Getting a Riv Custom Painted in the Bay Area

[Lithocarpus]

Howdy folks. So, I saw the post regarding the next batch of Appaloosas, including the info that they will be available in orange and off-white (pumpkin and tusk, anyone?)

I already have a beautiful British racing green Appaloosa that I picked up two years ago. It’s my daily commuting bike and is well loved and used. The green is beautiful, but it’s not orange.

But I’ve wanted an orange bike forever and have never seemed to land one. The obsession with orange started with the xo-1 in my local bike shop way back in the dark ages. I’ve never shaken the desire to have an orange bike.

Since I can’t justify buying an orange version of the same bike I already have, who could I contact in the Bay Area to discuss a custom paint job so I can price out the orange and cream beauty I’ve wanted for so long. I seem to recall that Riv uses a particular painter, but couldn’t find the information.

Any leads?

[Jan O.]

Rivendell uses D & D Painting in the Bay Area.

https://www.rivbike.com/pages/repaints-repairs-re-brazeons

Jan

San Francisco, CA

[Joe Bernard]

Mikkelsen has done work for Riv, too.

http://www.mikkelsenframes.com/about.html

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

You should buy an orange Hubbahubba! Double/share your orange joy, and orange and green go nice together
-Kai

[tc]

We’ve had Rick of D&D do 2 of our frames and can heartily recommend.

Tom

[Lithocarpus]

Just got off of the phone with Rick at D&D. An orange and cream Appaloosa is in my near future. I’ll post up photos after it’s all complete. Thank you, everyone!

[Peter Bridge]

I've been told that D&D use thick paint that isn't flattering on classic lugged frames. I do not have a dog in this hunt, just seeking direct experience.

Thanks

~pb

[Benz, Sunnyvale, CA]

On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 6:58:49 AM UTC-8, Peter Bridge wrote:

I've been told that D&D use thick paint that isn't flattering on classic lugged frames. I do not have a dog in this hunt, just seeking direct experience.

D&D does use thick paint when compared to Joe Bell, but it's not overly thick, and it's certainly not thick enough that lug details are obscured. Now, I'm not saying they're equivalent, and indeed, I agree with the whimsical description that a Joe Bell paint job is good to 3" while a D&D paint job is good to 3', meaning you can't detect flaws at those distances. This is also reflected in their prices though! :)

I would say a D&D job is practically similar to the stock paint on my Toyo Atlantis, that no one accused of being unflattering on classic lugged frames. Finally, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I present close-ups of lugs on my Wilbury and Della Santa, both of which were painted by D&D.

[Brian Campbell]

My direct experience is that this statement is not true. I have a 2013 AHH and a 2019 Legolas both painted by D&D . Both are lugged frames and both look great.

[Peter Bridge]

On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 10:24:44 AM UTC-8, Benz, Sunnyvale, CA wrote:

...

I agree with the whimsical description that a Joe Bell paint job is good to 3" while a D&D paint job is good to 3', meaning you can't detect flaws at those distances. This is also reflected in their prices though! :)

I consider Jim Allen, Della Santa's painter to be equivalent in quality to Joe Bell, all due respect.  San Diego area, not Bay Area, but easy to work with, fast, responsive, and reliable.

Jim Allen The CycleSmiths

37015 El Tesoro Rd, Ranchita, CA 92066

760.782.2737 cycle...@gmail.com

~pb     

[Benz, Sunnyvale, CA]

On Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 4:33:56 PM UTC-8, Peter Bridge wrote:

On Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 10:24:44 AM UTC-8, Benz, Sunnyvale, CA wrote:

...

I agree with the whimsical description that a Joe Bell paint job is good to 3" while a D&D paint job is good to 3', meaning you can't detect flaws at those distances. This is also reflected in their prices though! :)

I consider Jim Allen, Della Santa's painter to be equivalent in quality to Joe Bell, all due respect.  San Diego area, not Bay Area, but easy to work with, fast, responsive, and reliable.

Do you know if Della Santa used Jim Allen exclusively to paint his bikes, because the last two Della Santas (bought new from Roland by a friend) that I personally built up did not have Joe Bell-quality paint jobs.

[Jim M.]

I think this work D&D did on my Bombadil came out pretty well: