Leah’s Northern Lights Charlie

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

It is so wintry in SW Michigan. I can’t ride bikes, but I’m game to talk bikes. This is a long post with no photos, so if you are here for pics and not for story time, come back in a couple weeks when there will be photos. 

Yesterday, I dropped off everything I need to make a Charlie H. Gallop at the bike shop. I requested my number one favorite master mechanic to build it, and the price of that is time. It will take time before he can get to it. He is in the middle of building my son’s new dyno Clem wheels at the moment. He also just finished random, weird fixes on my Racing Platypus yesterday, and he returned my purple Platypus to me last week. I could be single-handedly keeping my bike shop in bread these winter months. He eyed my bags of parts and said, “You have your own shelf in the back, you know.” He handed one bag to N and said, “Put this on the Leah Shelf.” I have my own charge code in the computer at that shop, but that’s another story.

This was the hardest bike build I’ve planned. Which isn’t saying much considering I have only had a handful of bikes, but still. The concept of this golden Charlie eluded me. Should I do what I wanted or what was expected? Should the bike be a compromise? 

In my view, road bikes are the ultimate in snobbery. All the other bike categories seem to live and let live. When you roll up to a road cycling ride, you can know you are being evaluated as other riders take stock of your bike and your kit. “Pure Road Bike” is what I call it: Road bikes should look a certain way. Road bike riders should also look a certain way. The Racing Platypus is not Pure Road Bike. And while a sparkly raspberry Rivendell mixte can hang with the mean-looking carbon machines on club rides, the comments and the prejudice have become tiresome. 

Everyone wants to be accepted. 

“Just think if Leah had a road bike,” my club friends would say. I always laughed it off, said I was content with the Racing Platypus. And I was. But I started to wonder what it would feel like to have a Pure Road Bike. 

I bought my Charlie on a whim. I always get excited when Rivendell puts out a new model. I read the product description; it was like they had written it for me. At high noon of the presale, in the midst of Rivendell’s New Yorker fame, I put a golden Charlie in my cart and expected they’d snapped up before I could secure one. 

The purchase went through.

The frame arrived and then sat. I finally had a road bike and could not decide how to build it. People thought I should keep it classy with silver parts. Ok, add just a pop of color to make it yours. Maybe drop bars. Keep it light - leave off those extras, you have them on your other bikes. I’d tire of agonizing and leave the project.

I looked at my purple Platypus. I’d chosen every part for that bike, and it’s my favorite build. I anodized its parts and made it a rainbow-y blur of color. Everybody likes that crazy bike, even the purists who’d never choose rainbow and oil slick. They like it for me. I tossed the classy, silver idea and decided I’d do what I like best: color. Since I love the rainbow bike I decided on another natural wonder theme. I’d chased the aurora borealis this summer and BAM, I knew what this bike was: A Northern Lights Charlie.

Velocity’s anodizer rides the Wednesday Evening Ride with me and he was game to try a deep custom Quill rim in northern lights. He pulled out a practice rim and laid the color down. Lifted it with acid and added different colors, walking a tightrope that risked the colors running and looking muddy. He aimed for a shimmering night sky look based on the inspiration photo I’d sent. 

He nailed it on the first try. 

Meanwhile, the  Mountain West’s celebrated woman anodizer, Ashley, was staring into my box of parts, wondering how best to capture the northern lights on aluminum. Ashley can do anything; but she was conflicted about this project. First try yielded too much black in the background. The next attempt showed a colorful splatter effect. It was beautiful but lost the shimmering northern lights theme. Unsatisfied, she tried again and finally captured it. Shimmering northern lights twinkled at me from a Choco bar on my screen. Undeniably beautiful, whatever your opinion about Pure Road Bike. Some of the parts transferred color better than others; aluminum is not all the same. The Rivendell Silver 2 shifters were problematic; the finish is a plasticky, flaky compound that Ashley ended up blasting off. They took color poorly. The Silver 3 cranks, however, were wonderful. Maybe the best part on the bike. The chain guard and rings showed more pastel. The northern lights are ever-changing so all these different looks are good representations of the real phenomenon.

Selecting accessories was extremely difficult. If I added the extras that make the bike useful, it would look less like a road bike. I do want people to see this colorful bike as a road bike, not as an oddball. What makes a road bike a road bike? Drop bars? Light weight? Stripped down?

I tried to imagine my bike with no kickstand. What road bike has a kickstand? Well, Leah’s Northern Lights Charlie does. I take a lot of photos; leaning the bike is inconvenient. Grant pointed out that my bars would swing and topple the bike; trad road bikes prop easier. What about fenders? There are plenty of wet rides in Michigan and the muddy water that shoots up one’s back and onto one’s bags is intolerable to me. Gets in the way of being darling. Dyno. It’s expensive and adds weight and I know it. But after having dyno on all my other bikes and never ever thinking of charging and attaching my lights it feels like being hamstrung, a downgrade. Most of my miles are club ride miles - that’s way too often to fight with battery lights. As for bars, I met a man on his shiny new purple RoadUno, and he had Choco bars, which I thought looked sporty. I ruled out drop bars because they seemed a gamble. I would probably hate them. 

In the end, the concessions I made are that I would attach no rack and only use a BananaSax on the saddle. So, not very many concessions. But the bike is rumored to feel light, fast, spritely. I think it will be different enough from my other bikes. I hand-wring about how this bike will be viewed in the roadie world. They will be so excited to hear I got a road bike. They will be so let down when they see my version of that. I don’t think I can apologize. I think I have to be Leah.

I set out in pursuit of Pure Road Bike. I found a Northern Lights Charlie instead. And I think it’s going to be grand.

Leah

[Doug H.]

It surely will not look like the "cookie cutter" road bikes in your group or pretty much in any group of road cyclists. Embrace the difference especially since you and we know your CHG is superior in every conceivable way! Yes, I believe that to be true.

Doug

[Laing Conley]

In the words of Tom Petty - “The waiting is the hardest part.”

I am looking forward to seeing this build. 

Laing

Delray Beach FL

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[J G]

Leah,

I was going to keep my obscure comments to myself regarding your original post on this bike because sometimes the instant connections I make seem obtuse to others, however you used 2 words above that I have only heard in relation to what popped in my head when I initially saw your concept build.

"Somewhere Erik Noren is smiling"

I have to ask if that immediately tells you what 2 words I am referring to and I am curious if those 2 words were simply used by your Velocity Ano guy as my suspicion is that he used those words because he immediately made the same connection I did.

Will explain if my comment and question does not immediately resonate.

-Justus

Mpls, MN

[Roberta]

“They will be so excited to hear I got a road bike. They will be so let down when they see my version of that. I don’t think I can apologize. I think I have to be Leah.”

I’ve been following Leah‘s beautiful build decisions along the way and I’m so excited for her. This will be the perfect Leah road bike and I cannot wait to see the finished product.  It will be so “Leah,” perfect. 

Roberta

Philadelphia

On Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 9:50:15 AM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

[Ryan]

Well...Justin, obscure to me. Hockey player? Actor? I'm stumped and Google didn't help. Enlighten me! :) 

[Michael Connors]

image search Google with his name and 'bicycle'

[Leah Peterson]

Doug - 🥰 Thank you so much. You’re such a pal. 

Laing - wait we will! You have so many Rivs you have pretty much seen it all, so I’m flattered you are eager to see one of my little ol’ builds.

Justus - I googled and came up short. I have no idea what two words I used and why they resonate with you, but spill.

On Feb 20, 2025, at 1:54 PM, Michael Connors <michael.ge...@gmail.com> wrote:

image search Google with his name and 'bicycle'

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[Ryan]

ok maybe this Evil Dead bike; scroll to the end...pretty wild!

https://bikerumor.com/peacock-grooves-erik-noren-is-the-cycling-industrys-misunderstood-artist/ 

[J G]

"Deep Custom" is a term that, I believe, was initially associated with custom builder Erik Noren of Peacock Groove (and Cake bikes).

See 30 second video from 2011 when the term came to the forefront:  https://vimeo.com/32808794

Also see Anna Schwinn's concept bike if you like Purple:  https://road.cc/content/news/219054-schwinn-create-one-purple-bike-tribute-prince

See the Evil Dead bike for something a little more out there:  https://theradavist.com/beautiful-bicycle-erik-norens-peacock-groove-evil-dead-tribute-track/

For his projects, that meant far beyond a traditional custom frame with each project really being a concept bike with layers of custom work at every level right down to paint and Ano work.  Your bike project immediately make me think of Erik and when the term "Deep Custom" came up in your thread, I thought those words might have been seeded by your Ano guy as the bike business is small and he may know Erik well.  You just do not hear that term often and applied correctly.

-Justus

Mpls, MN

[J G]

Persistence.  Yes, just posted that as one of the examples!

[Leah Peterson]

Because Velocity is headquartered in Grand Rapids, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several of their employees on rides. They use the term “deep custom.” You can get standard ano colors or if you want your own thing it’s called “deep custom.” I’m pretty sure my local bike shop used the term when we were ordering my Platypus wheels, too.

On Feb 20, 2025, at 3:23 PM, J G <cjus...@gmail.com> wrote:

"Deep Custom" is a term that, I believe, was initially associated with custom builder Erik Noren of Peacock Groove (and Cake bikes).

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4af08946-29bf-4c63-b255-5e4f0b647663n%40googlegroups.com.

[J G]

Makes sense.  I suspected the Velocity Ano guy was at the root of that term being used, just as I suspect he would also attribute the phrase to be rooted in Erik's work.

[Julian Westerhout]

Leah, 

This is definitely NOT going to be a fit-in-with-the-crowd road bike, and as such it will be terrific!   Are you bringing it to Philly? It would be great to see it in person! 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[Joe Bernard]

I cannot wait to see this bike. My position is all the carbon dropbar sleds are wrong and THIS is what a road bike looks like. Convert the masses Leah! 

[meti...@gmail.com]

Your entire post makes me sort of giddy, Leah. YOUR JOB IS TO SHAKE US ALL UP,  SISTER! 

(I have Choco bars on my new purple Platypus and I love them)

Liz in Cincinnati

[J J]

Lovely write up, Leah. Thank you. It’s great to hear about your inexorable drive to march to the beat of your own drum (or perhaps I should say, to pedal to the cadence of your own crankset….) and build a bike that expresses your vibe. 

Jim

[Jason Fuller]

I believe these two things are true:  the Norther Lights Charlie is going to feel, and be, vastly more Pure Road Bike than your fleet of Platypii; the Charlie will also be only a tiny increment towards a Pure Road Bike in the eyes of your club ride audience. 

I can certainly empathize with your experience, acknowledging it's even more stark of a contrast than my experiences of riding my shiny fendered but not overly-upright Rivs on rides with folks on typically modern gravel bikes. They see our bikes as novelty, but we know that's far from the truth. Maybe they get the same feeling as we do when they gaze at their own bike, but I doubt it honestly. And they certainly don't understand that they aren't just pretty bikes, either - they are joyous to ride. Maybe their beauty affects our judgement, but I don't see how that matters if the result is the same.  

[Jason Fuller]

To add - I'm really glad you've made the choice to stick to what excites you rather than try to conform to what is expected of you. It can feel alienating, but also connects you to a group of like-minded people over the wider geography. This is true of bikes but it's also true of so many things. 

Also I'm so freaking pumped to see the bike come together and see it in action. 

[Roberta]

“they are joyous to ride”. Exactly!  That’s why I have mine. 

Leah already had been leading her group. I have a feeling with the Charlie she could if she wanted to ride with the next fastest group and be comfortable and joyous at the same time.

[Leah Peterson]

Julian, alas, probably not. I have determined that I need a rack and Backabikes to be happy at PBE. Pam and I lived off of our bikes these last couple of years; we’d get up, hit a ride, go to the Expo, change clothes and hit the booths all day. Then you gotta have warm stuff to put on for your night rides and you have to have something to wear to dinner…the Charlie will have no rack, and therefore no cavernous bags for all our many things. It will likely be the Gravel and Travel Platy, which is also a mess of color, so you’ll have to settle for that! 😜

On Feb 20, 2025, at 4:12 PM, Julian Westerhout <weste...@gmail.com> wrote:

Leah, 

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[Leah Peterson]

Yay, Sis, you got Choco bars??? I’m delighted to know it! I really hope I love them because I went to the trouble of anodizing them so I’m stuck with them now! I think talking bikes makes us Midwesterners (are MI and OH considered Midwest? The Michiganders sometimes say no) happy in these winter months. This is the most wintry winter since I moved here. It’s beginning to wear on me. We both have new bikes we want to ride, right? I hope you got the shifting figured out! Come to Philly Bike Expo!

On Feb 20, 2025, at 7:07 PM, meti...@gmail.com <meti...@gmail.com> wrote:

Your entire post makes me sort of giddy, Leah. YOUR JOB IS TO SHAKE US ALL UP,  SISTER! 

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[Leah Peterson]

Jason, your two things will be undeniably and unequivocally true, I know it. You put it perfectly. What will seem like a big change to me will barely a nudge toward Pure Road Bike to the club. But it is really fun to try something new and I’m so glad I can. I had no idea 5 years ago how different my bike life would be. I keep discovering new things and I suppose my bikes reflect that. 

Joe - I haven’t made a single convert yet.

Roberta - aw, shucks. Thanks. I feel like after this winter I’ll be working pretty hard to get back to speed. Club rides start back up in March though! Actually, same week of Philly Bike Expo…

Jim - thank you 💛 It blesses me to be among people who understand.

On Feb 20, 2025, at 8:48 PM, Jason Fuller <jtf.f...@gmail.com> wrote:

I believe these two things are true:  the Norther Lights Charlie is going to feel, and be, vastly more Pure Road Bike than your fleet of Platypii; the Charlie will also be only a tiny increment towards a Pure Road Bike in the eyes of your club ride audience. 

I can certainly empathize with your experience, acknowledging it's even more stark of a contrast than my experiences of riding my shiny fendered but not overly-upright Rivs on rides with folks on typically modern gravel bikes. They see our bikes as novelty, but we know that's far from the truth. Maybe they get the same feeling as we do when they gaze at their own bike, but I doubt it honestly. And they certainly don't understand that they aren't just pretty bikes, either - they are joyous to ride. Maybe their beauty affects our judgement, but I don't see how that matters if the result is the same.  

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[Jay]

It sounds like all your bikes are, uniquely, you.  I'm sure this one will be as well.  What's different, is that 'road' culture is ingrained in many people's minds.  Compare that to upright/alt bar bikes, those are so different bike to bike.  Road bikes, from the major brands, are all so 'blah'.  Your 'road' bike will certainly be anything but, though that's pretty cool.  It may be more roadish than a Platy, and I'm sure it will be fun in a different sort of way.  Can't wait to hear about how it feels when you ride it :-)

[Jason Willey]

thanks for not adding to the lot of "just normal" looking road bikes.  build and ride what you like!  and holding your own while on group rides while being non-traditional is even better!  

On Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 7:07:31 PM UTC-5 meti...@gmail.com wrote:

[Leah Peterson]

Jay and Jason, thank you! It is tiresome to see bikes that all look the same. I’d have a hard time identifying which bike belonged to who in a lineup. On Wednesday nights I drive 45 min to Grand Rapids where they have this wild, themed ride. Every kind of bike is there, and that is half the fun of attending. I love to look at all the ways people have personalized their bikes. One guy even shows up with a whole sound system and lights show - see video below!

[Leah Peterson]

***Sorry! Noticed the video cut off the rest of my message. Here it is, below: ***

Despite the prejudice, I have found that my non-traditional bikes keep up in the road rides I do, and when they (ok I) don’t, I’ll just go down a class. The fastest group I go with advertises 16.5-17mph, led by a couple on a tandem, isn’t that wild? I like that we are moving but not getting to that level where you’re gasping and wishing to be done. My women’s group goes 16, and that’s the sweet spot for chitchat, which I love. There is a group that goes 18, but it’s a bunch of dudes and I’m not brave enough to ride with them. But I have ridden with their leader on a different ride that he said would be slower and it was SO HARD. We had a mad-hilly route and this guy just always averages 18, regardless of what the ride is supposed to be. I couldn’t even hold a conversation and he said, “Just think if you did this every week, you’d be so fit!” No thanks. 

The RivSisters who went to HQ rodeo the Charlie and reported it was so spritely and lively and fast. I guess we’ll see if it makes any difference compared to my Racing Platypus. Maybe I will try the scary 18 mph dude class with the rumored fast Charlie. 

Leah

On Feb 24, 2025, at 8:52 AM, Leah Peterson <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:

Despite the prejudice, I have found that my non-traditional bikes keep up in the road rides I do, and when they (ok I) don’t, I’ll just go down a class. The fastest group I go with advertises 16.5-17mph, led by a couple on a tandem, isn’t that wild? I like that we are moving but not getting to that level where you’re gasping and wishing to be done. My women’s group goes 16, and that’s the sweet spot for chitchat, which I love. There is a group that goes 18, but it’s a bunch of dudes and I’m not brave enough to ride with them. But I have ridden with their leader on a different ride that he said would be slower and it was SO HARD. We had a mad-hilly route and this guy just always averages 18, regardless of what the ride is supposed to be. I couldn’t even hold a conversation and he said, “Just think if you did this every week, you’d be so fit!” No thanks. 

The RivSisters who went to HQ rodeo the Charlie and reported it was so spritely and lively and fast. I guess we’ll see if it makes any difference compared to my Racing Platypus. Maybe I will try the scary 18 mph dude class with the rumored fast Charlie. 

Leah

[Doug H.]

That is an amazing audio setup! So cool to see what people can do with their bicycles. 

I've ridden in bicycle groups and gotten into pretty good shape but could never average 18 or more mph. I think 16 was my max average on a carbon Felt Z6 road bike. I was never dedicated enough to road cycling to really work to improve though so I was satisfied with my slower group. These days I ride solo mostly.

Doug

[Leah Peterson]

I got to go to Washington DC, and on my last day there, which was yesterday, my favorite mechanic texted, “Charlie H. Gallop, first of his name, is complete.” 

I came home last night and today made haste to go see Charlie and bring him home to live happily ever after with me. M, my favorite mechanic, is off today. A letdown! But I left him a card that will make him very happy when he gets it; he deserves everything, he is that good. But the other guys were there to chat about the NLC with me, which is half the fun of picking up a new bike.

This bike looks little compared to the lengthy Platys that inhabit my garage. 

Isn’t it cute? It’s the 53, so it has lighter tubing, too. 

There was not one ray of sunshine today, making most of my color dull. Only the rims catch the light and twinkle at you. 

I asked the shop to hide the dyno wire and showed them an example. I think I’ll snip their black zip ties and add my gray ones. These are Ultradynamicos Cava Race tires in 38 mm.

