New list member intro

[Harth Huffman]

Hi folks,

I'm a longtime lurker who finally signed up.  I was a BOB back in the day and on the ibob list since about 2000, and while I still read ibob daily, they often discuss things I don't pay attention to or care about these days.  Nothing negative about that, just not as much for me to browse in my zone of interests.  Rivendells, however, are always of interest to me, so here I am.

I bought my All-rounder in 1996 and it has been used as my touring bike, gravel "race" bike, commuter, camping bike (which is somehow different from touring bike, maybe), cyclocross "race" bike, and even as my mountain bike with mustache bars when I was replacing a broken one (until I snapped the bars).  It has seen a lot of use and clearly shows its wear, with worn paint, chips, dents, and even some rust quite evident (damn chain suck).  It could use some attention, for sure. I recently replaced my Paselas with these Schwalbes, and they are the best riding tires I have had on it by far, including the Compass 1.75s and the RTPs, which had a negative effect on handling and didn't fit with fenders.  New fenders await installation. The bag is old and worn, and I am stoked to be awaiting one of the Route Werks bags that will go well on this.

Three years ago, almost to the day, I crashed hard on it and broke a few bones after hitting some black ice on a descent.  The bars are currently bent and tape is gouged, but it rolls on, as always.

My other connection to Riv and Grant goes back to '95 when I put my RB-1 and my mountain bike (Rocky Mtn Blizzard) on top my old Subie and drove around the country.  I ended up on Grant's doorstep, and he invited me in.  Together we unboxed two prototype Riv Roads from Waterford and built them up.  We went for a ride, the first time I had ever ridden a road bike offroad.  I'll never forget the looks on the faces of the mountain bikers we came across and definitely will not forget how much fun I had. It changed my riding forever! Grant later wrote about our adventure in the Riv Reader.

That's about it.  Well, my other bikes are an RB-T I use daily for commutes and long rides, the same RB-1 I bought new in '93, and a lugged Vanilla mtb, plus a custom tandem and a couple project bikes that sit unfinished. 

I am glad to be on this list.  The sense of camaraderie is evident, as witnessed by the excitement over the new Platypus and other new bikes, and the appreciation of all things Riv is clear.  There are many familiar names on this list, an obvious crossover from ibob, and many new ones, too.  I'm not too talkative, so I will mostly stay in the background, but I do like to ask questions because I have way more of those than I have answers.

Cheers,

Harth Huffman

Portland, Oregon

[Ashwath Akirekadu]

Hey Harth, 

Welcome to the group!  Much enjoyed reading your/All-rounder's riding history.   With all those dents and scratches in the right places, I'd say the All-rounder has aged gracefully.  Or maybe battle-hardened would the right term :)   The partnership is nearing a quarter century! 

It would be my dream to put my bike (which is Susie/Wolbis. Before settling with it I tried 3 other Riv's over last 4 years.  Feels like this's THE one!  I also have a Roadini, but that's more of a fashion bike to ride to work and keep it at my cubicle.  Wolbis is doing all the real work) to as much use as your All-rounder over next 25 years. 

See you around!

Ash

[True Golden]

Hi Harth.

I remember you from the ibob.

Welcome over to the rbw-owners-bunch list.

I still read some of the ibob topics occassionally but have gravitated more to the riv list which is more in sync these days with my interests.

Three months ago I bought a very lightly used, almost new Sam Hillbourne and have been enjoying it.

What Schwalbe's are you liking on the Allrounder?

Are you still doing the wool jersey biz?

Paul in Dallas

[Patrick Moore]

Harth: Welcome to the group, tho' I know you well from the Boblist.

Which Schwalbes do you have on your all rounder? Also, I'm curious about the handling defects of the RH tires, and which 1.75s you mean; are these the Naches Pass? I put Naches Pass ELs on my new 26" wheel road custom (Matthews but a copy of earlier Rivendell ones) and find them very nice for both rolling and handling, at abot 35/32 f/r; no wallowing, if that is the handling problem you had.

More generally, and to the list: my Matthews is really yet another iteration of the XO-1 lineage, the geneology moving from my 1992 XO-1 to a Waterford custom road built around the All Rounder pattern but with steeper head and lighter tubes, then 2 much improved customs (shallower head, longer stays), to this one very like my last Riv custom but with room for the Naches Pass 1.8s and fenders. Each step an improvement, at least as far as mostly road riding goes.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[David Person]

Patrick, I blew up the picture and the tires are Schwalbe Evolution Marathon Supreme.  Can't read the size.  The Compass tires that Harth mentions are probably the Compass 26 x 1.75" they used to sell that also labeled Panaracer 26 x 1.75.  I rode a set of these for several years, but are no longer offered by RH (formally Compass).  Of course, it's entirely possible I'm completely wrong regarding which Compass tires he has.

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks, David; one more very good report for the Marathon Supreme. 

The Naches Pass must have replaced the Panracer 26 X 1.75" in the RH lineup. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/de0f3943-b3f6-4c85-9523-0d2cb933bb14n%40googlegroups.com.

[Jason Fuller]

Harth, 

Your backstory was a joy to read, thank you for sharing - I'm pretty in awe of your long-term connection and feel like a total noob by comparison (been aware of Bridgestone/Rivendell for a long time as an avid cyclist since the early 90's but only really interested in the past five or so). I also love seeing bikes that have been serving their owners for decades, particularly when that bike is an A-R!

- Jason   

[Michael Morrissey]

Post pics of the lugged Vanilla mountain bike! 

[Trevor Bradshaw]

Hi Harth,

Thanks for sharing those great stories with us. Please do share your RB-T with us if you get a chance. One of my favorite rides myself.