Can we talk about the Rivendell Clems for a minute? I hesitate as I write this, because opinions on here tend to be strong, but I see this as a fun topic and worth exploring. We can be nice, even if we disagree. I have been seeing Clems in several colors, in a variety of configurations, all over Instagram. Blue Lug and Helmet Kids are two of my favorite bike Instagram accounts, and they frequently feature Clems on their group rides. Calling In Sick, a bike magazine you’ve likely heard of, did an entire issue on the magic of the Clem, which is also all over Instagram. I suppose it could be that Clem popularity is imagined by me; I personally love Clems and therefore notice them, so I’ll add that caveat here. But I really do think the Clems are having their moment.
When I first discovered Rivendell in 2012 the only social media I knew about was the List. The bikes were all lugged, and built with silver parts. There was a definite prescribed look. The demographics of the group were not exactly varied. There were few women, and even fewer in my age bracket (early 30s). But then Grant made the bike he said he’d never make, and the TIG’d Clem was among us. With the coronation of the Clem, those unable to afford a Rivendell suddenly could. I began seeing younger people riding them. Baby seats began popping up on these bikes. (I felt like I was the only one in the Rivendell world pulling my kid on my Betty Foy in 2012.) And in several generations of Clems, the owners have now taken that bike in new directions. Clems are for everyone!
The Clems are pure Rivendell in manners and ride, but they are divergent. Black parts abound. 1x gearing. Trigger shifting. Young dudes shredding all over the ‘Gram with them. Some lucky kids are riding them! My sons have been raised on Clems (the H version, but we have the L version for when they are grown). Worries over the step-through frame being considered “a girl bike” seem to have been unfounded. (And in my family we have 2 giant Clem Ls the men ride.) People seem to really love the versatility and ease of a step-thru frame.
I see the Clem as a Rivendell, modernized.
The colors have been brilliant; the Clem has never been subject to color constraint. Atlantis bikes will be Atlantis green, but Clems are like Skittles - we’ve had bright turquoise, black, orange (Clementines), creamy mustard, a creamy blue, a glittery blue, grilver, lime, bronzey green… We really do need a metallic red, but I digress…
On my own Clem, I have been unafraid to put zany parts on it. Anything goes. “It’s a Clem,” I say. I’ve got a red front hub and an orange rear hub. Bright red pedals that look like shoes to me. I damaged the paint when a U lock rubbed it off as we traveled, but I never think about it. I have blue wire soldered into the black dyno wire and it will never irk me. I’ve been way more picky about the appearance of my Platypus, but my Clem is unhindered by rules.
The newest Clems have just arrived at Riv HQ and I hope their owners will delight us with photos and write ups here and on Instagram. I’m so excited for another wave of customers to get to know these bikes. The Rivendell Clems, those gentle giants, are so good to us.
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On Nov 16, 2021, at 2:53 PM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:
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"So, Leah, what is the question? Are people complaining that Clems are being built in unorthodox colors and kit? Is there a purist group who demands that Clems be restricted to authorized versions?"
Patrick, I perceived the question as not a literal question but a jumping-off point to discuss the glories of Clem. A bicycle I don't currently own so don't feel I have much to say about, but the L model led to this: that droptube convinced me that high/level toptubes aren't my thing and I had my custom built with a lower one. Thanks, Clem L! 🙌Joe Bernard
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..Aside: "59cm - 86 to 96cm; 700c rim size, but with room for "29er" tires." I've never measured my pbh because I've known forever what st size and tt size make a bike fit me. But I'm 5'10" tall with Asian build (I wear 34 w 32 length jeans instead of v-versa; if I had an Anglo build I'd be 6'1" ), so would I fit a 59?
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------Patrick MooreAlburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------Patrick MooreAlburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum
-------------------------------------------------------------------------Patrick MooreAlburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum
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Perhaps more helpful: my perfect level tt road bike frame size is 60 X 56 c-c. My built road bikes have 57 and 58 cm c-c tts with Riv-type slightly upsloping tts. Please help me translate this into Clems.