The galloping horses on the chainstays really do it for me. Here is the RapidRise Grant set me up with. I have no idea if that’s a thing I’ll like; it’s a thing I wanted to try. I don’t know what the fuss really is, except that in the event of a derailleur failure, I’d be in a more pedal-able gear. M said, “RapidRise? Are we going to use it though?” He was not convinced. R from the shop said he gave it a test ride, rode up a ramp was shocked when he went to downshift and ended up in a higher gear.  If I hate it I’ll just swap it for the normal kind.

Some of Ashley’s excellent anodizing can be seen on the luscious Silver3 cranks and chainguard. I cannot convey how wonderfully the cranks took color. They drip with NL charm. 

I chose this Spurcycle bell in a moody black and blue. It fits the disposition of this bike - northern lights are never static. Wondrous, elusive things. Moody.

You can see the Silver shifters did not take color well. They had a flaky finish that came off in anodizing and they look like blue metal now.  I heard they frustrated the junior mechanic helping M. “There’s no directions to reassemble these! It’s just a schematic!” he was rumored to have said. There’s a scratch on one of the shifters and I do not at all care because I know they were a bear to reassemble. Mark at Riv had taken them apart for anodizing. Will said he’d mash it if he tried, it’s hard to do. I told the guys we could send them back to Riv but they took on the project themselves. In fact, if these shifters got ruined in this process, I will not be shocked. We’ll see how they perform.

Here you a see I did do a little matching. I chose gold housing and a gold headlight. You’ll notice gold valve stems on the wheels.

Again, the new Silver3 cranks in the shorter length (165?). The pedals are oil slick (not NL) but I’m getting away with it somehow.

The spokes! 😍

My bars are showstoppers but they look dark without sun. It’s a nice and muted look in cloudy weather, and will be dreamy in Michigan golden sunshine. They are Chocos, which I bought because I thought they looked sporty on someone else’s bike. 🙄

Even the Paul levers had to be pulled apart for anodizing. They always take color well, but again, you’ll have to wait for sun to see.

The weather was 30s and sleet today with black ice on the road. One of our surgeons spent a whole day fixing all the broken bones from falls on the ice recently. Test rides will have to wait, but just from handling the bike I can tell it’s light and nimble. It steers easily with one hand guiding it and it looks compact and quick. 

“Just think if Leah had a road bike,” my club riding friends said. This bike will not be what they meant when they said that. But I love my Minimal Compromise Northern Lights Golden Charlie. (First of his name, you know.)

 It’s the road bike no one wanted me to have but exactly the one I needed.

Leah

On Feb 24, 2025, at 10:12 AM, Doug H. <dhansf...@gmail.com> wrote:

That is an amazing audio setup! So cool to see what people can do with their bicycles. 

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[Jason Noonievut]

Looks fantastic!

On Feb 26, 2025, at 8:39 PM, Leah Peterson <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:



I got to go to Washington DC, and on my last day there, which was yesterday, my favorite mechanic texted, “Charlie H. Gallop, first of his name, is complete.” 

I came home last night and today made haste to go see Charlie and bring him home to live happily ever after with me. M, my favorite mechanic, is off today. A letdown! But I left him a card that will make him very happy when he gets it; he deserves everything, he is that good. But the other guys were there to chat about the NLC with me, which is half the fun of picking up a new bike.

This bike looks little compared to the lengthy Platys that inhabit my garage. 

<image2.jpeg>

Isn’t it cute? It’s the 53, so it has lighter tubing, too. 

There was not one ray of sunshine today, making most of my color dull. Only the rims catch the light and twinkle at you. 

I asked the shop to hide the dyno wire and showed them an example. I think I’ll snip their black zip ties and add my gray ones. These are Ultradynamicos Cava Race tires in 38 mm.

<image3.jpeg>

<image4.jpeg>

The galloping horses on the chainstays really do it for me. Here is the RapidRise Grant set me up with. I have no idea if that’s a thing I’ll like; it’s a thing I wanted to try. I don’t know what the fuss really is, except that in the event of a derailleur failure, I’d be in a more pedal-able gear. M said, “RapidRise? Are we going to use it though?” He was not convinced. R from the shop said he gave it a test ride, rode up a ramp was shocked when he went to downshift and ended up in a higher gear.  If I hate it I’ll just swap it for the normal kind.

<image5.jpeg>

Some of Ashley’s excellent anodizing can be seen on the luscious Silver3 cranks and chainguard. I cannot convey how wonderfully the cranks took color. They drip with NL charm. 

I chose this Spurcycle bell in a moody black and blue. It fits the disposition of this bike - northern lights are never static. Wondrous, elusive things. Moody.

