My new Cheviot

[Joe Bernard]

I interrupt my recent hiatus because A. It seemed stupid, B. I promised I would show off my new Cheviot, and C. Maybe this will serve as encouragement for anyone on the fence about a shiney new Riv to take the jump. Apologies for the lousy indoor shots, I finally got the build finished and just did some laps around the block after sunset. I'll had a sunny outdoor album to this thread soon.

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.

[Pondero]

Wonderful bike, Joe! The color is lovely, and you can build it up so many ways. I hope you'll follow up with your Cheviot single speed impressions.

Chris Johnson
Sanger, Texas

[WETH]

Joe,
I love it, especially the cream headtube! Looking forward to further single speed impressions.
All the best,
Erl

[Palmer]

Hi Joe.
What a tremendous bike. Does it ride quietly with the tensioner? I usually like a ss without tensioner for quiet riding. I am considering a 3 ring by 1 cog with front derailler shifting only and a tensioner. As long as it is quiet, that is.
Tom Palmer
Twin Lake, MI

[Eric Norris]

Nice bike, Joe!

What’s the purpose of the third braze-on on the rear dropouts? One for a fender strut, one for a rack, plus ... ??

I ask in part because my two Alex Singers, which were purpose-built to accept both fenders and rear racks, do this with *one* braze-on and a clever bolt that does double duty.

--Eric N
Twitter/Instagram/YouTube: @CampyOnlyGuy

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[A CT Cyclist]

I love the color! Whats the width of the Fatty Rumpkins? I'm interested to see how the fenders fit. I saw a Cheviot at FFD this past fall and the wheelbase was much longer than it appears on line.

[Joe Bernard]

Palmer: I can hear the chain a bit, but I'm used to derailers so I'm not sure what would be noisy to you. It's a stiff tension if that's what you mean: I pounded over some speedbumps in the parking area and didn't get a lot of tensioner bounce like you would with a rear derailer.

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.

[mlpessar]

Joe, beautiful bike. Congratulations! The blue looks great. I look forward to your impressions of the 2 speed drivetrain. 

Happy trails,

Marc

[Jon Dukeman,central Colorado]

Joe,

Welcome to the club of Cheviot owners. You are going to love the ride.

Nice set-up.

Jon

[tc]

Wow nice! Is this the first pseudo-SS Chev amongst the bunch members?

My wife’s getting hers soon - she can’t wait. She and I ride the same size frames. I’m really hoping I don’t like it.

[Joe Bernard]

"I’m really hoping I don’t like it."

Well good luck with that! It's a great ride: A thing I didn't even notice until I thought about it this morning is how easy it was to just hop on and go without thinking about "this is the first time on a new bike." That's a very undersold aspect of the handling Grant dials into his frames, there's no surprises. Add in the SS deal where there's no gear to shift into for a proper send off, and you have the very essence of Just Ride.

Another thing I noticed about having a lugged Riv mixte: Dropping that toptube really opens up the upper seattube area so you fully appreciate the seat lug (love the heart) and RBW panel. Check it out.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y7dyh3bytg7nGDCK2

[Philip Kim]

color looks great!

On Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 9:21:57 PM UTC-5, Joe Bernard wrote:

[Chris Birkenmaier]

Nice bike Joe! I have a green one that has all the racks and fenders on it. I sometimes think I should strip it down but haven’t done so yet. Enjoy it!

[Ann L]

Joe:

The blue is really beautiful and looks close to the silvery aquamarine color of my San Marcos.  I look forward to more pictures once you have the Woody's installed and the bike broken in.  I love how the cream accents look against the metallic blue.

[Joe Bernard]

Yes, it's also very close to my old Romulus. I'm pretty sure they're all the same color. It's so pretty!

[adam leibow]

Is it possible to make this a shiftable 2-speed with a front derailer? 

[Joe Bernard]

Yes indeed, Adam, and you're already set up for it. You'll need a single cog and Gear Clamps or spacers (Riv has everything), tensioner, and shorten the chain a bit (8-speed. If you have a 9 that won't work). The Paul Melvin acts like the cage on a regular derailer, and has a bit of float in the top pulley like Shimano mechs..it'll handle front shifts just fine. I presume the cheaper Alfine tensioner is the same.

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!

[Tony DeFilippo]

Joe the Chev looks splendid, I love the color and those wheels look familiar! :) I'm glad they found such a great home and a good looking frame too augment.

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

[RichS]

Congratulations Joe! That blue looks really good. Please post some more pics as the build evolves. Have fun!

Best,
Richard

[Deacon Patrick]

Sharp bike, Joe! How are you liking single speeding?

With abandon,
Patrick

[Joe Bernard]

Thanks, Patrick the Deacon! (I stole that from Grant). I'm really enjoying singlespeeding, although it's technically 2-speeding, or maybe two versions of singlespeed.

