Weirdest Rivendell ideas?

[J L]

Remember Foss tubes? I like that Riv has always tried to be out of the box. Stick shifting?

What are some of the other head scratcher ideas and products from yesteryear? None of them have ever been dumb.

This is in praise of creative thinking and taking chances.

Cheers
Jason

[Joe Bernard]

Foss tubes were so strange. I don't remember how it worked now but there'was a specific way they needed to be inserted in the tire, and they had a dedicated (and pricey) patch. 

My favorite wacky idea was a wheel size between 584(650b) and 622(700c), I believe it was 603. Grant cut a tire, pulled a slice out and sewed it back together to fit on his new wheel to try it. I wish I could remember why he wanted this new standard, someone with that Reader from the mid-'00s can tell us. 

My favorite wacky idea that made it to production is also a tire, the Speedblend. I miss them!

Joe Bernard 

[dougP]

Consider the how they're the only ones (I know of) doing the long chainstay thing.  IIRC, this started out as the "tentacular chainstays" a few years back.  Something like "if I can get a dozen people to commit to buying a new idea, sight unseen & no details, I'll build something I've been thinking about."  One of GP's most interesting marketing approaches.  Low'n'behold, now we have a bunch of models using that idea.  But if a dozen (or whatever the number was) of adventureous people hadn't stepped up, it wouldn't have happened. 

dougP

[Jim M.]

I still have a Foss tube in one of my wheels. Damn thing won't wear out. 

Jeff Jones, another iconoclast like Grant, is doing long wheelbases too.

jim

walnut creek

[Ben Mihovk]

Consider the how they're the only ones (I know of) doing the long chainstay thing. 

I'm just a few weeks into riding my new Atlantis, and I have to say...I don't think I want a bike with traditional chainstays ever again. As a tall guy who feels pretty elevated when I'm on a bike, I appreciate the nearly exorbitant wheelbase on this bike. 

[Edwin W]

Splats and Half Mitts have to be up there.

Half mitts with the thumb I find are actually pretty useful things to have around, take up little space and weigh very little. Never got the splats, but I see their (dorky) practicality!

Edwin

[RichS]

How about wooden neckties from a few years back?

Best,

Rich in ATL

[Paul M]

The model name "Hunqapillar" that was inspired from a very large mailbox some place in the mid-west on Grant's ride across the country. But turns out to be my favorite name and Rivendell model. Stick shifting is the only way to go if your frame doesn't have a left side cable stop and your running a double crankset. Whatever gets you down the road....

[Patrick Cronin]

Custom design and fabrication of a friction shifter in 2020.

Custom design and fabrication of cantilever brakes in 2020.

[Matthew Cook]

I would say releasing a production 650b bike 11 years ago was pretty adventurous. I have a 2009 Bleriot and as I think about it, If I knew it existed, I would have been less likely to buy it when it was being sold. I dont think there were even too many 650b tires available then. 

Matt Cook in CT

[Joe Bernard]

Nope, there were very few 650b tires and Grant looked bonkers to even being trying this. Boy did THAT one work out! 

Another amusing Riv thing from the clothing side, suspenders! I still have a pair 😬

[Joel S]

Matt, I believe they were released in 2006 just after the 659b Saluki.  The only tire size I ride now.  I remember when iBob list members were doing concessions.  I bought a Saluki and Bleriot, still have the Bleriot.  

[Joel S]

650b Saluki, sorry for the typo,  

[Matthew Cook]

So if it was released in 2006, then it must have been conceptualized at least one or two years prior. So wacky 650b idea evolved around 2004 or 2005? It makes sense they had to also release some tires as well. 

I didn't ride a bike as an adult until 2009, so what 650b tires existed back then?

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/SAvj1DJRVE0/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/80be014c-348a-485f-8be9-c56071a2fa48n%40googlegroups.com.

[Patrick Moore]

I recall reading a book perhaps 25 years ago about a couple of British brothers who, some 35-40 years ago, bought a couple of custom steel touring bikes to take on a huge, lengthy tour of Asia; at least the subcontinent, and Afghanistan too, I think.

Anyway, their bikes were built by a well-known name whom I forget, and they chose double cranksets with no front derailleurs for the sake of "simplicity," choosing instead to carry little wire hooks to grab and move the chain from small to big ring after they'd kicked it with heel from big to small ring. This was described at some length in the book.

Aside, but during the 2 years or so I owned my Ken Rogers British racing tricycle, I rode it as a 1X with granny without front derailleur; the granny used only occasionally. But the trike was different, since besides kicking the chain to the small ring with your heel, as you can do with any 2-wheeler, the 3 wheels give you the stability to reach down at very low speeds and delicately pick up the chain with your thumb and index finger to place it on the big ring, without fear of veering or falling over. In fact, I recall once stopping dead on a hill, and reaching way down to guide the bottom run of the chain onto the big ring while I backpedaled; can't do that with 2 wheels!

On Fri, Oct 16, 2020 at 11:00 AM Paul M <mott...@gmail.com> wrote:

..... Stick shifting is the only way to go if your frame doesn't have a left side cable stop and your running a double crankset. Whatever gets you down the road....

