Sam Hillborne Build + Reaction

[Aaron Schmidt]

Well, I'll heap the usual accolades on my SH. I'm enjoying it!

Here are some pics. (You'll notice I hadn't put corks in the bar ends
yet.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronschmidt/sets/72157627576754086/with/6105884073/

It is replacing a LHT and I'm really pleased that, with my Thumbies
set up the way they are, all it'll take to put a new stem/drop bar on
is a quick switch of brake cables/housing. Probably a 10 minute job.
Once I can find some gum/silver Cane Creeks (hey, anyone have some to
sell me?) I'll get that option going.

In case you're curious, it weighs 29 pounds as built. Whether it is
the missing few pounds, the design, or nicer tubes, it feels more
sprightly than the LHT.

The E3 Triple is fantastic and the SONdeluxe is powering it just
fine.

I had my bars set way high at first and the bike felt extremely
twitchy. It actually felt more stable riding with no hands! I lowered
the bars about an inch and the problem was totally resolved.

I've got a Loyal Designs bag on order. Yay. Besides this, I need to
get a setback seat post. The narrowing of the Brooks rails prevents me
from an ideal position.

Super pleased with my first Riv!

[Earl Grey]

Congrats. Looks lovely. I really like the new green. If you need to go
cheap on the seatpost, the VO one is very nice. I have misgivings
about a lot of VO products, but none about the seatpost.

Gernot

On Sep 2, 10:31 pm, Aaron Schmidt <librar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Well, I'll heap the usual accolades on my SH. I'm enjoying it!
>
> Here are some pics. (You'll notice I hadn't put corks in the bar ends
> yet.)
>

> http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronschmidt/sets/72157627576754086/with...

[Zack]

looks fantastic!  good stuff.

[Garth]

FWIW ... I was the opposite about the VO post! LoL..... I returned it. I really didn't trust it... as I thought the tiny head, the actual part that clamps on the seat rails .. was just too small. It's much smaller than any post I've seen lately ... it reminded me of posts from the CNC crazed days where minimal material was all the rage. Needless to say ... none stood the test of time.  Maybe it's okay... maybe not .... we all gotta judge these things for ourselves.

Interesting shifter placement Aaron!  I love eclectic set ups.  Happy riding:)

[islaysteve]

Great looking bike, Aaron, congratulations.  I agree with Earl (about the new green), at least i like the way the green looks in your pix better than others that I have seen  Enjoy!

[EricP]

Very nice looking bike build. As one who also has a LHT, yes, the
Rivendell is a much more nimble feeling bike. (Although I do prefer
the bars way up on mine.

Personally have had no problem with the VO seatpost. But am not using
it at present. Had it on my LHT but went back to a Nitto. Didn't
need the extra setback. But with Aaron's build, the Nitto wayback
would be just the ticket.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

[Jeremy Till]

Looks great!  How do you like the H Plus Son TB-14 rims?  Did you build them yourself?  I've been eyeing those for future roadie builds.

[Minh]

Looks great, if you can swing the money i say get the Nitto, after
messing with some cheapie seat-posts (no the VO) and picking up a
Nitto, you can see why Rivendell sell so many. Is the E3 triple too
much light? I thought it was really meant for trail-riding. Did
you do the build-up? Still waiting to cut the stays on the Marks
Rack?

[Aaron Schmidt]

Too much light? Is there such a thing? :P

I don't think I'm in danger of blinding motorists but if I had my
druthers the light would have a blinking mode for city riding.
Hopefully the bright light won't cause oncoming motorists to have
target fixation! It is indeed a popular light for MTB riding but I
don't see any reason to not use it on the road, really.

Good eye on the stays. Once my bag comes and I've fitted it and I'm
100% satisfied with the setup they'll get the chop.

[Aaron Schmidt]

The rims seem fantastic. Welded, double eyeleted, a counter weight and
super shiny! I've not ridden them before so we'll see if they take a
bunch of miles. I didn't build these but the report is that they came
together without much fuss.

[Rex Kerr]

What did you use to space the rear fender from the kickstand plate?  Looks like valve stem nuts. :-)

Also... what's the deal with the counterweight?  I can't imagine that it's there for the same purpose as weight on car tires, as the valve stem hole's weight loss would be more than countered by variations in the tire....

As for the other comments on the VO seatpost... I have their two bolt model, and it looks nice, but it's a bit hard to get it right.  If the top plate doesn't directly align with the bottom it'll loosen and the saddle will creak.  I'm actually not sure how might to tighten it down, it doesn't seem to have a natural affinity for a certain amount of torque like a single bolt seatpost.

-Rex

[stevep33]

Nice job with the lights. I really like how the E3 taillight fits behind the seat cluster.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronschmidt/6106429018/in/photostream

[Aaron Schmidt]

Thanks! I need to find a volunteer to ride this bike so I can ride
behind and see how bright that thing really is!

[Aaron Schmidt]

On Sep 7, 12:16 pm, Rex Kerr <rexk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> What did you use to space the rear fender from the kickstand plate?  Looks
> like valve stem nuts. :-)

Yep. Precisely. Turns out that they're decent spacers.

>
> Also... what's the deal with the counterweight?  I can't imagine that it's
> there for the same purpose as weight on car tires, as the valve stem hole's
> weight loss would be more than countered by variations in the tire....

I think it is opposite the weld in the rim but you'd think that the
valve stem might be enough to offset the weld. I dunno if it is very
effective but it is a nice looking detail.

>
> As for the other comments on the VO seatpost... I have their two bolt model,
> and it looks nice, but it's a bit hard to get it right.  If the top plate
> doesn't directly align with the bottom it'll loosen and the saddle will
> creak.  I'm actually not sure how might to tighten it down, it doesn't seem
> to have a natural affinity for a certain amount of torque like a single bolt
> seatpost.

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty partial to Thomson posts (never ever
had a problem, not even coming loose and the adjustability is great)
but might branch and get a two bolt Nitto.

>
> -Rex