Nice bike, nice story, great pictures and good notes on the pictures. The notes really help to show the defelopment of the bike and rig. Makes me ( in snowy Massachusetts ) long for the ability to get out and ride. I am not as hardy (crazy?) as the guys from Minnesota or Vermont, who ride during winter. It may be snowing here today, but I know Spring is near. Thanks for the effort to share. Keep up the documentation. Jim D. Massachusetts
--- On Thu, 3/4/10, Way Rebb <grayc...@mac.com> wrote: From: Way Rebb <grayc...@mac.com> Subject: [RBW] My "old" Hillborne To: "RBW Owners Bunch" <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> Date: Thursday, March 4, 2010, 12:38 AM Hello, You folks seem like a fun group who might enjoy this. I thought I'd share some pics of my "old" Sam Hillborne…but first a story…no wait, the pics, skip the story: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wrebb/sets/72157623480171652/ Way back in 1982 or '83 I purchased a brand spanking new Lotus Eclair touring bike in Santa Cruz, CA. That bike served me well for many years. I don't know how many miles I put on it (tons) but I used it for school, work, grocery stores, camping, tearing through the hills, the valleys, rain or shine. I didn't take long tours but did ride every major, and most minor, roads/trails in Santa Cruz / Monterey Counties probably a zillion times. Fast forward 25 years to my recent move to Livermore, CA. This place is flat. Poor old bike couldn't take that much pedaling and neither could I. We were used to standing and charging up hills or getting low, butt back, flying down hills, very little long stretches where we just pedaled. Now, the bent chainring squawked, the bent rear derailed squawked, my knees hurt after 30 miles or so, my neck hurt, shoulders, bleah. After many adjustments and attempts to make the endless pedaling more comfortable I decided I needed a new bike. Naturally I went to a bicycle store. Unfortunately very few of the things they had with two wheels resembled a bicycle. I decided to hit garage sales and flea markets. Not much there either. The bikes were really beat up or aluminum mountain bikes or etc. I wanted a steel touring bike, one that I could put racks, bags, bungee cords on and haul stuff. Suddenly I remembered this web site I visited. I had purchased a couple of things in the past and I think they sold a bike called a… umm… Atlantic maybe? It took a while to find it but it was Rivendell. I saw they had the Hilsen. It was almost what I was looking for except it didn't have cantilevers. It made number 2 on my list. The Kogswell made number 2 on my list as did a couple of others but nothing made number 1 so far. After about four more months of garage sales I saw Rivendell announce the Hillborne. A bike between the Hilsen and Atlantis with cantilevers! Finally a strong possible number 1. In Dec 08 I took a ride out to Walnut Creek. My first visit to Rivendell and I was impressed. Very friendly people and seeing the bikes in person was awe inspiring! The one Hillborne was out but Kevin kept adjusting seat posts and saying here try this one (Atlantis), here try this one (Bombadill), here try this one (Hilsen) until the Hillborne was back. I think I spent the entire day riding up and down the trail with a huge smile on my face. When I got back on the Lotus to ride home I immediately knew what was wrong. The Lotus was way to small. It was like riding a circus tricycle. I put a deposit on a Hillborne that day and picked it up in June of '09 and have been riding ever since with no pain. The Hillborne feels like a luxury bike I can really stretch out on. It takes the flats, hills, streams, roads, ruts, fence posts, everything like butter on a duck. The pictures sorta document the first six months and they are fun for me to look back on. I'm surprised by how many places I've been with the bike considering how little free time I have. It hasn't been just back and forth to work. Bikes are a great way to get around and a comfortable bike is even better. Thank you for putting up with my story. -Ray -- 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-bu...@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. -- 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-bu...@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.
