Hi Carla, SHORT VERSION: Get one, you will love it.
LONG VERSION: I also have a Sam Hillborne, 55cm size, 700c wheels. Just bought it in 2016 from Rivelo here in Portland. I got one of the Complete Drop-Bar bikes. If it matters, they are now $100 less than when I bought mine, and I thought the original price was a good deal! I am a long-time roadie, and used to do triathlons semi-competitively. I still have an older Cannondale, 54cm, essentially a typical race-oriented road bike. I was looking for a do-it-all bike, one to basically ride and keep for life. I wanted one to commute, ride a century on, and go on gravel or occasional singletrack. Before I decided on the Sam, I considered other options. I looked at titanium bikes, then seriously at a carbon(!) framed gravel bike with disc brakes. However, I was always intrigued by Rivendells (since 2008 or so), and knew I had to at least try one. Finally, I test-rode a Sam Hillborne. It was a revelation. The Hillborne I tried had Albatross bars, but it felt fun - like bike riding as a kid! I first wanted an A Homer Hilsen, but the more all-around nature of the Hillborne won me over. The price was more affordable as well. I went with the Complete Drop-Bar bike. It had what I thought were pretty wide handlebars, 46cm bars for the 55cm frame size. In comparison, my Cannonade has 40cm bars, and I thought those fit me well. I got used to the wider bars quickly. I also got Grip King pedals, my first platform pedals since childhood. They were also a pleasant surprise. I now recommend platform pedals to all my cycling friends. No more looking for shoes, just hop on the bike and ride in whatever shoes you are wearing. At this time, all my rides have been less than 1.5 hours. I have the bike set-up in pretty much typical Rivendell fashion. I have fenders, a stand, a rear rack, bell, lights, etc. I really only feel the extra weight when riding uphill. The bike feels very stable, and a lot of fun to ride. In comparison to my "road" bike, I particularly like the wider tires and the full fenders. I still have mixed thoughts on the non-indexed bar-end shifters (I am so used to brifters and indexed downtube shifters), but I really like the triple crank. I am thinking of trying out a mustache handlebar next and looking forward to some gravel or off-road riding this Spring. FWIW, I have not ridden my Cannonade since getting my Sam. I still intend to keep both bikes, and I am currently building up a vintage steel (lugged) rigid 26" MTB. As long as you know what the Sam Hillborne is, and isn't, I really think you will enjoy it. Whatever Rivendell you decide to get, you will find yourself riding more than ever. I am certainly glad I got mine. Hope that helps. Ride Safely, Beaverton Bob On Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 4:18:50 PM UTC-8, Carla Waugh wrote: > > Hello Sam owners I'm thinking about purchasing a Sam for retirement partly > price mostly because it's a Rivendell and lugged. I have one other bike > it's a custom 650B and I know the Sam is a 700c. Ideas? Thoughts? Thanks -- 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.
