My New Atlantis

[☆ Paul ☆]

Hello Everyone. I'm new-is here.

Almost finished building up my new Atlantis MIT and thought I'd share it. What does MIT stand for, anyway?

Finally coming to the realization that a really upright geometry makes me happiest. Being a bit slower, I force my friends to slow down too and conversation is the result.

A little bit unconventionally for a Rivendell (I think?) I mounted a 1x10 SRAM drivetrain, which works brilliantly on this frame. Also took The Deacon's advice and put the lovely Berthoud Mente saddle on, and committed to ride the brick till it's comfortable... but a few days ago I chickened out and dunked it in a bucket of warm water and put on lots of mink oil (scary advice from the Internet, but WTF)... and it worked! Already super-comfy.

Still waiting on VO fenders, and a Nitto seatpost to match the stem. The new G-One Speed tires are amazing, these are 50C and they roll so fast, like much smaller tires. 

Having trouble posting more than one image, will put-up more upon request.

(PS: I finished a very similar build on a twin-top-tube Sam Hillborne for a charity auction, and I ended up buying it myself, long story. It's a little too big and I may put up for sale at some point soon... will post when I do.)

I love the positivity on this forum. Much love to everyone, 

Paul

[Steve Cole]

MIT = Made in Taiwan

[☆ Paul ☆]

Thank you Steve. Were they all American made before this?

Taiwan makes some amazing bikes.

[Ann L]

Beautiful bike!  Congratulations and now enjoy riding the hell out of it :)

[☆ Paul ☆]

Thanks Ann. Already am... it doesn't look so clean any more.

Testing some lower bars this week + fenders + this really rad Schindelhauer rack I found in Germany:

https://www.schindelhauerbikes.com/en/Accessories/Front-Pannier-Rack.html

[James Davis]

Paul, 

Wonderful build, my friend. 

Atlantis-es been built in Japan by Toyo in the early 2000s and then by Waterford in the US until a few years ago when Riv offered up a MIT version. However, I have heard whispers that if you throw down enough cash that you can still get a MUSA (Made in the USA) Atlantis.

On July 14, 2017 (happy early bday to my Atlantis, I got a Waterford-built Atlantis right before the change to geometry to longer chainstays and moved production to Taiwan. After ordering In September of 2016, I waited some 8-10 months because Waterford ran out of the chainstays that used to come on the previous version and the chain stay maker (true temper) left the steel market. I don’t know if that led to the change in geo or just was the final pebble that toppled over the load in helping them reconceptualize the geometry of the Atlantis.

The long chainstays are wonderful. I enjoy them on my Clem. I am sure you were enjoy them on your Atlantis.

Best,

James Gardner Davis

Denver

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[☆ Paul ☆]

Thanks for the reply and info James.

Yes, the Atlantis is really, really long. I've designed my own frames but nothing this long, and it's just awesome, I feel like a kid riding a Stingray. Especially with new rubber fast tires.

The Sam H I built up has similar components (1x10) but had lower Billie bars and 35c tires. My original idea was the Sam would be a faster bike for gravel rides (we have a lot of dirt roads in Vermont), and the Atlantis more of a 100% upright town cruiser.  But I just flipped bars (Bosco to Sam, Billie Bars to Atlantis) and saddles between the bikes and some how it's better: upright narrow tire Sam H, very dignified, and the Atlantis is *slightly* more aggressive with fat tires and the Billie Bar. 

Also just realized I can slide the brakes and shifter way up the Billie Bar towards the front of the bike, which gives me a ton of hand positions on the Atlantis. Going to ride over to the BMX shop if it doesn't thunderstorm and see if they have some old-fashioned 170mm flangeless grips.

Starting to think I'm going to end up keeping both bikes for a while and not sell the Sam, at least yet. Bleh. My garage is full!

All this on my lunch hour. 

XO

Paul

[dougP]

Paul:

Great to hear you're enjoying your ride.  The current Atlantis is the most comfortable one yet. 

Short history:  Toyo built the Atlantis for a long time, and while it was updated a bit here'n'there, it was mostly things like adding braze-ons & minor running changes.  A few years ago (I'm a bit vague on exactly when) production moved to Waterford.  At that point, the chainstays got just a bit longer.  Not so much as to be obvious but for a while there was a geo chart for that version & the differences were subtle.  The MIT version was a major change to significantly longer chainstays. 

I have an '03 58 cm Atlantis that I simply love, and have put thousands of miles on in the last 17 years.  A couple of years ago, I was at RBWHQ and took a ride on the current (MIT) version and was simply amazed.  The ride was noticeably more cushy.  We did some trails close to the shop and the bike handled as well as mine on single track (Note:  I'm not an aggressive off-roader).  You've really got the best of both worlds.  Another benefit to the longer wheelbase is if you run rear panniers more of the weight is forward of the rear axle for a more stable ride.  I also think that space between the seat tube and the rear wheel just begs for a frame bag.  

I toyed with the idea of upgrading to the new design, but felt guilty about abandoning an old friend who has serve me so well. 

dougP

[dougP]

Paul:

BTW, the 1 x 10 is not unusual.  If it does what you need done, it's right for you.  Long ago, Grant said something to the effect that a bike frame was just a place to hang all the parts you need for what you want to do with your bike.  I doubt there are too many Rivendells out there that are duplicates.

What chainguard are you using?  It gives the bike a nice, clean look.

dougP

On Monday, July 13, 2020 at 7:46:18 AM UTC-7, ☆ Paul ☆ wrote:

[☆ Paul ☆]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for your reply.

It's interesting, because a lot of long wheelbase bikes have too much rake up front, which makes the front feel kind of sloggy. The new Atlantis has a tight enough rake, just a long rear end, and so it still feels relatively agile. Very cleverly done.

