Here's why I said Riv-ish - 1) Bamboo handle (seems to fit in with the whole tweed/leather/steel theme at Riv) 2) Lifetime warranty- according to the company, they'd rather fix it than have it end up in a landfill 3) They donate a portion of the profits to environmental groups 4) Catalog is 100 percent post-consumer (Like the Bridgestone Catalogs)
I'm sounding like a shill for the company, but I'm not. Really. I think the issue we might debate is whether form meets function. And that is in fact what I'll test out. You might rule out aesthetics for a bike pump, but if you've got a $4000 Rivendell, you can't say that aesthetics don't influence your decisions. I've always felt that Rivendell has had a hard time straddling this line. Sure, they advocate using simple zip ties to fasten a basket to your bike. "Hey, you don't need anything fancy! A plastic zip tie gets the job done better than anything else!" And then—they sell tweed bags. Ride through some mud and discover how fun it is to clean those suckers. Practical is plastic. Practical is an Ortileb bag. Just wash it off. Maybe a $500 Joe Bell paint job will last longer than others, but really, do you need cream accents on the lugs? Plastic SKS fenders, yes. Easier to put on and maybe longer lasting than Honjos, according to Grant. That's practical. But we'll top 'em off with some leather mud flaps. I think Grant would fully admit that he wants something completely practical—that's part of his sales pitch, and philosophy—but he's an aesthete too. Sure, lugs might be the secret to a very long-lasting bicycle, but do you need to spec them with asymmetrical hearts? Is a Sackville trunk sack worth $108, even if it is "the most handsome we've ever seen", according to Grant? Listen, this pump could be a hunk 'o junk. I just got it in the mail today. I'm going to try it out tomorrow. I needed something small to fit in my Keven's bag (canvas) and this one seemed like it could do the trick. If I get a flat at night and it takes me forever to pump it up with the Poco, I'll ditch it. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