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick Moore

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

[Benjamin L. Kelley]

Interesting article about the history of 650b.   https://www.handbuiltbicyclenews.com/c36-bicycle-wheels/196-the-renaissance-of-the-650b-wheel-0

Has info from Grant about tires, and a picture from RR 33 in Fall 2004. About 1/2 way through the article.

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CACoCefgMvQ%2BcwU0qomvpxRsKcqe_SpzHV_hKdxVoW4u7Af_mcg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks for posting that; I didn't know that Ritchy had tried 650B so long ago.

Cleland are wild; like nothing else on earth -- a wholly separate evolutionary thread, like Australian marsupials. 

Patrick Moore, who likes the way little, short 26" wheels with skinny tires handle (24.75" with 27-28-29 mm Elk Passes) and prefers 29ers (29.6" tall) for the local sand, in ABQ, NM.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAAdeZ0qJK4ckZs_U4SRxAUig%3D8KLShNR7gr4Pi9tCkGjwWgsuA%40mail.gmail.com.

--

[mikel...@juno.com]

Misuboshi and Michelin World Tour tires I feel pre-date the recent 650b craze. i wonder who made the tires for the Raleigh Passage in the 80's

 

mike goldman

rhode island

____________________________________________________________

Top News - Sponsored By Newser

• Trump Reverses on Aid After Call With Governor
• US Is First to 8M Cases
• 'Crazy' Voting Numbers May Yield a US First

[Joel S]

Great article, thanks Benjamin. 

[Joel Stern]

Mike, I think the Saluki was 2003.  There is an article posted above that details 650b bikes here...  

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CACoCefgMvQ%2BcwU0qomvpxRsKcqe_SpzHV_hKdxVoW4u7Af_mcg%40mail.gmail.com.

--

~IMPORTANT~ Note to all~~ EMAIL ETIQUETTE
If you forward this email, please highlight and delete the forwarding history, which includes my email address and maybe others. It is a courtesy to me and others who may not wish to have their email addresses sent all over the world. Erasing the history helps prevent Spammers from obtaining addresses, prevents viruses from being propagated, and limits the proliferation of spam. Also, please use the “BCC” area instead of “TO” and “CC” when forwarding to several people at once.
~~Thank you~~

[Joel Stern]

Sorry, I meant Matt.  Where in CT are you?  I am in western MA.  

[John A. Bennett]

Saluki: 2005. Mark built mine first to work out the assembly details. 
It was the largest size we made (62cm). Still ride it daily. 

When it became apparent that the design would work for larger frames, the A. Homer Hilsen 

came along in sizes larger than 62cm with 700c wheels. 

It didn't take long for us to realize that having the same bike with different names was

confusing (we had already done that with the Romulus & Redwood) so "Saluki" was dropped, 

and they all became Hilsens. 

The Saluki decals and head badge were designed by Jon Grant in Austin, Texas.

Later on, he created the Bleriot art....among other things. 

John

Then of Walnut Creek, Calif.; Now of Portland, Ore.

[John Hawrylak]

Half Mitts may be weird but they really work.  I bought a pair of Half mitts (with thumb) from a list member.  Use then in cooler weather and winter, and they work GREAT.  Hands stay nice and warm and are easier than regular gloves to take off..  I think the wind blocking goes a long way to helping hands stay warm and the inside fur is a nice touch, not technical like most riding gloves have.

If anyone has another pair (weird or not) and not using, I'm an interested buyer.

John hawrylak

Woodstown NJ

[Jeremy Till]

My two nominations would be: 

1. For a while they were selling a wind "shield" that was essentially a vest without any back, just weights (IIRC) that hung over the top of your shoulders. The idea was that the wind would do most of the work holding it in place. Seems like it was designed around a fairly narrow use case, that being descending Mt. Diablo on a chilly morning after a S240. One step above stuffing newspaper down your jersey.

2. Wood grips, which I think they sold around 2007 or so. Not cork, not faux wood, just plain carved hardwood, no shock absorption to speak of. I think they had a vaguely ergonomic shape.  

I'm not saying either of these was a bad idea per se, just the kind of out-of-left field stuff for which Rivendell is known. 

-Jeremy Till

Sacramento, CA

[Luke]

Not a Riv Product but a Riv Reader recommendation: Vitruvian Running Shoes

I bought these shoes for a number of years based on Grant's recommendation. Giant cushioned wedges of running shoes that got questions wherever I went - sadly discontinued in 2010 due to poor sales.

 Luke Vermeulen

Ypsilanti, MI

[Robert Tilley]

For me their weirdest idea is the double top tube added to normal sized frames. I can see it being needed on very large frames but on the frames they put them on they just seem useless. 

Robert Tilley

San Diego, CA

Sent from my BlackBerry - the most secure mobile device

From: jerem...@gmail.com Sent: October 19, 2020 11:13 AM To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com Reply-to: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com Subject: [RBW] Re: Weirdest Rivendell ideas?

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/22057370-d249-4431-bd79-54b883de5b88n%40googlegroups.com.