I know the Joe Appaloosas seem to be all the rage right now — not to mention all the hubbub with the Hubbuhubbuh and the Rosco Bubbe — but I thought I’d share details and impressions of my recent Clem build.
<https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fq5zzwyTy-o/VyawxQfbI5I/AAAAAAAAA3M/Vq7u6pD-TGYxBzGMV0mnFyc9ardtBdOvwCLcB/s1600/Clem%2BSmall.jpg> This bike will be used mainly for local transportation, running errands, and various on- and off-road exploration — in other words, your basic utility bike. While I’ve purchased quite a few parts, accessories, and miscellaneous non-bike stuff from Rivendell over the past few years — plus, I eat bacon/don’t jog and just ride :) — this is my first experience with an actual Rivendell frame. I went for a minimalistic and utilitarian drivetrain with this one: a single narrow-wide chainring up front and an 8-speed cassette in the rear, friction shifted via a handlebar-mounted thumbie. Here are the build specs: - Frameset: Clem Smith Jr., 52-cm - Headset, BB, and seatpost: Included with frame - Crankset: Sugino XD2 - Chainring: Wolf Tooth Drop-Stop, 110 BCD, 34T - Cassette: Shimano, 8-speed, 11-34T - Rear derailleur: Shimano XT 780 - Shifter: Sunrace One-At-a-Time thumbie - Chain: SRAM PG870 8-speed - Pedals: VP VP-001 Thin Gripsters - Front hub: Shutter Precision SV-8 dynamo - Rear hub: Shimano XT T780 - Rims: Grand Bois, 32h - Spokes/nipples: Wheelsmith DB14 - Tires: Schwalbe Big Ben Race Guard, 650B x 48 - Handlebar: Nitto Bullmoose Bosco, Cromo Dullbrite 54cm - Brake levers: Shimano T610 - Brakes: Avid Single Digit 7 V-brakes - Saddle: Brooks B-17 - Headlight: Busch and Muller Lumotec IQ Premium Cyo - Taillight: Busch and Muller Toplight dyno - Rack: Pletscher Clem, with pannier rails and pump Some initial thoughts: - Despite this being Rivendell’s “budget” bike, I’m really impressed with the build quality of the frame. The lugwork at the seat cluster and fork crown is beautiful, and the fork itself has an elegant little bend to it. The paint job is just gorgeous, and the cream-painted lug windows and fork-crown top are a nice touch. I also appreciate that the frame has plenty of clearance to run wide tires, and it’s got lots of mounting points for fenders, racks, lights, etc. - It’s a big bike. Of course it’s the long top tube and chainstays, and the wingspan and rise of the Bullmoose Bosco handlebar add to the effect (not to mention the chain needing a few more links over what’s in a standard package). But it’s that long wheelbase — along with 48-mm (actual width is 45 mm) tires — that makes for a plush and comfortable ride. It also has a nice, stable feeling to it — it just goes where I want it to go in a well-balanced manner. And that long wheelbase also keeps my heels away from rear panniers. - I’m not entirely sold on the Bullmoose Bosco handlebar. I love the looks, and it provides for a nice upright position and great visibility for the dense and trafficky area I usually ride in, but I find that my wrists are not in an ideal position. It’s not a deal-breaker, but I wish I could rotate the bar downward just a tad. - I really like the Sunrace shifters. I’ve read that some haven’t been too happy with them, but mine work flawlessly; I haven’t had any ghost shifting or any other problems. Because of interference with the brake lever clamping bolt, I had to rotate the shifter to the top of the bar (and away from Rivendell’s usual method of mounting them), but it’s still easily accessible with my thumb. - The 1x8 drivetrain works really well, and I love the simplicity of the set-up. The 34-tooth chainring with the 11-34t cassette gives me a range of 26-81 gear inches, which is just right for the terrain I deal with and what I use the bike for, and the narrow-wide chainring does what it’s supposed to do — while I haven’t gone over really rough terrain yet, and I’m running only an 8-speed cassette, I have yet to drop a chain. All in all, I’m very happy with this bike, and I’m glad I took the leap of faith last year to jump on the pre-order special on the frame. The Clem is a great introduction to Rivendell bikes, and I’m now wondering if this might be the gateway drug to picking up more! More photos of the build can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/30490050@N04/albums/72157659062048963 Bob E Garwood, NJ -- 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
