Interesting question. The way it is posed makes it sound as though there is a checklist you can look at to compare point by point, then tally it up and somehow calculate whether the additional cost is worth it. But most bicycles generally don't work in that linear fashion. It truly is the old "whole greater than the sum of the parts" cliche. And what is going to work best for any particular rider.
While I've been a customer of Rivendell for a long time, until recently, I never had one of their bikes, for two main reasons.First is I like older bikes, and I generally don't like buying things new if I don't have to. Second, I always felt I could get close to Rivendell ride quality with the older bikes. But in the last, I don't know, 10 years or so, that is probably not as true, especially for the Hillibikes and the newer iterations of some of the older models. When my Susie's fork arrives and meets its frame and gets shipped across the country, I will have 3 Rivendells, all Hillies. The happy part, while subjective, does say a lot. My Clem L makes me a little happier I suppose than my 1984 Trek 830. For no particular reasons that could be ticked off a list--certainly not because I paid way more for it, or because it's in better condition. A more luxurious, deliberate but still plenty peppy ride feel, maybe would describe a difference? The Clems are based on old vintage mtbs like the 830, and lots of Surlys take design cues from Rivendells. If there was no Clem L, I would be blissfully riding around on my not as nice Trek. I'm sure the Surly does everything you could want it to do, and gives you some happiness to boot. The Rivendell might give you additional happiness, as reported by others here. As long as you are not constantly worrying if it will get stolen or damaged. But that's an inside job! Good luck. On Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at 10:49:00 AM UTC-4, Jeffrey Sincich wrote: > > Hi all! I am considering finally upgrading from my Surly Cross-Check to a > Sam Hillborne. Has anyone done this, and if so, what are the improvements? > Were you happy you did so? I currently ride a 54cm Corss-Check. I mainly > commute to work, but some short bike tours are in the future. Thanks in > advance! > > -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/c8d78f8f-6375-4df3-b742-d04c5177f1a7o%40googlegroups.com.
