Practical and beautiful bikes

[Andy Beichler]

I have always been drawn to practical bikes.  In fact, way back in the beginning of Rivendell, it was the marketing based on these bikes being practical that drew me in and kept me a fan despite not owning one. In the last few years, I have been realizing how much I appreciate beauty. I don't recall Grant emphasizing that Rivendell bikes are beautiful but that could be because I was so focused on the practical part.  In the last few years, I have been realizing how much I appreciate beauty. I have decided that while I can understand people being drawn to other things about bikes, I won't buy another bike that isn't practical and beautiful.

I have a 1971 Chartreuse Raleigh International that is beautiful and pretty darn practical. I have a Breezer Radar Expert that is super practical and nice looking in a practical way.  I think Rivendell manages to do both incredibly well.  I think if I buy another bike at some point in the future, it will be a Rivendell. 

What about you? Is one of those more important to you than the other?

[John Robert Williams]

So well stated, Andy! I too believe in practical bicycles, and beautiful ones as well. We all start out somewhere, and then evolve in our lives and interfaces with bicycles. I started racing on the road in 7th grade, on a 5 speed fendered Schwinn Collegiate. It was the same bike that got me to school everyday. AND, it was printed what Schwinn called, "Campus Green". It was metallic and with chrome fenders and sparkling green grips, it dazzled my eyes! Then, racing got more serious and the adults I was riding and training with spoke to my parents and encouraged us to get a proper (drop bar) road bike. There was this dynamite butter yellow Paramount at the bike store, but waaaay out of our budget, so I wound up with a Cool Lemon Super Sport, with the chrome fork. The geometry was spot on and just looking at it made me go faster. Then, I graduated to a full-on European road race bike, the identical model used in the TdF the year before, the Peugeot PX10LE. White with the most super scrolliest black lugs everywhere, sew up tires, the checkerboard decals, the gold stripes everywhere...it's still a jaw dropper to this day. I raced and trained on that bike for over 100,000 miles. Then, college, work, etc., filled my days. I started courting with a woman that liked to ride, but not as fast, so I was able to get my hands on a new Ferrari Red Cannondale tandem frame. Stunning! And boy did we go fast! I had a 62 tooth big ring on it. But none of these bikes were practical. Then the ATB MTB bike phase hit. I had the first Cannondale Super V, that looked like a praying mantis with the Headshok. I'd get stopped on the trails just so other riders could look at it. As my son came of cycling age, I fitted "kid back" system on the back seat of a tandem. Then when son number 2 arrived on the cycling scene, I designed a quad (in-line tandem for four) with Greg Peek from LongBikes in Colorado. After exchanging faxes of drawings for months, he fabbed a quad of my design, painted Ferrari Red and shipped it to the LBS, where I built it up, Phil Wood everything, (six chains, two kid-backs!) and Santa delivered it even without my spouse's knowledge. A total head turner and a land speed weapon (4 engines on one bike) Now, many bikes later, I blend my lifestyle and my bikes together. I have an Urban Arrow cargo bike, it'll haul 500 pounds! I use it for every grocery run, farm market day, hauling everything with it...it's basically a wheelbarrow bike! I have six titanium bikes, a Co-Motion Co-Pilot (take apart tandem and the flight cases) and loads of other bikes. I've lusted after a Rivendell for decades. Everytime I'd come across one on a trail or a ride, I was mesmerized. How could I blend the gorgeous looks of a Riv with it being practical? Well, careful comparisons brought me to the Platypus as the logical Riv. With racks front and rear and space galore, the hunt was on....and, for what I consider the most gorgeous paint color I've ever seen on a bike - Ana Purple. After over a year of searching, one finally came to light by staying on the frequency of the Riv owners. I found a frame I could build up MY way. And this winter I've been doing that. Once the fenders arrive, (I've ordered custom ones from Woodys Fenders), I'll have my dream bike built of beauty and utility. I can't wait for the snow to melt away here! Cheers to beautiful Rivendell bicycles and Grant's never wavering pursuit of the cycling niche of beautiful, practical bicycles!

JohnRobertWilliams

Traverse City, MI 

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John Robert Williams

[Piaw Na]

I guess it's different strokes for different folks. What always drew me to Grant's designs ever since the Bridgestone days has been the ride quality. (My 1993 Bridgestone RB-1 had eyelets for fenders, but no rack mounts --- as a saddlebag user I didn't care) Compared to the Bridgestone RB-1, other bikes I test rode didn't have that sublime feeling of being agile and responsive while not beating you up on a long ride. I copied the RB-1 for my custom touring bike and it too rides great but obviously I've broken 2 of those frames so obviously Titanium is much more unforgiving of fabrication errors than steel is. As far as being practical is concerned titanium is unbeatable --- no paint to scratch, no possibility of rust, and no need for chainstay protectors. Having said that there's nothing like steel for ride quality --- for whatever reason steel frames seem to dampen creaks and other noises that come up in other bikes, and the fact that you can build steel frames out of smaller diameter tubing contributes to the handling and ride quality that other frame materials do not have. I'm picky and sensitive about frame geometry (others on this list have claimed you can't tell the difference in 5mm in BB drop --- I can! Not only that, I learned that I dislike the change in handling even from a 28mm tire to a 32mm tire, while others claim nothing but benefits from a wider taller tire), so I've learned that other people's assumptions and choices about what makes a bike ride nice don't really apply to me, but Grant's does!

[Steven Sweedler]

Piaw, did you ever learn why your two custom frames broke. Did they break in the same place ? 