<image6.jpeg>

You can see the Silver shifters did not take color well. They had a flaky finish that came off in anodizing and they look like blue metal now.  I heard they frustrated the junior mechanic helping M. “There’s no directions to reassemble these! It’s just a schematic!” he was rumored to have said. There’s a scratch on one of the shifters and I do not at all care because I know they were a bear to reassemble. Mark at Riv had taken them apart for anodizing. Will said he’d mash it if he tried, it’s hard to do. I told the guys we could send them back to Riv but they took on the project themselves. In fact, if these shifters got ruined in this process, I will not be shocked. We’ll see how they perform.

Here you a see I did do a little matching. I chose gold housing and a gold headlight. You’ll notice gold valve stems on the wheels.

<image7.jpeg>

Again, the new Silver3 cranks in the shorter length (165?). The pedals are oil slick (not NL) but I’m getting away with it somehow.

<image8.jpeg>

The spokes! 😍

<image9.jpeg>

My bars are showstoppers but they look dark without sun. It’s a nice and muted look in cloudy weather, and will be dreamy in Michigan golden sunshine. They are Chocos, which I bought because I thought they looked sporty on someone else’s bike. 🙄

<image10.jpeg>

Even the Paul levers had to be pulled apart for anodizing. They always take color well, but again, you’ll have to wait for sun to see.

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[Joe Bernard]

The bars and rims are INSANE. I love this bike! 

[JAS]

There aren't enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe this bike, but I'll start with exquisite!  Unsurpassed creativity, certainly.

[Ryan]

That turned out great! Now you and Bill L have to get together on your CHGs for a ride when he comes to Michigan. Can't wait for a ride report and pictures in the sunlight. Although, I have to say, even in the cloudy conditions, the gold frame pops! And looks good with the NL parts.

You go girl!

[Sally Bidleman]

Outstanding!!

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[Leah Peterson]

Thanks, everyone! I am just dying to try it out! It’s cold and drizzly and I was taking pics and wanting to throw a leg over, even just for a bit and then felt myself skid on black ice as I was having the thought. Nope nope nope. I’ll have to wait for it to be just a bit warmer. The rear hub is so quiet and the bike is so cute. In love over here!

On Feb 27, 2025, at 10:01 AM, Sally Bidleman <3mu...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Ryan]

What is the rear hub.?..can't remember if you mentioned what it was

[Old And In The Weeds]

awesome build!!

Nick

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[Johnny Alien]

Love the look of the anodized choco bars. Curious to hear your thoughts on them once the weather gets in line and you can spend some time with them.

(I never really fell in love with rapid rise like Grant did but I don't hate it either. Just never got enough out of it to warrant my brain confusion)

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[Leah Peterson]

Johnny,

I do feel conflicted about the RR shifting. Not sure it will be a great benefit to me, either. Seems less ergonomic because I’m used to having the lever pushed forward and it’s better for the thumb. We’ll see.

I dragged the bike into my mud room so I could stare at it and see how I should go about setting up accessories. This bike won’t have a rack and large bag, as all my Platys do. I have a gray BananaSax I put on the saddle today. Looks ok. I need a stem bag (I really can’t live without a Randi Jo Bartender Plus bag) and maybe a mirror. I hate to put that big old German mirror on the bike again, but does anyone have any better suggestions?

Also thinking of a bottle cage for once because I need extra water on long rides and will have nowhere to store it on the bagless-Charlie. I hate the compromises one makes on a road bike. 

This is fun, I remind myself. Stressful fun.

Leah

On Feb 27, 2025, at 6:16 PM, Johnny Alien <johnny....@gmail.com> wrote:

Love the look of the anodized choco bars. Curious to hear your thoughts on them once the weather gets in line and you can spend some time with them.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/03eb0d27-0102-46a3-9ab0-1584fc50ae46n%40googlegroups.com.

[Liz Tilton]

I dislike mirrors that attach to the handlebars, but I LOVE the little bottle-cap mirror that attaches to my helmets. (Sometimes in red zip ties to keep them secure). You can find them in ETSY: https://www.etsy.com/listing/159575818/?ref=share_ios_native_control

Liz, who watches what goes on behind me in Cincinnati

Sent with delight from my iPhone

On Feb 28, 2025, at 2:20 PM, Leah Peterson <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Dorothy C]

I have a Hafny bar end mirror on my lugged Roadini with Noodles and my tigged Roadini with Bullmoose bars and like how they are out of the way of the grip area

[Ryan]

I do like the look and function of the King Iris cages ; if you mount 2 they resemble  a heart :) ....but no doubt even swoopier and more colorful options abound. Maybe they're even anodizable. ... oops, not as easy as anodizing aluminum  according to Google search. OTOH they don't distract from that beautiful frame and those  other anodized components. No doubt someone will contribute a link to cages that will be the chef's kiss, however, if you don't find something yourself .

https://www.rivbike.com/products/king-cage-iris-stainless-water-bottle-cage 

[Roberta]

Liz,  these are so much fun!

