YelloWolley

[Polipop]

Visited Riv yesterday and saw YelloWolley, rode it a really like it a lot. It felt so light. Can see some pics here. https://www.instagram.com/p/DHzuRZLR9YP/?igsh=MXRhazJzMjZmMHV3cA==

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

I love this new era of Riv just doing whatever bike seems fun to them at the moment. Maybe they want a yellow bike. Or how about a baby bike. This kind of road bike…or that kind. Those elves at Rivendell are just out there, making whatever bikes they find amusing/useful, and they can afford to. What a fun era! They have come so far!

Thanks for this IG link! You caught the perfect light and it’s really nice to see the bike up close.

L

[thalasin]

Count me in! I was in love at the first sneak peek on Riv's IG!  I already sent an email to Will to get myself on the list. I can't wait to see what the final design/color looks like.

Tracy, ready to dip a toe into the mixte, step-through bike world

[Richard Rose]

So it’s a variation on the Charlie? Similar but a true Mixte & partially tigged?

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 30, 2025, at 2:58 PM, 'thalasin' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Count me in! I was in love at the first sneak peek on Riv's IG!  I already sent an email to Will to get myself on the list. I can't wait to see what the final design/color looks like.

Tracy, ready to dip a toe into the mixte, step-through bike world

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[thalasin]

They look a lot like the Rosco Bubbe frames from several years ago. At that time, they made them to use up surplus forks.

[Joe Bernard]

Looks like the Rosco Platy to me. I think the main difference from all the frames mentioned is it will be lighter-tubed, a first for Riv mixes/step-thrus. 

[Dorothy C]

It took me three days to realize the name is a palindrome :)

[Bill Lindsay]

I sent Will my email that I'm 75% interested.  

BL in EC

[Johnny Alien]

I view the Rivendell "lighter tubes" comments with a grain of salt. Its usually marginal. I assumed the roadiness part referred to a different geometry. It looks to have a smaller wheelbase than a Clem. Their completes have been coming really well spec'd. I think its smart for them to move that way.

[Joe Bernard]

You should view "lighter tubes" with a grain of salt cuz apparently I imagined it. You're right, Grant calls it a street-only Clem. 

[Eric Daume]

It would be nice if it had a lighter tube set than the Rosco Plat. That was not an inspirational bike to ride. 

Eric

Former RP owner 

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[Jim M.]

On Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 5:37:56 PM UTC-7 Joe Bernard wrote:

You should view "lighter tubes" with a grain of salt cuz apparently I imagined it. You're right, Grant calls it a street-only Clem. 

But what Riv is truly "street only"? lol 

jim 

walnut creek 

[Polipop]

Hi Leah, I test rode the bike and it was amazingly light, quick but yet felt very stable. Amazing fun feeling actually.

[Ryan]

Good catch Dorothy...that never even entered my tiny mind :)...anyway...looks like a fun bike and I love the cheery color

[Michael Connors]

"Grant calls it a street-only Clem"

[dane...@gmail.com]

lol

[Shannon Menkveld]

Grant: "The new bike is a street-only Clem."

Also Grant: "Here's a picture of me riding it on dirt."

--Shannon

[iamkeith]

I chuckled at that too.  But it's nothing new from them (see Rambouillet catalog, circa 2006, below). I've deduced that Grant mostly believes tire volume is the limiting factor that will discourage people from taking a bike into rough conditions beyond its capabilities.  Sort of like "if it doesn't feel reasonable, get off and walk the bike."  That's probably not without merit, but occasionally gets frustrating for me, because those sorts of trails/gravel roads represent the "smooth" conditions where I live and ride.  I've determined that my perfect smooth-stuff wheel is 700c with a semi-slick treaded, 2.3-2.5" tire. 50mm is just a wee bit small.

[Shannon Menkveld]

Ahh, the Ramboulliet. I don't think Grant would agree, but I think the Ram is one of the Rivviest Rivs that Riv ever Riv'ed.