Steven Sweedler
Plymouth, New Hampshire

On Wed, Mar 5, 2025 at 9:55 PM Piaw Na <pi...@gmail.com> wrote:

I guess it's different strokes for different folks. What always drew me to Grant's designs ever since the Bridgestone days has been the ride quality. (My 1993 Bridgestone RB-1 had eyelets for fenders, but no rack mounts --- as a saddlebag user I didn't care) Compared to the Bridgestone RB-1, other bikes I test rode didn't have that sublime feeling of being agile and responsive while not beating you up on a long ride. I copied the RB-1 for my custom touring bike and it too rides great but obviously I've broken 2 of those frames so obviously Titanium is much more unforgiving of fabrication errors than steel is. As far as being practical is concerned titanium is unbeatable --- no paint to scratch, no possibility of rust, and no need for chainstay protectors. Having said that there's nothing like steel for ride quality --- for whatever reason steel frames seem to dampen creaks and other noises that come up in other bikes, and the fact that you can build steel frames out of smaller diameter tubing contributes to the handling and ride quality that other frame materials do not have. I'm picky and sensitive about frame geometry (others on this list have claimed you can't tell the difference in 5mm in BB drop --- I can! Not only that, I learned that I dislike the change in handling even from a 28mm tire to a 32mm tire, while others claim nothing but benefits from a wider taller tire), so I've learned that other people's assumptions and choices about what makes a bike ride nice don't really apply to me, but Grant's does!

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[Piaw Na]

On Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at 11:46:21 PM UTC-8 Steven Sweedler wrote:

Piaw, did you ever learn why your two custom frames broke. Did they break in the same place ? 

The first broke at a weld near the BB/chain stay intersection. Oxygen contamination was the diagnosis. The second broke at the front derailleur clamp. A bad batch of tubes that weren't heat treated properly. Both times the builder replaced the frame under warranty. He's retired now so that's when I decided I could have a Roadini as a backup bike. 

[Andrew Scherer]

Hey, Andy - for me it's both in equal parts. Of course, what comprises beauty and practicality is subjective. I started my career as a graphic designer so aesthetics are always a thing but tastes and styles change. Designers sometimes look back at older work and wonder, what was I thinking? I was very active in club rides in the neon 80s and I remember dudes with leopard-print Turbo saddle covers for heaven's sake (not me of course, I was a Brooks man from the get-go). On the other end of the spectrum some of my fellow club riders didn't care one bit about how their bikes looked, they just rode the snot out of 'em. 

Five decades into cycling, I value having bikes with distinct personalities and qualities, suited to different rides, and I avoid duplication. Sometimes that means letting go, as you know ;-)  Describing how I build makes it sound a bit mystical - I start with what the frame says to me, and consider what I've seen in the community that inspires me. Sometimes I crank up Photoshop and do mockups. Ultimately I let the medium of frame + components guide me to some sort of balance and live with it for a bit. As I ride, sometimes a build remains stable, sometimes it slowly morphs, and sometimes it takes an unexpected turn. I'm open to discovering that the bike wants to be. 

I resisted Rivs for a long time. The first ones I saw about 15 years ago seemed almost too perfect. I may have been in retrogrouch mode, but the best I can recall is that I didn't feel a sense of the builder's hand, especially compared to my beloved 80's Mercian. And at the risk of offending this community I didn't care about the ethos, it felt precious. Cycling is experiential for me, I don't really want to be a part of anything but the moment of riding, and I'm not drawn to tribes. But as I close in on becoming a septuagenarian I hope and pray that I'm losing some ego and I'm sincerely happy that others are getting joy from their Rivs and other bikes and I agree with some, if not a fair amount, of Grant's POV. Just ride. On the occasion I chatted with the folks in Walnut Creek when my Homer frame arrived, they were chill, friendly and helpful. What more could I want?

Follow your muse, and cheers, man!

Andy Scherer

Manhattan & Woodstock NY USA

[John Robert Williams]

Hey Andy!

I just read your missive and my jaw dropped over and over....It's as though I wrote those words, not you! (OK, substitute graphic designer for commercial photographer). I too build my bikes to suit their "personalities", as they speak to us. On one aesthetic, I like harmony in the build, the parts, and the function. I've watched, as well, the Rivbikes, looking for one that has no duplicates to my quivver. I too will be a septuagenarian this year, and in my youth, one of our cycling coaches chided us on our bikes with the remark: "Your bikes aren't jewels, they are weapons!". Back then, I was riding my drop dead gorgeous Peugeot PX10LE, the same look as the TdF bikes in the early '70's. Fantastic scrolling lugs, appliance white paint with so many French decals and checkerboards and hand painted striping, chrome fork and stay ends. Brooks Pro saddle, sew ups. YEOW! It looked like a RACER! Even as a kid I loved the look of a great bicycle. And I raced the snot out of it...over 100, 000 miles. (I still have that bike from 1972)...aaaaand about 20-some other bikes that I love the look and function. When my spouse asked "why so many bikes?"...my reply: "Well, you wouldn't play golf with just one club, would you?"     Crickets.     Mic Drop.    Shrug.    "OK, I see your point". Now she has at least 4 of her own. Plus, multiple tandems & a custom designed quad.

Grant's books and writing continued to be the flame for this moth, and after a LOOONG search, I located the LAST Ana Purple Platypus 60 frame on the planet. It's my first real Riv. I've worked on my friend's lovely Glorius, and was smitten from that point on. But, I'm not a fan of some of the "cheesy" parts on a complete, so I really wanted just a frame to do it my way. As soon as my fenders arrive from Oregon, I'll have my "complete" Platypus. It's a 1 of 1. Thank you, Andy, for your excellent, if not scary post....taking my thoughts and words away. Now, lets get the ice and snow melted and find those many Happy Trails!

JohnRobertWilliams

Traverse City, MI

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[Steve]

"The heart wants what the heart wants, or else it does not care."  

I don't believe Emily D. had bicycles in mind, but it just might apply to many of us.   

Steve in AVL