[Laing Conley]

I use the small EVT mirror on my helmet and the small Rene Herse mirror on the end of the handlebars on my Custom. 

I only use the small diameter tubing SS Nitto or VO cages for water bottles. The fat aluminum or carbon fiber cages just look wrong to me, especially on a steel frame. I guess that is because my first water bottle cages in the early seventies were small diameter chromed steel tubing. 

Laing

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[Dan Bluestein]

I agree with Ryan's opinion of the King Iris cages, though on my 51 Homer the location of the mounting points doesn't put them in a heart shape when I have 2 of them mounted and that's probably the case with the smaller Charlie Gallops too. But King does make them in titanium, and that's anodizable (though I've never used those so I can't vouch for their function compared to the stainless steel ones).

[Tom M]

Silca sells some anodized cages in titanium as well (https://silca.cc/collections/bottle-cages/products/unicorn-titanium-cage). The anodizing on the NLC is amazing.

Tom in Alexandria, VA

[Joe Bernard]

You may be stuck with that German mirror. I've tried a ton of mirrors and always end up wishing the dang thing was German as the Good Lord intended. 

Joe Bernard 

[Leah Peterson]

You may be right, Joe. But Melanie is making sure I have a beautiful bottle cage! She’s bringing it to the Philly Bike Expo. 😍 I was going to order the dumb German mirror but that will have to wait since Riv is sold out. Gives me more time to look online for alt options. I’ll tell you all if I find anything better. I don’t have a bike computer but the club riders who do have a nifty beeping feature when a car comes rushing up behind us. I wish my phone did this.

Meanwhile, here is the state of things. 

Charlie is in the mudroom, the scoundrel. There were a lot of jokes about having Charlie in the house between my husband and me. Don’t worry, Charlie doesn’t get to stay there; I was changing out black zip ties for neutral ones, putting on his Bananasax and admiring him. I have looked longingly outside every darn day, hoping for a break. Haha, said Michigan, look what I can do! Black ice everywhere. High wind advisories. Plummeting temps. Rain and snow at the same time. All since Feb 26, the day I got Charlie.

I have so much to test and evaluate on Charlie. I don’t know if the saddle height and angle is right - just came this way from the shop. The bars might need angling down. I have new-to-me gearing and am curious if I’ll like it (it’s a much bigger front ring). I have to develop the knack for mounting him after having all these mixtes. Two RivSisters got their Charlies built and have been enjoying rides. They say this is a fast, easy bike. They also worry about adding accessories and weighing down the Charlies. 

Ok, back to looking at accessories. What else am I gonna do in this weather?

Leah

On Feb 28, 2025, at 11:29 PM, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

You may be stuck with that German mirror. I've tried a ton of mirrors and always end up wishing the dang thing was German as the Good Lord intended. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/83788889-6cdf-418e-8534-c58ac6afbe85n%40googlegroups.com.

[Jay]

I've been there, Leah.  New bike, winter/awful roads.  What I ended up doing was putting the bike in the back of my car and driving to a covered car park 20 minutes from home.  I know they have security camera's, but I road around for 10 minutes and then left.  That was better than nothing!

I was wondering about the bars and the tilt, I'm guessing you'll end up tilting them down a bit, but I'm sure you'll figure that all out - enjoy.

[Collin A]

One option for bike mirrors is the newer-entry spurcycle. I haven't tried them yet, but they would fit where the bar end plugs would usually go - and may work out if your ergon grips don't fully encase the end of the bars.

Big, reflective, and svelt enough I'd think: https://www.spurcycle.com/products/r50-mirror

Collin, feeling like we're looking a little too far backwards right now, in Oakland

[Steve]

Here's another option for a bar end mirror - https://cateyeamerica.com/products/bm-45?_pos=1&_psq=bm+45&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Similar to the Spurcycle, priced at $19.95.  I've been using them on two of my bikes (Santa brought them to me for Christmas!).  So far so good.

Steve in AVL

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Charlie is pretty dreamy. I really like how the bike is feeling and I’ve got everything coming to make him whole. It’s hard to know how you ought to set up a new bike, and I actually ended up with most of the same stuff on my bars again. My setup is sick, why ruin it. I tried living without a mirror and a phone mount but I can’t do it. That bike is like a sunbeam when it stands in sunshine. I love the paint. I love the NL accents. The anodizing is going to get nicked - while on the SUV’s bike rack some gravel must have spit at the rim and chipped off the ano. Still, I regret nothing.

With the inauguration of the ‘25 riding season, our club had its first Monday Night Ride, and Charlie and I went. He isn’t like anything else there, and we got some attention. People are used to my alternative bikes by now. It was, like it always is in the early season, a challenging first few miles. Then we hit our stride. I went home not sure if Charlie is any faster than a Platypus. Today I took out both bikes and compared. I lowered the stem because Jason and Kate told me I ought to try. The Charlie does feel more like a road bike and my Racing Platypus, which held the road bike title before, feels slower than I remember. Who knows if any of this is true. But the Charlie is compact, little, nimble and I do really like it. 