--Shannon

[Corwin Zechar]

Hi Shannon -

I agree. The Ram is definitely one of the best Rivs ever. There was a time - perhaps twenty years ago - when Grant would have agreed wholeheartedly.

Regards,

Corwin

[George Schick]

Yep, 20 years ago.  That's when I bought mine. Loved riding it ever since.

[Ryan]

That is a classic, George. 

very handsome bike

[Johnny Alien]

The Rambo/Saluki era is my favorite Riv era. I am also starting to feel really old for some reason

[ascpgh]

Shannon, Corwin, George,

Count me in the roll call of that camp too.

My Rambouillet, minutes out of the box, about to be loaded for the drive to Yorktown, VA to meet three others for a fast, light TransAm ride. This defined "just in time". My '93 XO-2 was the contingent since I sold my RB-1. 

Twenty three years of dialing in, still a fun bike that has never given me pause for taking space. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Drew Fitchette]

I'm excited that the YellowolleY looks to be somewhere between the Mountain Mixte and a Clem.

Was looking for a Riv to replace my Wife's Schwinn and this seems like it might be just the ticket between the step through frame and components mentioned on Grant's Blahg. 

Love all the photos of the Rams, but I'm a long chainstay convert. Different strokes for different folks I guess! 

[Shannon Menkveld]

On Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 6:33:39 AM UTC-7 ascpgh wrote:

Count me in the roll call of that camp too.

Twenty three years of dialing in, still a fun bike that has never given me pause for taking space. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

Is that a Mavic rear derailleur?

[Patrick Moore]

It was a very nice bike. Mine was a blue one, and I think that the original was orange and had slightly less tire clearance than the blue.

To get this tangent back onto track: are the Yello and perhaps the Gallop current Rivendell equivalents, but designed for swept-back bars?

To start another tangent: How do the Roadini and the Roadeo (and the Roaduno, for that matter, leaving aside the drivetrain differences) compare in “feel” and handling to the Rambouillet?

[Patrick Moore]

Ain’t that right about continually dialing in! I thought I’d dialed in the saddle tilt on my 1999 Joe Starck road custom 20 years ago; but about a month ago I discovered that tilting the Flite downward in the rear by just one more wee little notch in the micronotched DA 7410 seatpost cradel made my hands “float” over the hoods even more lightly than before.

And, I thought I’d perfectly set up the geometrically cloned 2020 Chauncey Matthews IGH road bike using the 1999 Riv as model; but after adjusting the saddle tilt ever so slightly on the 1999 Riv I re-adjusted the fore/aft and tilt of the IGH’s Flite, and now I have saddle perfection. I also tilted the IGH's Maes Parallel, same on both bikes, upward a smidgen — technical term meaning 3/57ths of a hair — and now my hands float over the hoods as they do on the Riv. Lovely.

On Sat, Apr 12, 2025 at 7:33 AM ascpgh <asc...@gmail.com> wrote:

… Twenty three years of dialing in, still a fun bike that has never given me pause for taking space. 

 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[ascpgh]

Shannon,

Yessir, those are Mavic derailleurs. On a bike with a French model name and crankset (TA Zephyr) I thought it might be fun to have French derailleurs.

Rear derailleur is a Mavic 840 with the long cage from an 845. The 845 MTB VTT (Velo Tout Terrain) has that garish yellow patterned sticker on the outer parallelogram arm instead of the laser etched outlined font "MAVIC". The long cage road model, 841, has a very oddly shaped cage that is simply weird for no purpose. Being modular across I built what I wanted and avoided what I didn't. 

The front derailleur is a Mavic 860 clamp unit. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[John Dewey]

Here’s my 21 year-old Toyo daily rider. Can’t get enough of it. Nearly perfect proportions according to my eyes. We’re good old pals now. 😎

Jock

JD

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[Bill Lindsay]

"To start another tangent: How do the Roadini and the Roadeo (and the Roaduno, for that matter, leaving aside the drivetrain differences) compare in “feel” and handling to the Rambouillet?"

