I'm ready

[Sam Perez]

I'm ready to get a riv bike but haven't ridden one yet. Bikes I've owned and emulated rive bikes with are the following.

MB-1  26"

MB-0. 26"

Surly LTH.  26"

EBISU All purpose 650b

Salsa ala carte    26"

84 stump jumper 26"

80s univega.         26"

Anyone have experience with same bikes? Do the rivs handle like 80s mt conversations?  after years of riding I'm beginning to get some neck pain from drop bars. So really an upright sporty rando with day loads up diablo. Haven't decided what model yet.

Thanks 

Sam

[dougP]

Not with any of those specific bikes, but I have a '90 Fisher (probably not far off your Stumpy).  It actually seems to handle quicker than my '03 58 cm 700c Atlantis.  That's to be expected with one being a purpose built MTB and the other a touring bike. 

dougP

[Matthew P]

Sam lets see photos of all those bikes!
-Matthew
Kumeyaay Land

[Ray]

Agree with Matthew--would love to see some pics. You have a few of my dream bikes on that list.

Ray

[Joe Bernard]

I've owned a bunch of MBs including one MB-1 and I think it would be a disservice to you to try to compare tkkde very different 30-ish-year-old designs to what Riv does today. The short answer is they're WAY better, but I think you need to ride one to see if you agree. If you're near My Diablo you're near RBW, go over there with some cash for cables and stuff and ride a bike while you're at it! I recommend the Susie, plus I think there's a couple proto Platypuses hanging around still. 

 

On Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 7:38:50 AM UTC-8 Sam Perez wrote:

[Joe Bernard]

*Mt. Diablo. So many typos 🤦

[Jason Fuller]

Those Sams that are up on the site now (and going quick, noticed a couple options are out already after 45 min) are such a good entry to modern Rivs in my limited experience.  I have had a couple from your list and the Sam Hillborne is head and shoulders above in terms of ride quality IMO, although the one area that you might not find improvement is "responsiveness".  However, the Sam still rides lively, it's just a lot more balanced and comfortable. The geometry makes the bike carve corners rather than simply turn, and it floats along unlike any bike I've experienced. 

I bet the upcoming Charlie H Gallup would right up your alley if the aesthetics agree with you.  

[Chris L]

I had an 83-84 Takara Highlander, which was basically a Stumpjumper clone and it rode nothing like a Riv.  The Takara was floppy at slow speeds and became a juggernaut at medium and faster speeds.  The front-end either felt like you couldn't hold it steady or it felt like you could barely budge it from straight.  

The Hunqapillar front-end is very neutral, not twitchy and not overly stable.  In fact, the front end just instinctively goes where I want it too, which I think is a big part of the Riv ride magic.   If I see a particular path I want to take or something I want to avoid, just thinking about it seems to make it happen, with no real conscious effort to make the steering corrections.  

I test rode a 26" LHT and found it to be extremely twitchy and unpleasant.  But, it had drop bars, which I'm not used too, and the skinny tires Surly spec'd for it.  Put fat tires and a mtb handlebar on the 26" LHT, and I think it would ride similar to a Rivendell.  In fact, the front end geometry of the 26" LHT and the original 56 cm Atlantis, yield pretty much the same trail and wheel flop numbers.  

[Sam Perez]

This is really helpful, I'm interested about more experiences to help guide me in the right direction.

Here are some of the bikes mentioned

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[Jason Fuller]

That EBISU is so sweet, and now I know who you are from IG haha. I guess the big question is what do you want the Rivendell to do and what qualities from these bikes do you want it to have / not have?  Grant doesn't make a bad bike but he makes a handful that aren't probably what you're after! 

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[Jason Fuller]

Sorry, I'm a terrible reader apparently, now I see "upright sporty rando" and immediately I think of the latest iteration of the Homer set up with Albatross bars. Like this from the Blug, which I adore.  Next run late summer apparently!  I can't imagine anything better for this purpose. 

[Sam Perez]

Comfort and utility, with whatever reasonable sport quality's of not being a clinker like my stumpy. Or are my bikes similar to a riv? That's what I wonder since I can't test one out.

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[Joe Bernard]

I would not say your MBs are similar to any Riv currently in production, especially in the stack height. If you want comfort and utility and great handling and the bars up enough to save your neck, most any model they make is great for that. Bridgestone mountain bikes were good for the racing they were built for then, but in my opinion they don't rise to what you can get from even the cheapest Rivs today, the Clem and Roadini. I can't talk anybody into a bike they've never ridden, but I'm comfortable saying anyone with enough interest in the company to be on this list probably should have at least one Rivendell at some point in their lives. 

