Roadini build and first ride report!

[William R.]

I took my first "serious" ride on my new Roadini this morning. 28 chilly, brisk, Halloween miles! Short version is it is beautiful, awesome and everything you expect from Rivendell. You may skip to the photos now if you wish...

I was notified that Leo Roadini had arrived at my local FedEx location on Friday. Work was crazy and I didn't want to be hasty so I waited until Saturday morning to pick it up. Out of the box everything was packed very well. My daughter assisted me with unpacking. She complained that it was heavy, but I didn't think so... Once unpacked I took a good look at the frame. What a beauty! Rivendell's attention to detail is so high. The new seat lug is a thing of beauty, right down err up to the little curly cue point where the seat post goes in. Nicer than the simple point on my Appaloosa. The decals and gorgeous grilver paint are executed so nicely. The welds in the places where there are no lugs are uniform and clean. I really like the "napkin holders" on the head tube also. I think they serve a structural purpose and are aesthetically pleasing too.

We had a lot of soccer and projects for school going on this weekend. I was sure I would not get it built up over the weekend. Still, knowing I was taking today off, I was hoping that maybe by Tuesday I could get it out for at least a shake down ride. Well, as luck would have it, we got hit with a pretty nasty east coast rain storm that was just a drencher all day Sunday. All soccer was cancelled. Projects were done on Saturday. Besides cooking and chasing cabin feverish kids around the house from time to time, I was able to focus on the build.

Again, as I went about the build I was continually impressed by Rivs level of attention. Obviously they took it out of the box and went over it before shipping it on to me. Even the water bottle screws had been taken out and the threads lightly greased. I could also tell that a wheel set was very lightly installed. Alignment check? I appreciate that they took the time to do these things. I have had a couple of other frames from other companies that I know were built in the same neighborhood in Taiwan, if not the same factory. I never got the impression that they had left their boxes from the time they were packed at the factory. Luckily there were no problems with those frames, but as time goes on, all of these things that Riv does add up and keep me coming back.

The build went smoothly, most of the parts used were from my used parts bin. Some of you may remember me trying to sell my Compass Rene Herse crankset about a year ago. I'm glad nothing came of that! This is the perfect frame for that crank. I also had the SKF bottom bracket, so I pulled the one that came with the frame and installed those. The chainrings are a little worn though and the cassette that I am using here has some miles too. I recently installed a new chain on these used parts and was experiencing some chain skip. To avoid that I put a new chain on my Appaloosa and used the old chain here. It has maybe 1200 miles on it and it worked perfectly. The drive train is quiet, smooth and there is no skip. Maybe I can rehab this drivetrain a bit and get the most miles out of it by cutting down on the miles that I put on the new chain on the Appaloosa before I switch it over to the Roadini little-by-little over time?

When Will called me to tell me that the frame was ready to ship, he also mentioned that it was coming with a seat post. I was happy to hear this. I thought Grant said that posts would not be included with these Roadini's. The only 26.8mm post that I had on hand was a super long mtb post. I didn't really want to use that one and was contemplating cutting it. Glad the frame came with the post and I didn't have to deal with any of that. The only new parts that I had to get were the wheels and the brake calipers. I had the buttery Simplex Retrofriction shifters. I also had the cockpit: 48 Noodles, Shimano levers and Nitto 9cm stem. I have two pretty used tire choices that I need to wear out before I get any new tires. I decided to start with the Kojaks. They are worn a little square but definitely have some life left in them. Nominally they are 35s, but they measure 32 on the A23 rims with tubes. I also have a pair of Jack Brown Greens that I suspect will measure out closer to their 33.3 size. I have 3 Brooks B17 saddles. The newest one is on the Appaloosa and is staying there. My son is using another on his Crosscheck. The oldest one by far is this one on this build. Bought, used and soaked multiple times since 2009, it was getting a little saggy, cracked at the rivets and long in the tooth. Boy, was I happy to see that big foam block protecting the fork tips in the box! I went about cutting and stuffing per Grants instructions and it feels great now! Chainstay protector and bar wrap are Newbaums green (the middle one I think in Rivs photos). Lets see, what else, the bell was an old one I had sitting around. I'm just glad I had most everything to hang on it and that my lovely wife agreed to get me this for our wedding anniversary this year - 22 years!

