Roadini Shake Down Ride(s) & My Sizing Experience

[Adrian]

Hello all!

Recently built up this Tig welded Rivendell Roadini and I've put around 175ish miles so far. This is my first time owning a Roadini and it's extremely fun! I built it up as an upright little zippy guy. It's been extremely comfortable but the gearing allows me to still get on it at times and not spin out while going downhill which is cool. The tires are 700c x 33.33 (casing says 33.5) and they handle great for what I'm using the bike for.

Still tinkering with the fit, might raise the seat post a little higher. My PBH is 86.5 barefoot with just socks. With shoes on, I clear the top tube with just enough space. If I were to switch to 40mm tires I might be straddling the TT but not in an uncomfortable way (hopefully)

Before purchasing this bike I was going back and forth on the sizing. I wanted either a 54 or 57. I was coming from other steel road bikes like a Surly Midnight Special in a 56, All City Zig Zag in a 55. I called Riv and told them what type of riding I'd be doing and they recommended a 57 with my PBH. I'm glad I went for the 57, especially with an upright handlebar setup. If I were going with drops, I'd probably do the 54. I already have my steel race bike in my N+1 stable, so I'll never put drops on this guy.

Thinking of switching the stem/handlebars to a nitto tech combo, I feel like the lines of nitto stems compliment the bike more than the VO stem does. If anyone out there has albatross bars and a technomic stem to match, please let me know haha. If anyone in SoCal is on the fence about sizing and wants to try out a 57, let me know!

Build list it as follows:

- Velo Orange Granola Bars

- Velo Orange Stem

- Oury x Blue Lug grips

- Dia Compe brake levers that were anodized a crazy green/gold tiger print. They look sick

- Sim Works Cabling, I believe its clear olive and clear black

- Silver shifters set up the "RIV" way

- Tektro 559 brakes

- Anodized King Titanium cage, it looks like a blue/purple camo

- Older Deore Derailleurs, but front and rear

- Silver 42/28 173mm crankset with Stridsland self extracting bolts.

- Riv Roadini wheel set, which consists of Velocity A23 rims and RBW silver subs

- Rivendell Jack Brown "Blue, Tough" tires, size 700c x 33.33333

- RBW seat / seat post.

[Franco Rinaldi]

Looks real sick

Franco Rinaldi 

c:  646.403.0661 

-Pardon any typos, Siri typed this message-

On Jun 1, 2025, at 1:12 AM, Adrian <adria...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all!

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[Ryan]

I think it looks great! I really like those crazy dia-compe brake levers; have the plain silver ones( which look good, work well and don't break the bank...holy trinity!) , but the tiger stripes really complement the gold frame. Nice! 

Where did you get those levers?

[Steve]

Adrian, Nice looking build!  I've been giving some thought to a  Roadini as a future addition to my current stable of 3, which lacks a lightish pavement oriented bike.  I like your upright build! 

Incidentally, I just swapped out a VO faceplater and Granolas for a Nitto 31.8 four bolt faceplater with a 31.8 Albatross (from Soma/Merry Sales) for a bit more rise on a vintage Trek 520 I've been fooling around with.  I agree the alloy Technomic  style stems are much more elegant but will hang on to the VO setup for possible use if a Roadini (or maybe a Homer) should happen to appear in my garage some day.

Steve in AVL

[Jay]

Looks great!  I have a 57 Roadini w/drop bars, I'm 6'0 with average proportions.  I have the bars level with saddle, 70mm stem, and it fits well.  If I had wanted a handlebar with more reach though, I would have said I bought the wrong size.  But for swept back, definitely the right size.

If you switch to Albatross bars would be interested to hear your comparison to the Granola bars.  I currently have the Granola bars on a bike that is ridden 80% unpaved.  I like it in terms of handling and hand positions (I position my brake levers further up the far and this gives me more positions, and when on the grips, I can use 1-2 fingers and it's perfect, must be the levers I use though, because if I attached them beside the grips my hands would feel cramped).  Sometimes I wish it was just a bit narrower.  Not sure the rise of the Albatross bars would be good for me, though I guess I could flip them down.

Ride on!

[Adrian]

Thanks everyone!

@ Jay, I'll definitely keep you posted on the albatross bars if I make the switch.

@ Ryan, I picked them up at the Cub House in San Marino California. Idk if they did the anodization in house or if it was done by another shop in Taiwan that is known for this kinda stuff. I'm almost certain the Fam Bike shop in Taiwan did this based off of the description. Here's the link for the levers (green/gold are out of stock) - I've seen the cub house anodize cages and similar stuff so give them a look!

https://cubhouse.cc/shop/p/splash-anodized-ss6

[Ryan]

Those are fun!