General Sam praise, etc...

[Jon Craig]

So I know I'm basically preaching to the choir here and there's nothing I can or will say that hasn't been said, but I figure the Sam and Rivendell in general can always use more voices saying "THESE ARE GOOD BIKES AND PEOPLE SHOULD LOOK AT THEM AND PROBABLY BUY THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!onetwothree!!!"

(And yes I know I should have posted this BEFORE I posted my rack question a week ago, but ... oh well!)

Anyway, I've been aware of Rivendell for a long time - sometime before Sam existed?  Bombabil was still a thing I believe.  Don't remember how I found Riv, but the name drew me first, as I'm a huge Tolkien fan.

I've had a lot of bikes over the years, but this (2016, 55 cm, blue, noooooooooooooooodle) Sam is my first Riv.  I've got 2 very, very good (and very different) LBSs here in Lafayette, IN but neither are Riv dealers, and I could never really fathom spending $3,000 on a bike I couldn't see, touch, and ride first.

Country Bike Shop over in Ohio was a thing for a while, and my wife and I had planned to go over there (it's not a super long drive) and check out Rivs but that never happened and now they shut down.

But last year I noticed that Riv authorized another group of dealers and one is A1 Cyclery in Indianapolis!  That's only 55 miles! Cool!  So I finally was able to see Rivs in person late last year.

I didn't buy one, because my wife and I got wowed by Some Other Bikes at one of the LBSs here and we bought those.

But my brain and soul were NOT jiving with that bike, and so... I bought a Sam.   We went back about 4 days after getting mine, with my wife's carbon bike so she could test ride her bike and a Sam back-to-back (she needs that instant back-to-back comparison), and we left with Sam #2. :D

Anyway, I was thrilled, happy, and just ... so freekin happy ... that everything I'd read about Rivendell bikes over the years, and Sam specifically, were actually totally true.  It really does ride perfectly, feels great, and just is the bike I've wanted for a couple decades.

I've been work-commuting on my Sam as weather allows and it's been awesome.  And my wife and I ride together in the afternoons.  She has more trouble getting hers dialed it but it's something we're used to.  She has chronic pain (fibro) and so things aren't as simple for her.  But she loves her Sam too!

Now we just need to find buyers for our previous bikes, as sitting on another $5,000 worth of bikes is a little painful!