On to the ride. I've been thoroughly enjoying my Joe Appaloosa for the last year and a half. I wasn't sure if I could be as comfortable on a drop bar bike again. I knew one thing going into this build: I wanted the bar higher and closer by far than I had ever had on a drop bar build before. My original Riv sizing measurements were 88 PBH and 78 Saddle Height. Over the years I have let the saddle height drop, it just feels better and puts less strain on my knees that way, the saddle height is now 75 on my Appaloosa. So I used that as my starting point on the Roadini. I set the bar up 2" higher than the nose of the saddle. Not a problem at all with that tall head tube! Everything felt good at first except the saddle height. 75 feels good on the Joe, but I raised it on the Roadini to 76, that feels perfect. I'm not sure why that would be. Everything worked great on my ride this morning. No mechanical problems at all. The bar does not feel too high or too low. I guess it is at more like 1.5" above the saddle now. I don't feel like I am hanging from it when on the tops. It is an easy reach and comfortable in the hoods and also easy to get into the drops. I think it is going to work out in this position. The bar feels closer to me than ever before, but I'm not uncomfortable. I'm not a big numbers cruncher but I do seem to have developed a good sense for these things. I don't know off hand what the top tube is on a 57 Roadini and I didn't use any measurements to set up the reach from the saddle to the bar. I just set the saddle in the middle of the rails and new that the 9cm stem would have things close. So far so good. I did a couple short, steep climbs in the saddle this morning, and immediately thought of Andy Hampsten's climbing position. I was just automatically and comfortably in a good position. Roadini feels more nimble than the Appaloosa yet still has that stable Riv feel. I don't have a scale and don't care what they weigh, but the Roadini is noticeably lighter than the Appaloosa. Way lighter! The tubing feels lively and soaks up everything very nicely.

So far so... great! It's early, but these are my first impressions of the Roadini.

Bill in Westchester, NY

 

 

 

[Mark in Beacon]

Great build, Bill. The bike looks terrific. And the good news is, we only need to lower the saddle 1cm and the bars about 3cm when I test ride it next time you're up this way!;^)

[William R.]

Ha! You know it Mark. That is easily done on this one!

[Ryan Fleming]

nice post and bike...need some green candy pedals. Actually really nice looking and boy, Riv sure packs their bikes well, don't they

[Chris Birkenmaier]

Thanks for posting your build.  You did a really nice job and nice to hear you had an "in house" helper!  Mine is being painted so I have to wait just a bit and then Riv is going to do the honors of turning it into a bike.  More ride reports please when you can!

Chris

[Joe Bernard]

Being painted? How does that work, did you order a custom paint job?

[William R.]

Thanks Chris. And like Joe, I would like to hear the details of your custom paint. Who is doing it and what color or colors.

[William R.]

Thanks Ryan. The neutral gray/silver color invites all kinds of colors in doesn't it? I do like how the green and red tie in with the subtle colors in the decals.

[Chris Birkenmaier]

Joe and William, I arranged in advance for Rick at D&D to paint the frame and then return it to Riv for build up.  I like the gliver color a lot but I have a silver Joe and a similar blue Soma San Marcos and the new Mountain Mixte which is another shade of blue.  So, I already had both the blue and silver Rivs  covered at this point.  I decided to have this frame painted metallic black.  Thought that it is a classic color that would go with almost any bar and saddle colors.

[Belopsky]

Bike came together very well! 

[Joe Bernard]

Thanks for the info, Chris. I confirmed the paint option with Will @ Riv so now oooh my poor brain. I love the Roadini Blue I ordered, but maybe Candy Apple Red would be nice. Metallic Purple! ;-)

[Ann L]

Bill:

The bike turned out beautifully.  I like the green against the grilver frame.  Although the color looks like it would go well with any bar wrap color. 

Your daughter is a cutie and I'm glad you are starting her early on a love of bikes :)

[Don Compton]

Bill, Beautiful build. I am trying to get a feeling for Roadinis. The toptube slopes more than my Roadeo. What size your frame and what is your saddle height?

Thanks,Don Compton

On Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 12:47:02 PM UTC-7, William R. wrote:

[Belopsky]

57cm and 76cm

[William R.]

Ann L: thanks! I agree the Grilver encourages all kinds of accessory color experimentation! My daughter is pretty into it. She has a Diamondback that we got for her at REI. It’s about as “Rivish” as such a thing can be. She rides with me often.

Don: yup, as Belopsky said it is a 57cm frame and I have the saddle height set at 76.

[islaysteve]

Great looking bike!  The brown saddle also goes well with the color.  Enjoy for many years!
Steve

[Ty Jeske]

Beautiful bike! Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have a Riv Bleriot that I think is a marvelous ride. My wife are planning to go on a long supported tour through hilly country this summer and she is encouraging me to get a lighter ride. Do you mind me asking the weight of your built up Roadini? I prefer to stick with steel and support a worthy small business than get a somewhat lighter mass produced ride. Thanks!

[William R.]

Hi Ty. I will try to weigh it this weekend using my bath scale. But I’m guessing on experience that it will be right in the 25-26 pound range. That is with the saddlebag loaded with spares. Just right light for me and as I said there in my review, very noticeably lighter than my Appaloosa which is probably in the low 30’s. -Bill

[AKo]

[Austin]

So the sample 50cm Grilver Roadini I picked up for my wife via the Web Specials Frames page on rivbike.com arrived today.

Totally well packed as expected. The frameset is magnificent--again, expected. What was not expected--the downtube Roadini decal. Instead of the red/green decal, it came with a blue/silver decal--and it looks stellar! I think it's the same decal as on the RBW blue frame. I posted a few pics below.

Don't know how many like this are floating around out there, but I just get my jollies thinking about the uniqueness of it. 

Roadini Album on Google Photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mzS7GGLPmwn5dCx73

[Eamon Nordquist]

I love the Roadini in the gray/silver. I think they knocked that bike out of the park. I also think the Roadini headbadge is the best ever.

Eamon