Rivendell Cheviot Meets Schwinn Le Tour

[Mark in Beacon]

In late October of last year there was a PSA about a Cheviot on the Boston craigslist. Turned out to be Harris Cyclery, I called to make sure it was still available, then my friend called and bought it. A few days later, she made the 3+ hour drive to pick it up. It's always a bit of a crap shoot buying a bike before seeing it and riding it in person, especially when recommending a friend do so. But because it was a Rivendell, and being sold by a Riv dealer, I was much more confident. Still, I was prepared to help with picking out and installing a new seat, handlebars, pedals to make it work. As it turns out, after a few rides this past fall, she reported that the bike was perfect for her as equipped (although yesterday she discovered that her  Ibex wool gloves, despite the rubber on the palms, were slippery on the shellacked cork grips, so she rode in her red suede dress gloves). 

At 5'6", she is on the short side of the saddle heights listed for the 55cm size, but it fits her great. I got a chance to try it out yesterday, our first ride together in 2018. Midway through a short loop ride, I changed our saddle heights, and she finished up on my Le Tour mixte while I rode the Cheviot. I'm 5'10", and if I pushed back the saddle a bit from her position and raised the bars a bit, I think I could pretty much replicate my position on the Le Tour--though if I were buying one for myself, I would get the 59. 

It's a super smooth super fun ride, very similar to the Le Tour, a bit sportier than my Clementine. An excellent and beautiful machine, and for my friend's purposes, is capable of 100% of what she needs from a bicycle, though she plans to keep her Trek hybrid for grocery trips, and her Bianchi for its lovely pink paint job. I'm going to send her a few suggestions from the Riv site for carrying a small amount of gear, maybe a small saddlesack or a front basket. She'll mainly be doing  rides alone or C level club rides on the (flat) Connecticut shore area, or 20-30 mile hilly rides here in the Hudson Valley. Couple more shot of Chev: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HGgecEi2c1CPqRdn2

[Steve Palincsar]

Fishkill Creek?

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Steve Palincsar
Alexandria, Virginia 
USA

[Ann L]

Beautiful bike!  I'm glad it worked out for your friend.

[Mark in Beacon]

Yup. Sometimes referred to as Suckerfish Falls, just above the old hat factory in what is now known as Madame Brett Park. It's probably half a mile from where the creek empties into the Hudson River, just beyond Denning's Point.

On Sunday, January 28, 2018 at 8:36:57 AM UTC-5, Steve Palincsar wrote:

Fishkill Creek?

[Mark in Beacon]

Thanks, Ann. Me too!