I have a 56 Homer I bought through this list. As others have said the AHH is a really lovely bike. Whether or not its what you are looking for may depend on what you mean when you say "springy" or "responsive flexible tubing". If you are wanting the flex of a standard tube diameter thin wall frame that some associate with "planing", then the Homer may not be for you.
The AHH tubing is somewhat lighter than the Hillborne or Atlantis. I think mine weighs about 7lbs (frame, fork, headset and binder bolt), which I believe is about 1.5 lbs more than a Rodeo. Like other Riv's the tubes are "oversized". I think my bike is quite lively and very responsive, but I don't think the folks who wax on about planing and thin walled standard sized tubes would favor the AHH. I used to ride a late 70's Nobilette built frame with then standard sized 531 tubes (still have it just don't ride it much). When jumping or climbing hard I believe I felt the frame flexing. I didn't really feel one way or the other about that. I really liked that bike. My next frame was an ~1980 Gios that had a shorter wheelbase and short beefy stays. I was struck by how direct and immediate the connection between the pedals and the contact patch of the rear tire was, and I really liked that. The handling was also very precise and very responsive, which was kinda great (particularly riding crits and such). I immediately much preferred the Gios for the riding I was doing at the time, though it was kinda unforgiving and perhaps not so great (still have that bike too). When I got my Homer the first real ride I took had me thinking of Will Smith in 4th of July yelling "I have got to get me one of these". It was (and still is) comfy. It's handling was (and still is) responsive and precise without seeming the least bit twitchy, and the sense of immediate and direct connection between pushing on the pedals and the bike jumping foreword was (and still is) every bit as strong and solid as the Gios. Since I changed tires from 32s to 42s the handling seems a bit more stable or slightly less quick but I still like it a lot. The next tires I buy for it will probably be 38s. I frequently ride with a group in which my AHH is the only non MCFRB. Sometimes one of the guys will say its amazing what I can do on that bike. I tell them the bike is not a handicap, though my fat belly is. I also ride it wherever I want. Paved roads, fire roads, wide trails, single track. The MCFRB guys I ride with seem unwilling to venture off the pavement on those bikes. Once when I said I had ridden a route they were saying you couldn't do on a road bike the response was "yea but that bike goes anywhere". On Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 2:51:40 AM UTC-8, Daniel Jackson wrote: > > Many other Rivs get a lot of press here, but I really haven't heard much > on the Homer. Curious about the ride of this bike - it's liveliness as > compared to an Atlantis or Hillborne. Is its tubing relatively lighter? Is > it a softer feel? Is it more beautiful? > > Considering one as my all round dirt road bike and looking for something > springy with centerpulls and clearance for 38s with fenders. > On Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 4:09:43 PM UTC-8, Daniel Jackson wrote: > > Thank you all for your considered ideas on this bike - its great to hear > more about it. > > I'm considering it among the Riv lineup as a potential dirt road > randonneuring/pass hunting bike. I live and ride at the top of VT in the > Northeast Kingdom - if you look at a map, there aren't really any major > roads. Its a very rural area, I'm sure there aren't any other Riv bikes, > and every ride I do is 95% dirt road. I want something that works well with > a front load (15 lbs. or so) and has responsive, flexible tubing. I'm long > and lean at 6' 3", 175 lbs. > > I'm attracted to the Homer because it seems like it might be the bike in > Riv's lineup that has the lightest tubing for a bike with good tire > clearances ( at least 38 is mandatory for the roads I ride) and center > pulls. > > Any other ideas? If I want a Riv, is this the bike for me? > > With a PBH of 90, should I go for the 61 or the 63? > > Thanks folks. Always wonderful having the list's input. > > On Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 6:33:17 PM UTC-5, ttoshi wrote: >> >> I have a Homer, Ram (650b for brevets) and a Roadeo, so I am leaning to >> the lively side of Riv bikes. I weigh 150 and have a 54 cm 650b Homer. I >> have ridden it on a 600k brevet with PariMoto tires and it did great. >> After I converted my Ram to 650b (with 42 mm Hetres), I converted the Homer >> to my deluxe commuter with rear rack etc. I find the Homer rides with some >> spring and flex when I load it up with about 20 lbs of groceries/commute >> bags, so I suppose if you weigh 170, the Homer could be ideal (although the >> weight distribution would be different than with rear bags). >> >> Much like the Sam, I think the Homer fits between the brevet/club bike >> and the credit card tourer. A wonderful bike no doubt!! >> >> Toshi >> >> >> On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 3:04 PM, William R. <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> That's awesome. I don't recall seeing that before. Get one if you can! >>> >>> Bill in Westchester, NY >>> >>> -- >>> 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. >>> >> >> -- 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.
