Roger, That first ride is magical, I remember so well my first ride on Homer...it's only gotten better. Very striking Hillborne especially the white saddle and bar tape. I don't know why but I love the look of an "M" bar or Albastache. Enjoy in good health.
~Hugh On Sunday, March 30, 2014 10:50:07 AM UTC-7, Roger wrote: > > I’ve been a Rivendell member since 1997. I’ve outfitted my bikes in > Rivendell-inspired ways with many Riv-bought parts, and during the time > that Rivendell frames only came out at a trickle and there was a year long > waiting list for the Longlow I wanted in 1999, I even used Riv specs as > possible on my Mercians. But I’ve never actually had a Rivendell frame > until now. > > On Friday I took out for a first ride the Sam Hillborne 62cm in Sage Green > that I picked up recently. I built it up with parts on hand as possible, > and it came out as Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Almost > Blue. > > Something Old > > The first talk I had with Grant in 1997 was about how I just couldn’t > relate to index shifting and 8 speeds – and I was indignant that there was > 9 and rumors of 10 speeds about to further complicate my life. He suggested > a Phil 7 speed, 135 oln hub for the bike I had then. I’ve built that hub as > both a 26” and 700c wheel for a few different bikes over the years. It > still rolls very smoothly and, a new 13-28 freewheel cluster, I’m glad to > bring that first bond with Rivendell on board this bike. > > Something New > > I’ve been told that derailers have improved in the last twenty years, so > have current models of Deore rear and CX-70 front derailers. Sam also has > the long reach Tektro calipers that made him possible as a non-cantilever > bike (not that I wouldn’t have preferred him as a cantilever…). I also am > so far liking the new Barlow tires. > > > > Something Borrowed > > I had intended and still may someday use a Sugino AT crank I had > squirreled away, but it turns out a 107mm bottom bracket comes with the > Hillborne. In order to streamline things and utilize this bottom bracket > already in there, I borrowed an old Ritchey Logic crank from the Vigorelli > , and cleaned up 46 and 34 tooth rings for it. Fits perfectly! And will > probably stay until I need some lower gears for a camping trip. > > Almost Blue > > Yep, it’s just got a nice ring in it to say almost blue. Also, the color > seems equally greenish-blue as bluish-green to me. I’ll call it Almost Blue. > > I’ve always liked Moustache Bars and wanted to start off this bike with > this maligned and recently abandoned bar. I’ve found over the years that > when I’m tinkering with bikes, they tend to shed barends, noodles, and > especially albatrosses, in favor of Moustache Bars and DT shifters. > Unfortunately, Sam doesn’t support downtubers, so we’ll see how that works > out. > > First ride was 15 miles of positive. I need the bars a little > higher/closer than the stem on hand allows, and I’m not sure about the > plethora of cables to reach through to get to the front bag (even though I > like the non-aero Superbe levers otherwise). I also need to get that saddle > back a little farther. > Good Times! > > Photos of Almost Blue Sam Sitting on the Dock of the > Bay:<https://www.flickr.com/photos/56856126@N02/sets/72157643167142163/> > > Roger > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
