# Now I am excited



## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

because, finally after 2.5 years the custom Rivendell is at last ready to be shipped. Back in December, I seriously considered canceling my order, but it is now painted and everything. Mark from Rivendell sent me a few pics. Now I just have to decide how to build it up.


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## rcnute (Dec 21, 2004)

Looks cool. What about it differs from the stock design?


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2008)

Beautiful indeed.

Look forward to seeing the rest.

Q for you - unrelated to the Riv. Does anyone in Van. sell Nitto bars and stems?


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

rcnute said:


> Looks cool. What about it differs from the stock design?


Not much really. It is sized for me (though I probably would have fit a standard Rambouillet), it is painted by Joe Bell, it has fancier lugs and has bosses for a french style front rack. It is designed for "long" (or standard, depending on your point of view) side pull brakes. I am nearly positive it will sport 28c tires with Honjo fenders, some Berthoud bags (have some of those already) and various Nitto bits (have some of those as well). Main decision still is the drivetrain. A triple for sure (as this bike will be used for long days in the saddle) and I just can't decide if I want downtube shifters or not.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

toomanybikes said:


> Q for you - unrelated to the Riv. Does anyone in Van. sell Nitto bars and stems?


Hmm, I don't know. I am sure that Mighty Riders would bring them in. I don't think Ed has any in stock right now, but I could be wrong. They do tend to carry some interesting lines (he often has Schmidt hubs and lights for example).


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

oarsman said:


> Not much really. It is sized for me (though I probably would have fit a standard Rambouillet), it is painted by Joe Bell, it has fancier lugs and has bosses for a french style front rack. It is designed for "long" (or standard, depending on your point of view) side pull brakes. I am near positive it will sport 28c tires with Honjo fenders, some Berthoud bags (have some of those already) and various Nitto bits (have some of those as well). Main decision still is the drivetrain. A triple for sure (as this bike will be used for long days in the saddle) and I just can't decide if I want downtube shifters or not.



If you decide against downtube shifters, make sure you use Campy ergo. A bike like that doesn't need extra exposed cables. Nashbar has been closing out 06 alloy centaur stuff. Silver components would look good.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

#1 One of the many nice things about D/T shifters is that they have no cable housing to scuff up your head tube. On a painted frame that pretty=a big consideration.

#2 That long wait is one of the reasons why I ride Waterfords and Miss M has only 1 Rivendell and 3 Waterfords. The frames are sweet but that wait........

#3 Joe Bell sure paints pretty.

#4 I'm happy for you-waiting is always the hardest part.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Beautiful. How does the custom price compare to a Rambouillet, Homer Hilson or similar stock Riv frames? The stock geometry for the Rambo and HH are actually pretty close to my needs.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

tarwheel2 said:


> Beautiful. How does the custom price compare to a Rambouillet, Homer Hilson or similar stock Riv frames? The stock geometry for the Rambo and HH are actually pretty close to my needs.


US$1,500 for Rambouillet/Hilsen/Atlantis/Saluki

US$2,700+ for custom.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Cool bike. I'm throwing around the idea of a more touring friendly ride for commuting to eventually diplace the Gios in my stable. 

But seriously, two and a half years? WTF? That can't be standard, even for custom, can it?


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

Pablo said:


> But seriously, two and a half years? WTF? That can't be standard, even for custom, can it?


Well, shorter than some builders (Rivendell [Grant Peterson] designed the frame; Mark Nobilette built it). But there are many custom builders that will do it a lot more quickly.


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

**BLINGBLING**

Schweet!


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

That's about a good as it gets. I just don't know that I could wait that long.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

jd3 said:


> I just don't know that I could wait that long.


I wasn't sure I could wait that long either. But, I have a few other bikes that have kept me amused.


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## Zero Signal (Feb 8, 2008)

Why did it take so long? How can they stay in business that way?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Zero Signal said:


> Why did it take so long? *How can they stay in business that way*?


One always wonders that about Rivendell.

The answer is of course low overhead and stoking demand by keeping quality high and supply low. Well, that plus not really intending to do more than earn a fair living for about 10 people.


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

Zero Signal said:


> Why did it take so long? How can they stay in business that way?


that's longer than I'd wait but probably not unreasonable. if you'd like to see unreasonable wait time, head over to mtbr and look at the matt chester debacle.


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## KeeponTrekkin (Aug 29, 2002)

*It's a beauty...*

BTW, did Joe Bell paint the work stand and the dumpster too?:lol: 

They look pretty good too, even without artful lugs....


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

KeeponTrekkin said:


> BTW, did Joe Bell paint the work stand and the dumpster too?:lol:
> 
> They look pretty good too, even without artful lugs....


They both are a fetching blue, aren't they? And I bet the dumpster has some very stylish rivets.


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

Zero Signal said:


> Why did it take so long? How can they stay in business that way?


Your kidding right. A lot of custom builders have wait times twice as long. Now you can't even get on Vanilla's waiting list.

It is easy to stay in business as a custom builder when you have that many orders. 

It is not like the folks at Rivendell were just sitting around for two years and then finally decided to build him a bike. There were a lot of people in front of him.


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## stinkydub (Aug 5, 2004)

That's gonna be a fabulous looking bike with that build and the honjo fenders (smooth or hammered?). Can't wait to see finished pics.
Good luck


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Wow ................................. wow.