And again, how fat a tire will a 700C 59 cm Clem take?On Tue, Nov 16, 2021 at 5:39 PM Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:..Aside: "59cm - 86 to 96cm; 700c rim size, but with room for "29er" tires." I've never measured my pbh because I've known forever what st size and tt size make a bike fit me. But I'm 5'10" tall with Asian build (I wear 34 w 32 length jeans instead of v-versa; if I had an Anglo build I'd be 6'1" ), so would I fit a 59?
And, if so, how fat a 700C tire will a 59 cm Clem take?
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Patrick,I would say a 2.8 inch tire would fit. Maybe 3 inch but it would be tight...this is on my 52.
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Btw can we discuss the first Clem pictured in this thread? I think Leah's "eccentric" build is the coolest. One thing I can't really do with my custom cuz of the gray/red scheme is toss other colors at it, which is ever so slightly first-world-problems frustrating. I love the splotches of red and orange on her blue frame, that bike POPS! 💙❤️🧡
So it’s been 15 months. I love the bike and extoll it’s virtues to anyone who asks (and to some who don’t). It was not love at first sight. I bought a clem for it’s personality - and price. Comfort and off-road capability were the inducements. As time passed I came to appreciate clem’s beauty and now find traditional diamond frame bikes look common and truncated in comparison. For me the price was a sweet spot. It cost $1650, enough to be a quality bike but not so much that it causes reluctance to ride the granite strewn trails of cape ann for fear of dinging it up. Clem does what you ask of it. Out last week a pedal came off at an inopportune moment stripping the crank so I push rode it like a scooter 4 miles home and thought it still rode nice. Can’t offer build inspiration as my clem is still stock. All I’ve done is reposition the shifters to below the bends freeing up hand space. This has made a big difference for any sort of aggressive riding/climbing, works well for long descents too as you can lay forearms flush on swept back and be comfortably aero.
Maybe I’m just easy to please but for me this is a no-brainer. Whatever you need, on or off-road, loaded or unloaded Clem Smith is a first ballot hall of fame bike.
On Nov 18, 2021, at 1:34 PM, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:
Doug: I use Deity Black Kat pedals and they're great, I didn't like how narrow the MKS were. Deitys come in a bunch of colors, I think Leah has the cheaper Deftrap model which looks to be the same size as mine. Good stuff.
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Patrick,I would say a 2.8 inch tire would fit. Maybe 3 inch but it would be tight...this is on my 52.
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On Nov 17, 2021, at 6:29 PM, Gill <crgi...@gmail.com> wrote:
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On Nov 19, 2021, at 10:28 AM, Gill <crgi...@gmail.com> wrote:
Kai - Did you ride your Clem out to the end of the breakwater? I’ve never thought to do that. I’ve also never seen another Riv out in the wild so if ever you return to glosta give a shout out.
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On Nov 19, 2021, at 1:03 PM, Jeremy Till <jerem...@gmail.com> wrote:
Great thread Leah! I too love my Clem (first gen "H" frame in green for me) and everything it represents about the evolution of Rivendell's designs. I became a Rivendell devotee during the "classic" era, lusting after Quickbeams, Rambouillets, Atlanti, early Homers, etc. During the later aughts and early teens they were already making smaller departures from their lugged, level top tube road bike aesthetic (the mixtes, sloping top tubes on the Sam, diagatubes on the Bombadil and Hunqapillar, etc.), each one decried by the wool jerseyed diehards who had been following Grant since the Bridgestone days. I bought my first Rivendell, the classic Quickbeam, the same fall they brought out the "Mystery Bikes," the original long chainstay bikes, and I have to say I was really intrigued by those designs. So much so, in fact, that I spent the next four years trying various upright bars on the Quickbeam, but it never seemed to ride as well as the Mystery Bikes (two of which, belonging to others, I was lucky enough to ride).
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