Legolas, Bombadil, Saluki

[Karl]

Now that I have your attention.... just kidding. I have had a thought rolling around in my head for some time now, and Grant's latest blog post about December has pushed me to act. I love all of y'all. I gave up social media a couple of years ago (someone else does social media for me...wow! it's amazing) as I seek to find more authentic interactions and friends in this life. We are an amazing community. We celebrate when others have wins. We mourn when others go through tough patches in life. We bless others when we have too much. We also are brave enough to be on the receiving end of those things when life throws us curves. This is what any community in the world longs to be. Our "sun" if you would is the beautiful company sitting outside downtown Walnut Creek who thousands pass every day and have no clue of the world changing little company tucked in among all of the auto repair shops. Rivendell and it's people are why we found each other. I am forever grateful for that, and for each and every one of you. 

I could go on, but that brings me to my proposal. I am just as guilty of buying many things from others who have them for sale including bikes, frames, and many other parts. What if we offered up a "thank you" every time we made a transaction in our little community? Just on the honor system, and just to say thank you for bringing us together. I am going to begin buying Rivendell gift certificates in the amount of 10% of my sales or purchases on the list that I will never use. Now, this will not be that much on a normal basis, but as a small business owner, there are times when an extra $100 per week helps tremendously. I believe even if we buy something from Rivendell every time we buy and sell on our little list, we could make a difference and also allow Grant, Vince, Corey, Will, Mark, and all of those fine folks know how much they are appreciated, valued, and loved. 

Thank you for reading my little thoughts. I am grateful for all of you and the way you bless and warm my life. 

Karl

Nash, TN

[Max S]

Seems like a nice idea. Just wondering what Riv is to make of this, and whether they can effectively classify such certificate purchases as income or future liability... I maybe overthinking it, too, but as they say, no good deed goes unpunished.

[Jason Fuller]

Bringing back the Saluki would be a sure-fire way to get some money out of me. :D 

[S]

Agreed. Canti Saluki might be the perfect (lightly loaded) all-around bike? I am wondering if the semi-custom deal (Rodeo price) mentioned in the Legolas thread would work with the Saluki.

[Karl]

S,

Bought one in December. Can’t remember the final price, but always wanted one! Can barely wait the 6ish months!

Karl
Nash, TN

[Justin, Oakland]

The Saluki (I own one) is just a Homer.

Buy one.

Or ask to get one with shorter chainstays made.

Put money on it.

[Jason Fuller]

Nah. Comparable to the previous Homer sure, but the new Homer is quite a different bike.  I am actually disappointed it got the same name with such an overhaul. 

I'm also not going to ever be spending the custom Riv money (nor are many people) but the MIT frames are quite competitive with brands like Crust in price, and I think there's hugely more market share to be had by Rivendell in that range 

[Joe Bernard]

For future reference, kids, stunt titling a thread leads to predictable results: People are going to revert to the title in the conversation.

[Karl]

Noted Joe!

Karl
Nash, TN

[John G.]

I don’t think anyone should assume they can get a Saluki, Bombadil, or Legolas for $2800. That’s the price for the Nobilette Roadeo. At the very least, I would expect the additional canti braze-one would increase the cost.

It will be interesting to see how Rivendell iterates the MIT frames. The longer chainstays and sloped top tubes seem to be somewhat divisive. Maybe the Gallop will be a hint of things to come.

John in Hoboken, who’d love to test ride a long chain stay Riv.

[S]

Have you read the Legolas thread? Group member Brian Campbell got his Legolas last year for $2,700:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rbw-owners-bunch/HyI-BnNcP3o

As Bill Lindsay -- who also bought a Nobilette Legolas for less than the current Rodeo price -- explained: "The price difference is in paying Grant to design a new bike. The Legolas design is done, so it’s much much cheaper than a custom."

Thus, it's not unreasonable to suppose that you might be able to buy a Saluki, etc, for Rodeo price. Maybe not, I don't know if Riv still has all the lugs needed for the Saluki, but it's confirmed that you can get a Legolas for $2,800 or less.