What is the max tire size on your older Atlantis with fenders? I've seen those and they look so nice. There's an amazing black one for sale right now on eBay. 

The crank is a New Albion w/ 42T.  Actually, it comes stock as a 42/33 but I just took off the small chainring. It's great because it has a bash guard built in (you have to flip the guard around if you want to run it as a 1x to give more clearance) and also because it's really a Sugino crank (comes out of the same mold as the XD2 I think). If you use a 36/12 cassette as a 1x9 or 1x10 you're pretty much dialed unless you're really mountain biking crazy rough terrain. You can get it from Soma.

Paul

[Joel Stern]

Beautiful bike, I like how you've set it up

On Monday, July 13, 2020 at 10:46:18 AM UTC-4, ☆ Paul ☆ wrote:

[Joel Stern]

Paul, is that a 52 or 54? I am curious about your PBH and what size you went for, and it looks like the top of the step is equal to the saddle. 

On Monday, July 13, 2020 at 10:46:18 AM UTC-4, ☆ Paul ☆ wrote:

[☆ Paul ☆]

Hi Joel.  

It's a 53cm, actually.

I'm 5' 11" with a 34-ish PBH (longer torso). Fits me really well. 

I suppose the next size up would have worked as well, I'd just have to have used a shorter stem and you'd see less seatpost... but I wanted 650B wheels — I dislike fat tires on 29'er wheels, too hard to get moving at a stoplight. 😀  

That's a 120mm long nitto stem on there right now!

[☆ Paul ☆]

PS: I'll repost pics with the new handlebars and fenders when they arrive. The Billie bars work better for me on this bike.

[Joel Stern]

It’s a great looking bike.  I don’t like 26” wheels either but love 659b.  

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[Patrick Moore]

Joel: I guess you meant to say that you don't like 29" tires? Excuse if I misread.

Here's what I've found after comparing the very light, very short, 24.8"-tall, ~28 mm wide, Elk Pass-shod wheels on my 26" wheel road bikes with the 29.6"-tall, 60 mm-wide tires on my dirt road bike: at least with very light Velocity Blunt SS rims and very, very light Schwalbe Big Ones, there is surprisingly less difference than you might expect when accelerating from a standstill; and note: I don't gear down at stops; I stand and torque.

Patrick Moore, who has more than once before figured he could just fit a 26" wheel Atlantis -- by preference! -- in ABQ, NM.

On Mon, Jul 13, 2020 at 4:46 PM Joel Stern <jrst...@gmail.com> wrote:

It’s a great looking bike.  I don’t like 26” wheels either but love 659b.  

On Mon, Jul 13, 2020 at 6:14 PM ☆ Paul ☆ <pa...@superplastic.co> wrote:

Hi Joel.  

It's a 53cm, actually.

I'm 5' 11" with a 34-ish PBH (longer torso). Fits me really well. 

I suppose the next size up would have worked as well, I'd just have to have used a shorter stem and you'd see less seatpost... but I wanted 650B wheels — I dislike fat tires on 29'er wheels, too hard to get moving at a stoplight. 😀  

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Patrick Moore

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

[Joel Stern]

Well my AR used 26” rims, that was my reference.  Sometimes I don’t have all or of the nomenclature. And I probably did not understand the post properly. 

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[dougP]

Paul:

Thanks for the chainguard info.  I'll look into it.

Not sure what the max tire size with fenders is.  The Toyos were rated at 52 mm for 700c (58 cm & up) and 2.1 for 26" (56 cm & below), but no mention of whether that was with fenders.  I've had 45 mm Schwalbe Marathon Supremes on with fenders and still had clearance.  Tires vary so much in actual size it's hard to make an educated guess. 

What size is the one you are looking at?

dougP

[☆ Paul ☆]

Hi Doug.

I'm pretty set up with bikes for the moment, but I'm trying to sort out if an older (horizontal top-tube) 56cm Atlantis will fit my friend, who is 5'10-ish.

P

[☆ Paul ☆]

One more photo, now with narrow saddle & Bille handlebars I stole from the other bike... and really long 170mm Odi BMX grips I picked up yesterday for $11 (go BMX shop!).

This set up is kind of ultimate. I spent 2 hours on the bike yesterday and found myself moving from mostly upright (hands on end of grips) to a bit more aggressive (up at top of grips) all the time, and it is kind of amazing. Paul brake levers are long enough so that I can stopfrom all hand positions.

Also Yokozuna brake housing makes an appreciable difference in braking power over standard Jagwire housing. Which may be pointless in the city, but it sure feels nice to stop with a bang.

Fenders next whenever they arrive.

XO Paul

[Clark Fitzgerald]

Those Paul levers are beautiful! If you want even more hand positions try wrapping the whole bar and the top of the brake levers. Hands on the bends offer an aggressive, secure position. So versatile.

[Joel Stern]

I spend a lot f time in the curve of the Albatross bars.  I sit upright far less.  Drops would kill my back but stretching out here is fine and I like how it feels in the curvy part of the bar. 

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[☆ Paul ☆]

Hi Joel.

That looks awesome. I'm going to give that a shot.

Really enthusiastically new to a lot of this. Rad.

[Ian Terry]

Gorgeous build, Paul! Really, top notch. 

I can't say it with 100% confidence, but I think MIT stands for "Made in Taiwan." 

Happy trails,

Ian Terry,
Miami, FL

On Monday, July 13, 2020 at 10:46:18 AM UTC-4, ☆ Paul ☆ wrote:

[☆ Paul ☆]

Thank you Terry. Yes, seems to mean it's a Taiwan version. :)