RBW Blue Cheviot 55cm.
Nitto stem and Choco bars.
Stock seatpost and my trusty Brooks B17 ti saddle.
Tektro R559 brakes and those curvy Tektro levers Riv sells (the copy mentions that they have kind of a 'brake from the hoods' position unusual for mtb levers, and this is immediately noticeable. Very nice levers).
Ergon grips, German mirror.
Velocity Synergy 650B wheelset from a listmember, LX rear, some kinda Shimano dynohub front, some kinda B&M light from another member (thanks, members!)
Fatty Rumpkin tires with the lovely (and apparently accidental) red-ish brown sidewalls. Trivia: the blue label on the tires looks nifty on the blue frame. Sweet!
17t single cog located with two Gear Clamps, Paul Melvin tensioner.
Sugini Quickbeam-ish double, 40-26.
8-speed chain..don't use 9-speed on this setup, it fits too tight on the single cog.
MKS Sylvan Touring pedals.
Verdict: It's fantastic! Of course this is an extremely limited first impression, but it feels light and nimble like other Riv road-ish bikes I've owned. My snap judgment is more Hilsen than Appaloosa, but that could be my brain biasing towards looking at road brakes whole I'm pedaling..who knows??
My first impression of the 2-speed arrangement is that it's a singlespeed and I'll probably never bother to stop and "shift". I purposely went this direction because I've gotten maddenly out of shape the last couple years and riding ebikes only exaserbated the problem, so I intend to grind out the big gear as much as possible. But it's nice to know the granny is there if I really need it. Fortunately I've just moved from the monster hill I was living on, or I wouldn't have even attempted this.
The plan right now - especially since I also just bought Patrick the Deacon's Haul-a-Day - is to keep this on the minimalist end with no racks. I have some shorty wood fenders coming which is probably pushing the minimalist thing too far for a lugged steel bike with full eyelets, but I saw that setup once on a Specialized Langster fixie and for some reason I like the look.
Get a Cheviot!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/879LccVHzlW0mRsG3
Here's the Haul-a-Day, also not great shots.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HIZdXsNfDPnnGDdb2
Joe Bernard
Novato CA.
Chris Johnson
Sanger, Texas
Eric: I don't know Grant's answer to the braze-ons question, but my guess is it's to accommodate different racks on that super-long rear triangle. I mocked-fitted my Nitto Big Rack and it lined up with the top eyelet on the dropout, but I could see someone using the one up the seatstay for a more forward mounting of an R14 saddlebag support. That location might be a necessity for any rack on the gigantic 60cm frame.
CT: The Fattys are 650B x 41, with a good amount of room left under the calipers for fenders.
I'm leaning this way after doing another neighborhood ride this evening. I did laps yesterday in the big ring, then tried the smaller ring this time and quickly realized I'm going to wish I could switch easily between them to save my back. One thing I'd forgotten about when mashing the big ring last night is that I have an old injury that gets tweaked if I really overdo the standing/mashing thing. The twinge I felt this morning reminded me!
I really want to keep things simple and have the "just ride" experience of singlespeeding without all the shift-shift-shift - I have other bikes for that, but the terrain around here is up/down enough that I'm going to need front shifts. I have a nice vintage Dura-Ace mech around here somewhere that might work. The project continues!
Between this and all the glowing reports from Patrick I have to admit I'm getting single speed curious again... I guess it's a good thing my enocentric wheel never sold.
Thanks for the details on the rear drive train, I wasn't aware of the 'two Gear Clamps' as a solution. Keep us posted!
Tony
Best,
Richard
With abandon,
Patrick
I put the front derailer on (105 double, I guess I sold my D-A) connected to a SunRace thumby. I went on a longer ride today and it's perfect for the terrain around here. There's a big enough gap between chainrings (40-26) that I don't get the urge to shift-shift-shift on minor hills: the cadence differece is too drastic so I just keep pedaling in the big gear..this is what I was looking for. But when it really does become a back-straining grade I can pop down to the granny for a minute. I totally recommend going this route for anybody contemplating singling, but has that one annoying hill they're worried about. It's fun!
Mo better pics. No sunlight yet, but outside where bikes go! Check out the shifter mounting, I copied it from Jenny's green Trek in Staff Bikes. I wanted to retain the uncluttered look and bar access of a singlespeed, and with the Bartube mounted you can hardly tell it's there. Stealthy!
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Tom
PBH is 79ish, but I'm kinda short-legged vs. torso. Flipped Choco Bars with one inch lopped off the ends, 13cm stem.
I'm not in Vallejo anymore, I moved to Novato a couple months ago.