My non-answer is based on the limitation that I never owned a Rambouillet, so I can't describe the "feel" of all four bikes relative to each other.  I think the lusty Ram-advocates on this thread never owned any of the other three bikes, so they won't be able to compare the "feel" either.  Comparing the three that I have owned (Roadeo, Roadini, RoadUno), I think they are all excellent bikes and are very different bikes from each other.  I don't think the Roadini or the RoadUno are appropriate for Patrick Moore because he insists on having his bars LOW and CLOSE, relatively speaking.  The RoadUno and Roadini both get the bars too high and too far away for Patrick Moore's set up.  So, that leaves the Roadeo.  What are the reasons Patrick Moore would prefer a Roadeo over a Rambouillet?  What are the reasons Patrick Moore (or anybody else) would prefer a Rambouillet over a Roadeo?  

For me it starts with the Geo-Chart.  The 59 Roadeo is pretty much spot on for what I want for me.  I could make a 58 Ram work, but I'd have to run a pretty darn long stem.  A 60 would probably be my choice, but the standover would be a little close.  If we take as gospel that Patrick Moore's perfect bike is 60cm c-t-c seat tube and 56cm c-t-c top tube, then there is no Roadeo that fits him and it's natural that he didn't like the 58 Ram because it has a 1cm too long top tube.  Whether a person wants one over the other could definitely be driven by fit.

The geo-chart comps are subjective.  What about the objective differences?  I think people would prefer a Rambouillet over a Roadeo for the following reasons:

1. MSRP of the Ram is cheaper

2. Awesome stock colors helps maintain resale value 

3. They like the name/graphics better

4. 132.5mm rear end supports either a 130 or a 135 wheel

5. third water bottle mount

6. came stock with a triple

7. It was usually "off the peg" while the Roadeo was usually built to order and took 6-24 months of a wait

The objective reasons somebody might choose a Roadeo over a Rambouillet

1. Made in USA, by a builder whose name is known

2. Thinner tubing walls

3. "Custom" painted to order

4. They like the name/graphics better

5. Strictly 130mm OLD

6. somewhat customizable 

At the end of the day, I think if somebody gave me a 60cm Ram and forced me to relinquish my 59 Roadeo, I would survive.  I suspect that if somebody gave a Roadeo frame to any of the Ram-advocates on this thread and forced them to give up their "old buddy", they also would manage to be contented road cyclists.  I also think that if Patrick Moore sincerely concluded that the Rambouillet was not good enough to keep, then the Roadeo, Roadini, and RoadUno would likely be no better.  I think the Ram is probably the best of the four for Patrick Moore's laser-focused tastes.  

Bill Lindsay

taking in the last 5km of Paris-Roubaix on Peacock

El Cerrito, CA

[Patrick Moore]

Bill’s laser-focused engineering mind breaks my vague and hasty queries into a dust-cloud of answer possibilities. But I expect he’s right in conjecturing that, if my Ram was not a keeper, then even a Roadeo would probably not be my ultima Thule. [Taking this wonderful phrase in its metaphorical meaning.]

In fact, my question, simply put was: if any of youse have ridden more than one of these models, what was your opinion of each of them, and how did the ones compare to the others?

ultima Thule

[ uhl-tuh-muh thoo-lee; Latin ool-ti-mah too-le ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

1. (italics) Latin. the highest degree attainable.
2. the farthest point; the limit of any journey.
3. the point believed by the ancients to be farthest north.

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Patrick Moore

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

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I endowed thy purposes with words that made them known.

[Joe Bernard]

I've owned a Ram and Rom and Roadini; Ram/Rom felt like a fairly light road bike, Roadini a chunkier version of same. I rode a Roadeo at RBW, it felt like what I think a steel race bike would be like. 

[Leah Peterson]

Patrick! Get a Platypus, ride off into the sunset and never look back. There is just nothing like a Platypus! 