I got grips from Deb @ Rivet from Philly Bike Expo, and a RivSister sent me that ti cage you recommended here. My Randi Jo bag is being made, so I have Baby Bear’s bag for now. I need a few more things and then I can be done with this and just ride the bike.

Tomorrow will be 70 and the women of my bike group are meeting for a ride. I’m really excited to try another road ride and get to know Charlie better. I feel kind of torn having 4 wonderful bikes because it’s hard not to ride the newest one the most. I love all four of them, even though I really only need 3. The mermaid Platy is redundant since the Racing Platypus got a sturdy rear rack and can take a load now. But aren’t they the most beautiful fleet your eyes have ever seen? Hearts were coming out of my eyes when I saw them in the garage today. 

Tomorrow should be a better feel for how Charlie and I do together. There will only be 4 or 5 of us, so we’ll take our pulls regularly and it will be more challenging than with the big group we had on Monday.

That’s it for now!

Leah

[Leah Peterson]

On Mar 13, 2025, at 9:26 PM, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:

Charlie is pretty dreamy. I really like how the bike is feeling and I’ve got everything coming to make him whole. It’s hard to know how you ought to set up a new bike, and I actually ended up with most of the same stuff on my bars again. My setup is sick, why ruin it. I tried living without a mirror and a phone mount but I can’t do it. That bike is like a sunbeam when it stands in sunshine. I love the paint. I love the NL accents. The anodizing is going to get nicked - while on the SUV’s bike rack some gravel must have spit at the rim and chipped off the ano. Still, I regret nothing.

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<IMG_9397.jpeg>

<IMG_9404.jpeg>

[John Johnson]

The 4 bikes neatly arranged on their racks in the garage is oddly super satisfying.

Bravo, the Charlie looks great!

[Roberta]

Your Charlie looks great especially with those new Rivet grips. How do you choose????

Roberta

[Leah Peterson]

I agree, John! So satisfying. Also satisfying: the ease with which I can hoist the Charlie overhead. The combination of the heavier, longer Platypus with the uneven tubes to hook is stressful every dang time. And I’m a weight lifter. 😒

On Mar 14, 2025, at 5:18 AM, John Johnson <johnemer...@gmail.com> wrote:

The 4 bikes neatly arranged on their racks in the garage is oddly super satisfying.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b45169d7-eb42-41cb-86dc-77443b034da3n%40googlegroups.com.

[Dorothy C]

So gorgeous Leah. You have me tempted to rebuild my (too small) 47cm Roadini to a 53cm mermaid Charlie in the next run later this year. Everything with the exception of the wheels/tires and downtube shifter mounts would be an exactly compatible swap

[Ryan]

If the purple is somewhat lighter, being smaller, maybe you could swap it with the raspberry, so the heavier run-aroud raspberry is on the bottom.

Just sayin'.

 That charlie in the sunlight is smashing!

[Leah Peterson]

Dorothy - do it! 

Ryan - that little purple beast has front and rear racks and is heavier than the red Platy. I know…I have tried to think of how to better arrange but I think this is the only way I can go. I used to have the little RBW51 rack and then it was easier to lift that red bike. But since its retired from racing, I’ve got the Nitto Big Back rack on there and when that Saddlesack is on the bike it’s comical to watch me try and hoist it up there. I’m not giving up. It will be good for me.

On Mar 14, 2025, at 2:37 PM, Ryan <ryte...@mts.net> wrote:

If the purple is somewhat lighter, being smaller, maybe you could swap it with the raspberry, so the heavier run-aroud raspberry is on the bottom.

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[Dorothy C]

That was going to be my first guess as to why the purple Platy is on the lower level - I have a 50cm Sergio green Platy from the 2023 run, set up with Schwalbe tires, the Nitto medium rear rack and a dyno Atlas wheelset, no front  rack, and it is one of my heaviest bikes, only matched by my 46cm dyno Appa with a Mark’s rack in front and a Nitto x Crust rear rack, they are both in the 35-36lb range

[reynoldslugs]

BTW Leah, what is that Front Derailleur?

Apologies if that info is covered in the thread above, I didn’t see it.

Thanks

Max Beach

Santa Rosa CA

[Leah Peterson]

Huh. I had no idea. It’s an IRD Sub-C . I had to look!

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 16, 2025, at 10:55 AM, reynoldslugs <be...@perrylaw.net> wrote:

BTW Leah, what is that Front Derailleur?

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[Johnny Alien]

When I used to run more than a 1X that was my favorite FD. For the Riv endorsed gear ranges there is none better IMO