[Mark Roland]

Sporty but with clearance for wide tires and top tube clearance for any rough stuff on Mt. Diablo sounds like you should be prepared to grab a Platypus. I recommend the Legnano-esque green. More sporty than a Hillibike, but with all the other Riv qualities--wider tires, carrying capacity, fun, stable handling.

Good to get opinions, but everyone has such different definitions. I don't find the slack old bikes like the Stumpjumper "clunky". However, as Joe says, they are not Rivendells. Also not MB-0s--I've had bikes with that NORBA geo, too much work and cost to get them set up for anything other than short outings on  singletrack for me. I guess if I were to put higher, more swept-back bars on bikes like the  Peugeots mtbs or  a Miyata Ridge Runner (total slacker!) or Trek 830 they would get a little closer to  a Riv ride. Particularly the last one, with not quite so very slack steering and very long chainstays (though not compared to the latest Rivendells).

Best bet is to read up on the models on the company website, then give them a call and tell them what you want to do with your new Rivendell. They will help you narrow it down.

Fairly gratuitous shots of a few of the early era pre-NORBA mtbs I've owned (still have the 830, not letting that one go).

[Mark Roland]

And the real slacker of the bunch:

[Pete B]

Is there a particular handlebar you'd like to use? If you are looking for an upright but sporty ride, you may want to choose a Riv frame that allows you to lean forward even with a swept back handlebar. I'm not talking super aggressive position, I'm talking touring-bike-with-drop bars lean forward.

For example,  I have a Rosco Bubbe Road with a sloping top tube and tall headtube that makes it very easy to get moustache and drop bars close and comfortable. It's a lot like a SimpleOne, and uses that fork. However, anything more swept back than an Albatross bar would probably require a very long stem for me to get sporty and comfortable.

Depending on what bar you want to use and how upright you want to be, a more cruiser-ish frame with a longer top tube like the Atlantis or Appaloosa could be preferable to a Hillborne or Hilsen. Or, if an Albastache or moustache bar is in your future, vice versa. I'd call Riv, they'll ask you better questions than me :)

Pete

Arlington, VA

[Chris Birkenmaier]

For my “go fast” Riv, I find the Albastache to work really well which is on my Roadini.   My Sam has the Bullmoose, the Mountain Mixte has the VO Klunker, the Cheviot has the Jones bar and the Quickbeam is an Ahearne.  Soma San Marcos has the Albatross.  All good bars but the Albastache seems the sportiest of the group

[Matthew P]

Wow Sam great pics. Glad I asked. Glad to see others including pics in the posts.
Here's my StumpJumper from two weekends ago. 

A trip forced me to update the bike. Fender line to be improved.
A work in progress. I'm thinking drop bars will replace the Jones Hbar.
-Matthew
San Diego/Kumeyaay, CA

[Sam Perez]

Thanks Joe,  the MB's have the wheel tucked under them the only one with long wheelbase I own is the stump jumper, the wheel flop is noticeable if I switch back to back between bikes.

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[Sam Perez]

Hey Jason, I'll check it out, a balanced bike would be nice since I have bikes that. Are set up to a narrow scope of riding. That last name drop frame I haven't herd of but will research more info on that .

On Wed, Feb 3, 2021, 12:50 PM Jason Fuller <jtf.f...@gmail.com> wrote:

Those Sams that are up on the site now (and going quick, noticed a couple options are out already after 45 min) are such a good entry to modern Rivs in my limited experience.  I have had a couple from your list and the Sam Hillborne is head and shoulders above in terms of ride quality IMO, although the one area that you might not find improvement is "responsiveness".  However, the Sam still rides lively, it's just a lot more balanced and comfortable. The geometry makes the bike carve corners rather than simply turn, and it floats along unlike any bike I've experienced. 

I bet the upcoming Charlie H Gallup would right up your alley if the aesthetics agree with you.  

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[Sam Perez]

Chris ,

The long haul tucker (not featured because I no longer own it It was stolen) was a nice ride I think it too had a long wheelbase.  I remember the bike had stout construction and the tires were the big apples. If I remember were a little rough for the volume. I never experienced a flat. It was a tank that was the bike I took of I needed to be somewhere and had no time for incidents. It was a bit twitchy unloaded. Hauling groceries made it feel stable like a motorcycle. I recall reading somewhere that the LHT was loosely based on a RIV  anything have input on that ?

On Wed, Feb 3, 2021, 5:33 PM Chris L <clam...@gmail.com> wrote:

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