On Apr 13, 2025, at 4:57 PM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Patrick Moore]

Lovely. Wait, didn’t I say that about all your other bikes?

But perfectly balanced setup that checks all my prejudice buttons. (Insert “wink” emoticon here, which I won’d do.)

[Patrick Moore]

From all that has been written about the Platypus I’m inclined to agree with that. I still have a modern Rivendell on my “one day” list. Perhaps not a Platypus but perhaps a YelloWolly if it has more road-like tubing.

In all seriousness: one gets used to the things one is used to, and for me over the decades that has been a modestly inclined riding position with a bar that allows very many hand and torso positions with both torso and arms relaxed. One very recent instance: I recently made mere-millimeters and single-degree adjustments to saddles on 2 bikes and single-degree adjustment to bar angle on one of them, and the result was an enhancement of that delightful feeling when your hands just seem to “hover” over the brake hoods. This, with saddle positioned so that your pedal stroke seems perfectly natural and efficient, even when torquing in too high a gear or spinning too fast in too low a one, as you very often are on a fixed gear, is one of the defining sensations of a good bike setup and it would be very hard to lose it.

I expect that there are so to speak “parallel bicycle design universes” each with its own perfections. Perhaps one day I’ll sample the Platypus (and family) universe. Meanwhile, I’ll throw a challenge back: Leah, try a well set up Rivendell road bike like a Ram or Roadini or Roadeo, with drop bar and see how you like it. There is really another universe with its own perfections and pleasures.

[Shannon Menkveld]

On Sunday, April 13, 2025 at 2:31:14 PM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

Patrick! Get a Platypus, ride off into the sunset and never look back. There is just nothing like a Platypus! 

Well, echidnas are pretty similar...

<slinks away quietly> 

--Shannon

[iamkeith]

This thread is hilarious.  I somehow feel like I'm responsible for the fact that we're not talking about YelloWolleY.  So here's a Redit post from today that has some RBW HQ pictures in it.  Was this from one of you?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rivendell_Bicycles/s/wDj1COXxTe

[Richard Rose]

YelloWolleY. I will not be purchasing one because A; I do not need another bike & B; the bike apparently will be Yellow (O.K.) but with blue accents (reportedly). This is a non starter for any self respecting The Ohio State University fan.:)

Just kidding, maybe. Actually the YelloWolleY appears to be a tigged frame & I have one of those (Clem). I also have the fillet brazed Gus. So, if I ever get another Riv I’ve convinced myself it must be a fully lugged model. That said I am really curious about what functional differences there might be between between the Charlie & the YelloWolleY.

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 15, 2025, at 10:27 PM, iamkeith <keith...@gmail.com> wrote:

This thread is hilarious.  I somehow feel like I'm responsible for the fact that we're not talking about YelloWolleY.  So here's a Redit post from today that has some RBW HQ pictures in it.  Was this from one of you?

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[Kim H.]

@Richard,

Have you watched the new video from Rivendell with the YelloWolly ?

Rachel, Jaira, and Garrett on Angel Island

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4PsU5N-T9A&list=WL&index=1

Kim Hetzel.

[Richard Rose]

Yes!

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 19, 2025, at 11:07 AM, Kim H. <krhe...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Kim H.]

Great !

Kim Hetzel.

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[Mike Rossi]

The YellowolleY looks really cool, especially in that new YouTube video. However, something tells me that the final production model will be considerably different. Rivendell referring to it as a street-only Clem, along with what may have been a Freudian slip when the v-brakes were called side pull brakes in Grant’s blahg, leads me to believe that the current canti brake studs won’t be there in the future. Kinda like what happened with the Charlie Gallup. I’m looking forward to seeing what other possible changes, if any, will be made. 

Mike 

On Apr 19, 2025, at 11:14 AM, Kim H. <krhe...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Billy Olmsted]

Hmmm, that would be interesting if the brakes were changed to road calipers from the current V-Brakes. In the step-thru/step-over line at Riv it seems like it is Charlie --> Yellowolley --> Platypus --> Clem from road to chunk.