I am with you on the Charlie H. I am waiting to see it before deciding on a semi-custom.

[Bill Lindsay]

The longer you wait the higher the price will be.

BL in EC

[Justin August]

and the longer you wait the less chance there will be a company to order from. If every person on this list who said “all I want is a X” decided to buy a pre-designed model at the cost it takes to build them then things might be very different.

Want a 750-1150$ bike? Find a time machine, buy a Crust or a MIT Riv.

> On Jan 22, 2020, at 7:22 PM, Bill Lindsay <tape...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The longer you wait the higher the price will be.
>
> BL in EC
>
> --
> 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/o2JqLQuJW_U/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/cb80e33c-00d3-448c-bd40-09351251aa4f%40googlegroups.com.

[Brian Campbell]

Yes but..... it was the last one (of that name) or so I was told. I don't know if you can now get the same frame at the same price. Best to call Riv and order one just to make sure!

[Justin August]

If all you care about are the decals then you are probably SOL.

Will a bike with the same design as the Legolas but with a RIVENDELL on the downtube ride the same as one with a LEGOLAS?

I’m assuming yes.

-- 
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/o2JqLQuJW_U/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/c0118c14-8b2f-4fc1-b082-60045408df83%40googlegroups.com.

[S]

Speaking for myself, I like supporting Rivendell and I have bought from them over many years. I currently have two Rivendell frames, a Toyo and an MiT. I wish I could have bought more, but I bought what I could afford at the time. Inevitably, some of the other frames I was interested in slipped by.

On Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 7:40:20 PM UTC-8, Justin, Oakland wrote:

and the longer you wait the less chance there will be a company to order from. If every person on this list who said “all I want is a X” decided to buy a pre-designed model at the cost it takes to build them then things might be very different.

Want a 750-1150$ bike? Find a time machine, buy a Crust or a MIT Riv.

> On Jan 22, 2020, at 7:22 PM, Bill Lindsay <tape...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The longer you wait the higher the price will be.
>
> BL in EC
>
> --
> 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/o2JqLQuJW_U/unsubscribe.

> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.

[John A. Bennett]

Fantastic idea, Karl! 

Buying second, third, or fourth hand is a great way to conserve funds, but if we always only do that, well, eventually....no more Rivendell, and no more Rivendells. 

In an early Rivendell catalog ---No. 4, I think  -- the brown one, in any case --- there was a great line, maybe a quote, that went (and I paraphrase) 

"Buy from the fine folks who told you about the merchandise is the first place." 

That's a very rough paraphrase/translation.....but it still has meaning.  

Ponder the alternative for a guaranteed bummer. 

John in Portland, Ore. 

[S]

Sorry for sidetracking this thread. Karl makes a good point.

Although the occasional $1,500-$2,000 frame purchase seems like a lot, steady cash flow is actually what keeps businesses going.

Starting now, I am going to commit to ordering at least a few things from Rivendell every month, instead of ordering from them every once in a while, as I have been doing. I almost always have a bike build on the go and need tubes, or a chain or cassette, etc. If you are on the west coast, shipping from Riv is fast and cheap, so there's no good reason to buy these kinds of things from anyplace else.

On Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 6:45:50 AM UTC-8, Karl wrote:

[Karl]

Thanks John and S! I certainly could have named the thread better (I know better next time!) my heart is warm for y’all.

Karl
Still in Nash, TN

[Jason Fuller]

Building bikes designed to last a lifetime, like Rivendell does, is the right thing to do--but it's not what pays the bills best. I wonder if it wouldn't be in Riv's best interest to offer consignment used Rivendells / trade ins for new frames in order to get a portion of the proceeds from the sale of used Rivs - which basically sell themselves anyway!

[Philip Williamson]

I just went over to buy something I needed from Rivendell, inspired by your post.
They want $42 for a UN55 bottom bracket. A bottom bracket with an MSRP of $25 and a normal retail price between $15 and $20.

Philip
Santa Rosa, CA

[S]

Yeah, that's odd. Maybe ask them about it? All the other parts seem reasonably priced.