The original (green) QuickBeam was something of a departure for Rivendell. It was not from Waterford or Toyo or a custom builder or their usual sources. It came from Panasonic and it came at what most of us original buyers considered to be a pretty good price, especially for a Rivendell-badged complete bike. I think Grant mentioned at the time that Panasonic is a much larger bike builder than his other sources and the completely-hand-made-one-at-a-time (Toyo) element was not as present in the Panasonic product as it is in a Toyo build. It was only after riding it for a while that I realized just what an incredible deal it was - just a great bike with SS/fixed interchangeability in the same set up by just flipping the rear wheel and the cleverness of two rings up front. My only complaint was the brake pads which I quickly changed out for salmon colored Kool Stops.
The best way Panasonic and Rivendell could maximize profit and efficiently move a then-unknown item out the door was to offer a complete package with a known profit on each unit and hope that all the units would sell. Not to worry, they did. Plus, with Noodle bars, canti brakes, the flip-flop hub and Grant's clever slanted rear drop-outs (to accommodate proper rear brake/rim alignment no matter where in the drop-out the rear wheel is placed) what might a prospective buyer want that was not already part of a highly specific bike/package? The only thing I could think of might be the White Industries dual-cog freewheel (17/19) set up. No reason to add that to the original - let the buyer decide and get it wherever they wish. Pedals and saddle were an option that RBW could fill for you as always. It was an experiment that worked well. Now they have brought it back and one difference is the newer QuickBeams are not from Panasonic. http://g7.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Rivendell-QuickBeam-a-single/5313029_aT43h#328419525_cbyrs-X3-LB Cheers, -jb On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 10:21 AM, Mojo <gjtra...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > They used to be offered as complete bikes,or frame only (I am from the > school that the fork IS the frame). I ordered my green as frame only. > I suppose their are just a few Qs available right now and they are > built up. > > On Nov 7, 8:16 am, stevep33 <steve...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Just curious, does anyone know why you can't buy just the Quickbeam > > frame and fork? All other models are available as a frame and fork, > > but the Quickbeam is sold complete. > > > > btw, is anyone looking to sell a 56 Quickbeam? > > > -- John Blish Minneapolis MN USA --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