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!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/M2movkUXCzT48Fc72

[adam leibow]

nice, joe! sometime i'll try out that 2x1 setup. looks super fun. 

On Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 6:21:57 PM UTC-8, Joe Bernard wrote:

[tom coppedge]

Maybe consider a 3-spd internal at some point?  Sounds like you have the situation for which they were intended - just enough range to help over the rough spots but not anything more - no useless gears. 

Regardless, sweet ride!

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[Joe Bernard]

That's a thought. I had an ANT with a 3-peed coaster hub and front drum..that was a cool setup. The frame ended up not being my cup o' tea - it rode like a tank - but converting to that drivetrain on the Chev someday would be pretty sweet.

[Julian Westerhout]

Joe, 

That looks great. I love the blue, and the very clean build. Fun!

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, Il 

[Joe Bernard]

Thanks, Julian. I've been through a couple Rivs in the last couple years, but this feels like a keeper. After a little more riding I feel stronger about it being more road-ish than my Appaloosa and Clem L were. It reminds me a lot of my old Romulus; like if you took that bike, dropped the toptube, stretched the chainstays and popped 650B wheels in there. It would be slightly insane, but I'd love to see someone do a Full Modern Dropbar with skinny tires on this frame. With electronic shifting! 🙃

[Deacon Patrick]

Right on, Joe! “Back-straining grades” are there to help you strengthen your core so the hills get flatter. Grin.

I cracked up on my wee ride today (5 mile climb to Woodland Park, then down hill home). I’ve been on my bigger 71” gear for 4 or five days now, and needed a slow and steady recovery ride as it’s a hard brain day. I’d been needing to push fairly hard in this gear on the climb, but decided I’d see how I did just backing off and cruising, breathing light and easy through my nose (the only way I breathe most of the time — makes knowing how hard I’m going very easy. Grin.). I was amazed how easy it felt already, almost like the 65” gear felt a few weeks ago.

Keep on enjoying!

With abandon,
Patrick

[Joe Bernard]

New pics with Grant tape job, Chop Chort fenders, rear rack and olive Sackvilles. This rear bag doesn't really need a support, but I have bigger saddlebags and an Ortlieb Shopper for heavier loads.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qYMJRf9q4N00b5K93

[mlpessar]

Real nice Joe! Wishing you many happy rides.

-Marc

[tc]

Joe, putty! How do you like the ball cock washer grip setup? Worth it?

Tom

[Joe Bernard]

Tom, the unfortunately named handlebar devices are great. I thought they would be a nice extra grip area, but what hadn't occurred to me was how helpful they would be with braking on a steep hill. Yesterday I was sailing down one and really appreciated that I could grab some brake without my hands wanting to slide past the levers. Get you some unfortunately named devices!

[Pancake]

Looks fantastic, the grips are nice and chunky, the blue is great. 

How wide a tire do you think you can fit with those Chop Chort fenders? I'm hoping to fit 42mm tires with fenders on my friend's 60cm Cheviot and I'm not sure which fenders would work best, but these Chorts sure look nice on your bike.

Also, may I ask how tall you are (and PBH) and what length stem you're using? I'm optimistic that the 12cm Tallux will fit me well with Albatross bars and I'm trying to figure how other's with similar setups fit. 

It looks like we're nearly neighbors! I'm in Napa but often cruise through Vallejo for Good Day Cafe, J's Garden, or on my way to Berkeley/Oakland. Hope to run into you sometime after I get my friend's Cheviot assembled.

-Abe

[Joe Bernard]

Abe: The Chop Chorts on a Cheviot don't pass under either brake so the tire size limit is the same as with no fenders. I'm running 41-ish Fatty Rumpkins but think I could easily get 48mm tires in there.

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.

[Joe Bernard]

A note about Chop Chorts. They're "fenders" in the way a custom bobber motorcycle has fenders: They look good and will keep a modicum of road spray back, but you wouldn't be commuting in Seattle with these things. I live in mostly dry California and bought them for the look, ease of mounting, and to keep my saddlebags from being drenched. You ride these on uber wet streets, yo bike gon get uber wet.

[Ann L]

Joe:

I loved watching the progress of your bike coming together.  The only last thing is to ride the absolute c**p out of it :)


Ann

[Joe Bernard]

Thanks, Ann. My riding time has been limited lately, but I get out there when I can!

[adam leibow]

per this thread, i just 2-speeded my chev with a melvin and it's really cool. 

[Joe Bernard]

We need pics, Adam!

[Jon Dukeman,central Colorado]

Joe

Your Cheviot is beautiful. I think it's one of the most comfortable bikes to ride.

Have fun.

Jon

[Ann L]

I am currently running 26" 48 mm tires with compound fenders on my Appaloosa.  42 mm tires should work fine on the Cheviot.