compared to a Clementine.... oh ask a million people and you get a million different answers. I'd rather have a 64 Clementine in dimensions(long F-C and tall HT) but with a 60cm ST.... which his where the XL/60cm. HillyBike fits in as the front-center is very long and front end very high, at least from the XL demo photos that Riv had for sale.  Plus 3 sets of bottle mounts is to me a basic necessity,, Gus yay, Clementine nay.  A Clementine complete is great if the parts are what you really want, if not you end up spending much more later. 

[Mark in Beacon]

BBDD--No need to worry about me needing a bike SOON. Although I do not currently own a Rivendell, I have an entire fleet of Rivalikes, including my 1946 Bianchi  650B step through city bike, which does Clementine duty. I'm okay with either of the current colors, but I favor the bronze green, though the blue is reminiscent of the Blue Mink Raleigh Professional, which I've always liked.

Ed & Patrick, thanks for the reviews, very helpful.

Garth, I mentioned first gen Clem because I remembered they changed the wheels. Just checked and mine are the Alex 18, so a full 6mm narrower. I run big rubber on narrow tires all the time, and I do have a set of Atlas rims, which are slightly wider at 20, so I guess I would use those to start. When/if I go to the full 2.8", I will probably build a second set with wider rims.

One other little high class problem is size. With a 73cm saddle setting most days, that's a height that appears in all 4 size ranges. Throwing out the small and the x-large, that leaves Med and Lg.  I know Grant would suggest a Large, and I do like big frames just fine--no worries with this design regarding top tube clearance. But I feel like the handling gets a bit more staid, lines tend to lock in more, with the fatter 700c tires, so I am leaning toward the 650B if only for that reason.  I had a Jones SWB complete for a bit and I liked the handling on that, road and trail. (Sold it in anticipation of re-acquiring a Riv for the same riding duties. Not a huge fan of discs and push button shifters. Bike was a lot of fun, though, no question about that.)

On Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 7:26:05 PM UTC-4, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

Oh, Mark,...it’s hard to see you without a Clementine in your future. And the bonus is that you can have it SOON. Do you like the current offerings for color?

[Deacon Patrick]

Mark, I'm not sure what the production bikes will be, but my Large Gus is 27.5+/650b.

With abandon,
Patrick

[Mark in Beacon]

Thanks Patrick. Large goes to 700c on the production models. In any case, not a huge deal. I'll probably opt for the medium. And I think I've convinced myself to go for a Hillibike instead of Clem L (don't worry, BBDD, I have the memories!;^)

[Joe Bernard]

I believe all Boots variants are going to be 650B/27.5. My personal thoughts on the matter at hand: Boots is going to be great and if one has even an inkling that it will do the stuff one likes to do, be patient. Clems are great, too, if that's really what you want and the price works better for you, but hoo boys Boots. That baby is going to be FUN!

[Garth]

Here is the wheel size/pbh chart from the Blahg #19 .  https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1403/7343/files/susie_wolbis_specs_chart_2048x2048.png

[Joe Bernard]

Ah, my bad, I coulda sworn this was strictly a 27.5 bike. I am often wrong! 🥴

[Garth]

I kinda recall there being some implication of 27.5 tires when it was introduced ..... but I too may be incorrect ..... hey it's a crowded club Joe  !

[Alex Wirth- Owner, Yellow Haus Bicycles]

‘‘Twas supposed to be a 27.5 throughout...I think that change was recent-ish.

Kinda bummed me out because I was pumped to spread the Gus frame in the back and share my super fancy Son/Phil 27.5 Hubbah wheelset.

But I am solidly into a large, so 29er it is 🙃

[tc]

And then there's the GBW brochure draft's "Picking a size" page, which recommends slightly different PBH ranges.

Tom

[Joe Bernard]

The draft brochure version makes more sense. The other one has comically overlapping PBH/SH numbers.

[phil k]

Can't really buy any new bikes for a bit, but I'm definitely keeping an eye on this.