What Your Bike Wants To Be

[Ted Durant]

I'm an inveterate tinkerer with my bikes, always wanting to try out this or that. Between current bikes and designing a new bike, though, I have a recurring thought that flitters across my mind, "what does this bike want to be?" Most bike frames are designed with particular components, and a particular kind of riding, in mind. Often that's explicitly in the mind of the designer, but sometimes it's just in the background, lurking in the designer's subconscious. 

I have a new bike in process, and it's going to replace my Waterford ST-22, which is my befendered, belighted, handlebar bag toting long-distance bike. Meanwhile, I have a Rivendell custom (Joe^3 - Joe Starck, Joe Bell, Joe Young) road bike and the Heron Road prototype, which are for all intents and purposes identical frames. So, I've differentiated them by putting a Campy Daytona group on the Riv and calling it my "fast group ride" bike, and putting classic components on my Heron, calling it my "slow Sunday ride" bike. But, all my PR's are on the Heron. I'm tempted to swap all the Campy Daytona over to the Heron, but not yet.

For now I think the Heron wants to be classic. Someday maybe I'll truck it out to LA and do Chuck's Velo Retro Rose Bowl ride with it. Chuck designed the graphics, so I know he'd be chuffed. Anyway, that's a way to long buildup to the photo attached. Years ago, knife-maker and friend-of-Rivendell Tim Zowada made some leather brake hoods for us. I had them on a bike for a long time, but then they went in a box and sat there for a while. The Aero Gran Compe levers they were made for went away on another bike. For my new bike, I thought about those brake hoods, so I snagged some very clean AGC brake levers off eBay. We ended up going a different direction for the new bike, but I didn't want the levers and hoods to sit in a box, so they went on the Heron. But, they seemed at odds with the TRP dual-pivot fancy calipers, so I pulled one of my last remaining pairs of NOS Cyclone brakes out of the bin and mounted those, too.  The brake hoods are fabulous, but, honestly, I like the feel of other brake levers better.  

On the way back from today's 100km ride on the Heron, Kurt and I encountered a pretty big group of lycra/carbon/serious guys. We rode for them for a little bit (at 45kph), and they all made lots of oohs and aahs over the Heron. They might still have made those comments if it had the Daytona group on it, but I don't know.

Old Cyclone derailers, Silver DT shifters, Grand Cru Drillum crankset, Phil hubs, MA2 rims. This is what a Grant-designed road bike looked like 30 years ago, except of course that it's missing the brown Brooks B17. I'm pretty sure it's what the Heron wants to be. 

Ted Durant 

Milwaukee WI USA

[Jason Fuller]

This is an interesting topic for me, because I find myself seasonally swapping parts around on my Hillborne and Bombadil and I think what you describe is exactly one of the two directions I am pulled in. The other is 'what I want to do with this bike'. They aren't entirely different, but different enough that I find myself swapping my Noodle bar from one to the other every year or so, along with a compliment of parts. I do always end up getting pulled back to 'what the bike wants to be'.  

In the case of most more modern Rivendells though, the bike WANTS to be your only bike, the bike you take everywhere and anywhere, that becomes a daily companion. This, of course, is usually at odds with the fact most of us tend to have a variety of bikes for different occasions. I think this is partly how I end up yo-yo'ing between the two situations above. 

[Brent Eastman]

I love that your PRs are on those composite pedals. They are great pedals.

[Ted Durant]

On May 11, 2025, at 10:39 AM, Brent Eastman <brenton...@gmail.com> wrote:

I love that your PRs are on those composite pedals. They are great pedals.

Well, not all my PRs are on those pedals. Until a couple of a years ago I was an Eggbeater user. I’m not at all slower on flat pedals, though, and over any decent distance I’m way more comfortable.

Light, grippy, great bearings, and cheap. One of the few bike components you can buy that checks all the boxes. 

Ted Durant

Milwaukee, WI USA

[Patrick Moore]

I can’t even imagine maintaining 45 kph for more than 1/2 mile. I recall cranking up to 27.5 mph long ago as an energetic 35 year old (tho’ cigarette smoker) for ~ 1/4 mile to stay ahead of a very obliging semi-truck across a very narrow bridge and I would not have been able to keep it much much longer. Perhaps riding in a group is different?

Patrick “if I can average 15 mph now at twice the age I’m happy” Moore