Gus Boots Willsen on Shell Ridge

[Olivier Chételat]

Friends of the finest steel bikes,

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a prototypical Gus Boots Willsen last Saturday and took it for a short ride to Shell Ridge on the flanc of Mt Diablo.

This specimen was the large. A perfect fit (89.5 PBH). I tried the small one and felt cramped. The medium and XL were surprisingly almost as comfy, yet the large is the one that makes me feel at home. The ride, on the easy trail upon which I traveled, was as smooth as smooth can be and I'll attribute that to the generous 2.8" tires and confidence inspiring geometry. Summarized, GBW feels as good as any other model  but with the biggest, cushiest, pillowy-est tires I've tried on a Rivendell bike. Very good.

Here are a few pictures of the machine in its natural habitat: https://flic.kr/s/aHskMbBJc6

Happy (almost) New Year!

Olivier in SF

[sameness]

Fillet, threadless and 1x... 13? What alternative universe am I in where the head tube still says RBW?

Jeff Hagedorn
Los Angeles, CA USA

[Drw]

Do we know if they are all gonna be fillet?

[Patrick Moore]

I have to admit that I am very tempted to try one of Riv's long-wheelbase bikes on dirt roads and paths; it's probably just age. But yours is certainly pretty. 

2.8"? What is the actual, measured width? They don't look wider than my (actual) 60s which are labeled 2.35.

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Still 'round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though we pass them by today,
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run
Towards the Moon or to the Sun.

                                --- J.R.R. Tolkien

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Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique

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Auditis an me ludit amabilis insania?

[Pancake]

I only rode the parking lot on the Gus Boots, big smiles from that bike, it must’ve been a blast in the hills.

[Joe Bernard]

"Do we know if they are all gonna be fillet?"

The announced plan is for two types at two price points, TIGed and fillet. My guess is this could change though...

[Lester Lammers]

It's hard to wrap your head around the long chainstays but the ride is sublime.

On Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 12:15:39 AM UTC-5, Patrick Moore wrote:

I have to admit that I am very tempted to try one of Riv's long-wheelbase bikes on dirt roads and paths; it's probably just age. But yours is certainly pretty. 

2.8"? What is the actual, measured width? They don't look wider than my (actual) 60s which are labeled 2.35.

And though we pass them by today,
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run
Towards the Moon or to the Sun.

[hugh flynn]

It's hard to wrap your head around long chainstay bikes.. until you thrown your leg over one and ride.

Then the head gets it.

Hugh Flynn

Newburyport, MA

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Hugh Flynn
Newburyport, MA

[Tom M]

Beautiful photography. Glad to know the bike rode so well.

Tom Milani

Alexandria, VA

[Drw]

what are the 2 sort of staggered silver button/bolt things near the middle of the seat tube?

I also am tempted, though i have zero need for this bike. It looks really pretty and weird.  My only reservation about the length is getting it on car racks and inside of small spaces. im sure the ride is great. 

[Joe Bernard]

Drw, I believe those are magnets to attach a combo hex wrench to. This is a thing Grant is planning for all Rivbikes.

[Deacon Patrick]

So the large is 650b/27.5 and the xl is 29?

With abandon,
Patrick

[Deacon Patrick]

I was told that stoplights, at least in my area of Woodland Park, CO, trigger either by motion or by magnetic sensing. Wave arms like a mad man waving to the lights to activate the motion sensor; put a strong earth magnet on your bike to activate the magnetic sensor. Otherwise, lay the bike down and push the pedestrian cross button.

With abandon,
Patrick

[Wally Estrella]

Rare earth mags from Riv's jingle bells?

[Wally Estrella]

GUS! GUS! GUS!  I think I'm in for an XL! Big Gus.

On Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 10:24:12 PM UTC-5, Olivier Chételat wrote:

[Kainalu V.]

How big is a Big Gus? Big big? Or just big.

LT in shirts, XXL in bikes

-Kai

BKNY

[Deacon Patrick]

Kai, worth calling Riv to find out. My impression talking with Grant was my 62 Hunqabeam and 66 Quickbeam put me in an XL, though (as with those) with my 90pbh, I’d officially fit a L. It sounds like the frames fit a wide range, but wide enough for you? Head scratch. Grin.

With abandon,
Patrick

[Abcyclehank]

Kai and Wally,
I called Riv and talked to Will (large rider advocate) in addition to the multitude of other talents he displays and performs at RBW headquarters.
He said the XL would be the ticket for us triple digit PBH measurements. He is getting a Large but said they are offering a 4th size XL for us triangular 68cm Riv lovers. There will be likely be a presale order opportunity so start staching away the cash.
Sincerely,
Ryan (9+ 1) Hankinson
West Michigan

[Chris L]

Has anyone gotten one of Grant's e-mail updates on the GBW?   I think I signed up but I'm not sure and want to make sure I'm not missing any new information.  

[Joe Bernard]

Nope, nothing yet.

[phil k]

Thanks for these pics Olivier. Now I'm seriously considering one of these. Torn betwen the GBW & the AHH.

-Phil

On Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 10:24:12 PM UTC-5, Olivier Chételat wrote:

[Deacon Patrick]

Phil said: “Torn betwen the GBW & the AHH.”

Not hard to justify both, let alone either. No decision to be made, except perhaps which one to buy first. Grin.

With abandon,
Patrick

[phil k]

When one has finite amount of $ its hard to justify both. Especially if one wants to buy complete from Riv.

[Deacon Patrick]

I undersand, Phil. I’m talking spreading them out over years. Grin. But, if it is truly a buy one to do it all, that’d be the Atlantis. The AHH and Boots are nearly on opposite sides of the spectrum, with Boots pushing the spectrum farther into the hillybike than the Hunqapillar or Bomba.

I own a Quickbeam (somewhat equivilant to an AHH on the spectrum) and Hunqabeam (Hunqapillar converted to Quickbeam dropouts to also be fixed). QB’s fantastic for all terrains, though it is underbiking on singletrack and very underbiking on technical singletrack. For me, it doesn’t take a touring load with enough stability I’m comfortable (but I’m uber picky about that), and I wouldn’t take it bikepacking. Hunqa’s brilliant for everything very similar to the Atlantis in that respect, though on the stouter side and great for bikepacking, though bikepacking technical singletrack (like the Colorado Trail) is underbiking. If I had to choose one, it’d be the Hunqa, as it does everything including bikepacking.

And that’s my dilemma with Boots. Can I justify it? Hunqabeam is 90% there in terms of what a custom bikepacking bike would be for me, the Boots near 100%. Can I justify the expense with a family of six and an aging septic sized for two, just for greater ground clearence, fatter tires, and longer chainstays? The decision point is approaching! Grin.

With abandon,
Patrick

[Alex Wirth- Owner, Yellow Haus Bicycles]

Patrick...i had similar deliberations with my Hunq. In the end I built up a troll with 26x2.8's so I could bomb decents with aplomb while loaded with bikepacking gear (like my friends with "modern" plus bikes). Not that it's the end of the world....but I always had to temper my decents with 2" tires.

Looking forward to taking the GBW on a beta run for 4 nights on the Black Canyon Trail in AZ next month 😈

I'm a lock for the fillet version presale.

Alex in Rochester

(Waiting for 1-2 feet of snow and -15 degrees this weekend)

[RichS]

Olivier, your photographs of the GBW are exquisite. In my book they really enhance the bike's different, special, and better qualities; it looks so comfortable and fun. And that combination of fillet brazing, seat lug and fork crown. . .my oh my.

Best,

Rich in ATL 

[SurlySteel]

Really nice photos. Where can I get that sweet Bullmoose Stem?