I am looking to buy a Riv in the Platypus/Yellowolley territory but would prefer adequate clearance w/ V-brakes. I don't want to wait for the Yellowolley only to learn I missed out on the Platypus, so I hope more details are released before the Platypus drops this summer. 

[Johnny Alien]

I would probably swap the Platypus and Yellowolley in that lineup but honestly with Rivendell there is only tiny slivers of daylight between them. In the last email Will said the pickup bar is going to move up for FD room but everything else is locked in so I would bet the brakes are what they will be.

[Dwain Weary]

beautiful =)

what size? i have a waterford Homer in size 57...seems more like a 54

by the looks of that headtube, i wonder what it was marketed as?

[George Schick]

Yes, it's a 54 and that's what it was sold as.  It has a 2° sloping top tube.

[Kim H.]

Earlier today, I was on scrolling through some bicycle Reddit subgroups. I found this one post on the r/Rivendell_Bicycles of a yellow bike that had a striking resemblance to the future of Rivendell YelloWolly bicycle that is scheduled to come out later this year. It turns out that the bicycle brand and model is the Trek Chelsea 9 that was produced in 2015 and 2016. It comes in a canary yellow and a white gold. It has f/r disc brakes and come with a wire basket with a U-lock holder. It has front and rear Formula alloy hubs, a 1×9 drivetrain and shifters by Shimano, and brown leather Custom Districy grips and a Bontrager saddle. Shimano components make up the 1x 9-speed drivetrain, and Hayes mechanical discs take care of braking. Bontrager cockpit and wheel parts round out the spec. It comes with fenders.

The Trek Chelsea 9 retails for around $800.00. I could not find it on the Trek website.

Here is a different build:

https://99spokes.com/bikes/trek/2015/chelsea-9

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rivendell_Bicycles/comments/1kn71lc/trekyvolley/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://momentummag.com/trek-chelsea-9-city-bike-review/

The real question is where I can find one on the used one out there is my challenge.

Kim Hetzel.

[Kim H.]

Here is a video of the Trek Chelsea 9:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oF0-L0eEDs

Kim

[Nick Shoemaker]

Nice find, Kim!

I also stumbled across another early prototype of the ‘Wolley in a puzzle my son was working on :)

On May 15, 2025, at 10:54 PM, Kim H. <krhe...@gmail.com> wrote:



Earlier today, I was on scrolling through some bicycle Reddit subgroups. I found this one post on the r/Rivendell_Bicycles of a yellow bike that had a striking resemblance to the future of Rivendell YelloWolly bicycle that is scheduled to come out later this year. It turns out that the bicycle brand and model is the Trek Chelsea 9 that was produced in 2015 and 2016. It comes in a canary yellow and a white gold. It has f/r disc brakes and come with a wire basket with a U-lock holder. It has front and rear Formula alloy hubs, a 1×9 drivetrain and shifters by Shimano, and brown leather Custom Districy grips and a Bontrager saddle. Shimano components make up the 1x 9-speed drivetrain, and Hayes mechanical discs take care of braking. Bontrager cockpit and wheel parts round out the spec. It comes with fenders.

The Trek Chelsea 9 retails for around $800.00. I could not find it on the Trek website.

Here is a different build:

https://99spokes.com/bikes/trek/2015/chelsea-9

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rivendell_Bicycles/comments/1kn71lc/trekyvolley/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://momentummag.com/trek-chelsea-9-city-bike-review/

The real question is where I can find one on the used one out there is my challenge.

Kim Hetzel.

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<1199px-Chelsea_8.JPG>

[Kim H.]

Nick,

Your find is quite amusing to say none the least. I thank you for sharing.

Kim Hetzel.

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[Brian Turner]

Did you not have any luck tracking down a Buena Vista, Kim?

Brian

[Kim H.]

Brian,

I emailed you.

Kim Hetzel.

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