Great headbadge. Beautiful paint. Hot lugs.

After a few months waiting for my IF I got to a point where I just thought I would never get it. 2.5 years??? Insanity.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

stinkydub said:


> That's gonna be a fabulous looking bike with that build and the honjo fenders (smooth or hammered?). Can't wait to see finished pics.
> Good luck


Hammered, I think. Together with grey Berthoud handlebar and saddlebag, a Schmidt Dynamo hub and one or two Schmidt lights.


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## JP (Feb 8, 2005)

Wow that's nice. It looks like you ride exactly my size, so when you want to get rid of it or get sick of that S&S Atlantis, let me know. ;-)

You probably have the lights already, but supposedly Schmidt is coming out with a killer LED this summer. 

I'm waiting on a box from Wisconsin.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*It's here!*

Frame got delivered to the office this morning. Colour is even better than it looked in the photos Rivendell sent me. I can barely stand it - I want to leave work, get it to my bike guy and start putting it all together. Suppose I better get the rest of the parts first. Have decided to use downtube shifters (have those), need to get a rear wheel built (phil wood hub maybe?), decide on freewheel or casette and figure out what cranks/chainrings I should use. Have everything else.

Will post pics once built.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

oarsman said:


> Suppose I better get the rest of the parts first. Have decided to use downtube shifters (have those), need to get a rear wheel built (phil wood hub maybe?), decide on freewheel or casette and figure out what cranks/chainrings I should use. Have everything else.


What the hell have you been doing the last 2 and a half years?


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

DrRoebuck said:


> What the hell have you been doing the last 2 and a half years?


Well, you wouldn't want to rush into these things, you know. 

I have been gradually collecting bits I like. I actually did not expect the frame for another couple of months. Rivendell told me in December or January that I could expect it in May or June. Given the time it took so far, I had mentally added a couple of months to that.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

oarsman said:


> Well, you wouldn't want to rush into these things, you know.
> 
> I have been gradually collecting bits I like. I actually did not expect the frame for another couple of months. Rivendell told me in December or January that I could expect it in May or June. Given the time it took so far, I had mentally added a couple of months to that.


Haha. When I was waiting for my IF, I had all the parts lined up under table in the living room. Probably made the wait more difficult, now that I think about it.


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2008)

DrRoebuck said:


> Haha. When I was waiting for my IF, I had all the parts lined up under table in the living room. Probably made the wait more difficult, now that I think about it.


Yep,

I am waiting for a custom and got busy ordering the parts right after I ordered the frame.

I keep moving that box of parts to further reaches of the house to get it out of my sight, every time I see it I start thinking about the frame that isn't here ( of course Spring isn't here, obviously, so I guess it doesn't matter )

But I trip over that box every once in a while and just kind of go - Aaagghhh .........


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

toomanybikes said:


> Yep,
> 
> I keep moving that box of parts to further reaches of the house to get it out of my sight, every time I see it I start thinking about the frame that isn't here ( of course Spring isn't here, obviously, so I guess it doesn't matter )
> 
> But I trip over that box every once in a while and just kind of go - Aaagghhh .........


I also have the added problem of living in a 645 square foot apartment... with three bikes (not counting the Riv, or the ancient track bike gathering dust in my storage locker), about five sets of skis and a dog. Space is at something of a premium...


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2008)

oarsman said:


> I also have the added problem of living in a 645 square foot apartment... with three bikes (not counting the Riv, or the ancient track bike gathering dust in my storage locker), about five sets of skis and a dog. Space is at something of a premium...


In retrospect, that may have been a benefit .............


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

toomanybikes said:


> In retrospect, that may have been a benefit .............


Indeed... it is somewhat disconcerting to imagine what I could fit in, say a basement (hmmm, or a bedroom for that matter - my apartment is one room)


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

oarsman said:


> Indeed... it is somewhat disconcerting to imagine what I could fit in, say a basement (hmmm, or a bedroom for that matter - my apartment is one room)


Live in a tiny apartment and blow all your money on bikes and other gear? I truly dig your style. :thumbsup:


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

DrRoebuck said:


> Live in a tiny apartment and blow all your money on bikes and other gear? I truly dig your style. :thumbsup:


Yep: bikes, skiing, gear and as many trips (mostly with a bike) as I can get away with.


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## daveIT (Mar 12, 2004)

I like the little detail around the bottle cage bolts. I'd like a bike that nice, but I beat the crap out of my bikes...hence my current LHT. I'd be scared to ride something that pretty! Enjoy it!!


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

*nice*

What a beautiful frame! I hope you have many happy miles when you get it built up.


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## KeeponTrekkin (Aug 29, 2002)

*Lighting options*

Peter White has a page on his website on the new Schmidt LED light. Another ref: http://ncrandonneur.blogspot.com/2008/04/celebrity-death-match-brewing-schmidt.html

I think generator powered LED lights blow the HID and halogen lights away. The Schmidt is still a great light due to its reflector, but it's beginning to look like the LED powered lights will have its range or more and wider coverage. Also, LED lights have, essentially, infinite life. No bulb burnout at night (happened to me once, I continued on my backup battery light.)

I ride with a single Schmidt light and a Cateye battery powered LED light and am waiting for the dust to settle with these new ones.

Congrats on a great looking bike.


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