Clem H sizing, availability

[Kevin]

Hi folks,

I am semi in the market for a Clem H and am looking for some first person thoughts on fit. I worry I am in between the 59 and the massive 65. Can anybody who has ridden either or both of those chime in with their measurements and how the bikes felt? I think the proper solution to this problem is to just get the 64 L but I am just not sympatico with the aesthetics there.

I'm about a 95-96 PBH and ride a 62 Sam pretty comfortably with drops, would prefer more reach every time I've set it up with flats.

Also, the bike seems to have been excised from the models section of Riv's site. Anyone know if they are planning on only offering the step through model moving forward?

Thanks!

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

With the sloping toptube, the 65 rides HUGE. I'm at 100PBH or so, and I've not a ton of clearance with 60mm tires.

And you're right, you should get the low, you won't regret it. Not sure the H in 65 will ever be made again, or the L...

-Kai

[Julian Westerhout]

I have a 101 pbh and ride a 65 Clem (pic attached).  I really like it, but if my pbh were 5-6 cm smaller I think it would be an issue -- esp. if I was not using it primarily as a town bike as you see it set up here. 

I think the 65 is history. 

I'm with Kai -- get the L.   I've been seriously tempted to do so myself. It is also a unicorn of sorts....

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

I am another 65cm H owner... with approx 97-ish pbh, 6'5" height.  My seatpost and bar height are extended nearly the same as in Julian's pic except I'm using a vintage B72 saddle which is not as tall has his sprung saddle (flyer/conquest?) which likely accounts for some overall saddle height difference I expect we'd have.

Sounds like you certainly fall between sizes of 59 and 65H... I forget the specific min/max but recall I was right near the minimum recommended pbh for the 65H.  I almost went with a 59 with the initial Clem release (and was really tempted when the first 59 prototype became a webspecial) but hesitated having always been stuck with too small off the shelf bikes and knew I wanted a more upright and comfortable sized bike for my casual local riding (mixed pavement/gravel/multiuse trails.)  I have very little standover clearance with the 65 but once I'm in the saddle I'm perfectly content and couldn't imagine wanting to go smaller.  I've swapped from 55cm Bosco to Jones Loop(660mm 2.5 Riser) to ChocoMoose like Julian shows and now have a regular Bullmoose installed. However, if I did a little more rough stuff or off-road riding I think I'd actually prefer a 59cm for slightly easier mounting/dismounting and a more aggressive bar position using my Jones or Bullmoose bars. 

I also thought it was mentioned they'd at least never do the 65cm H again but don't recall where/when specifically.

Best,

Brian Cole

Lawrence NJ

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

Here's the answer to everything- search the world for one of these (the precious, the Rosco Bubbe) and be forever happy- https://photos.app.goo.gl/5UqTJPoisD1FiHJc9  

Doesn't look as steppy throughy as the Clem L, but still gives some room, and (risking offense to my fellow Clem 65 owners, sorry folks) rides better than the Clems.

-Kai

[Abcyclehank]

I heard some people like the jumbo mountain mixte Rosco so much they have more than one in their fleet 🤔👍 🚲 🚲 .

Wish I had been that smart.......

Ryan Hankinson

West Michigan

[Andrew Letton]

Kai- 

That is some truly glorious rack and basket work on your Bubbe! Bravo!

Is it new (hence no rust) or does it have some sort of clearcoat on it?

cheers,

Andrew in Sydney

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

Ha, yeah, I thought there was someone trying to hoard the few Jumbo Roscos that exist!  I forget the total but isn't it single digits?

I really wanted one, but went for the Jumbo 65cm Clem H presale that preceeded it to secure my first and only Rivendell, and missed the Jumbo Rosco release announcement by a longshot anyway.

[Jeremy Till]

I have pretty much exactly the same PBH as you and I ride a 59cm first-gen Clem H. However, I ride my saddle a few cm lower than the Rivendell recommendation--around 78.5-79cm from crank bolt to top of saddle, depending on crank length. I have tight hamstrings and use a mid-foot pedaling position with flat pedals, and this saddle height has worked well for me for a number of years. Here's a picture of my Clem H to give you a sense of seatpost and stem extension. Where the bars clamp to the stem, they are ~4cm above the saddle nose

https://flic.kr/p/2iaCxSi

All that being said, my understanding is that Rivendell has no intention of doing another run of Clem H's. I don't think they ever sold as well as the L models. So at this point you're probably looking for one on the used market.  

-Jeremy Till

Sacramento, CA

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

Thanks Andrew! They're rusting pretty good, even after a clear coat of Penetrol, but strong and regularly carrying 70lb grocery loads on the lower front.
And Coal Bee Rye Anne, there's 12 in the world. I thought there was 6 and I might've spread that rumor, but a recent post of Will's cleared it up. And thanks to Ryan, I've got 2 (A SIXTH OF THE WORLDS SUPPLY!!!!) and I can sleep at night because of it. I got run down by an illegal turner that left me flustered and mostly fearful for the fate of the frame, which was fine, but it put the fear in me.

-Kai

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

Kai, whoa, sorry to hear of the illegal turner but glad you and the frame otherwise appear to have come out of it unscathed.  I vaguely recall when one popped up for resale here (or maybe I'm just confusing that with Will's FYI that one of the pre-sales became available when someone backed out?) and was again way behind in seeing it but with 12 in the world hopefully my timing is better if one of the remaining 10 ever get released to the wild.  Of course, I could always post a WTB in case anyone is holding one that's not getting ridden much but I'd need to first sell the Clem H to fund it and I'm actually banking on the upcoming Roaduno you mentioned was supposedly getting the XXL treatment.  (if all goes well it may end up replacing 3 rotating single speeds... though I still haven't been able to bring myself to offload any of them and they are different enough that I have greatly enjoyed mixing things up.)  Two of the 3 are now rebuilt and ready for spring to replace the one I've ridden exclusively the past 1.5yrs which will go back into reserve.

Best,

Brian Cole

Lawrenceville NJ

 

[Marty Gierke, Stewartstown PA]

I'm the one who gave mine up to the bunch - it rode just a bit too big for me (92pbh) and I have a 59 Clem H now that hits the sweet spot better than any Riv I've owned. (64 Atlantis, 64 Quickbeam, 60 Bombadil, 63 All Rounder) I really wanted to like the monster Roscoe, but until you ride it it's never easy to know for sure. I still feel exclusive with the Clem H now that step throughs are all the rage, and it might move me in the direction on N+Zero. For someone with persistent hip pain, I didn't really notice any difference between a step-through and a swing-around top-tuber - it's a pain either way. YMMV.

Marty

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

Thanks Marty. Easily the best box art I've received (I'm the 3rd owner) https://photos.app.goo.gl/EAcE6bLjfWX43FE57

-Kai

[Marty Gierke, Stewartstown PA]

Ha! That jumbo-rosco is one heavi-chevi(ot). 3rd time's the charm! 

Marty

[Kevin]

Appreciate everybody's thoughts on this!