Lovely, and I'm sure the evolution will be fun and rewarding. 3 comments: - Regarding tnose curious about the shifters on the inside as opposed to outside. Be aware that IF you go this route for the first time, you lose indexing. You need friction shifters, or at least the capability to switch to friction mode. If you want indexing (I like the option personally) you either need to keep the shifters topside, or set up your bike so that the rear shifts on the left and the front on the right, which most of us are probably unwilling to do. Also, I'm a huge fan of Microshift thumbies which have basically made the Paul Thumbie/Shimano bar-end cobo obsolete. Microshift thumbies can switch to friction. Sunrace thumbies do NOT have a friction mode, at least the 9-speed ones I've used, and the action is not as crisp and precise as the Microshift thumbies.
- You do NOT need to solder your shortened dyno wires. Go to an auto part store and get some of the insulated wire connectors they use for stereos and other low voltage installations. As long as you can strip the ends of the wires and crimp the connectors, that's all you need. And yes, get some heat-shrink tubing to seal the job once you have your wires trimmed and hooked back up. Finally, when I was specing my custom Bantam earlier this year (which has internal wiring for the rear light) I really wanted that SON rear light on my fender. But I always run a saddlebag. Always. And on this bike the SON sat high enough on the fender I was worried the bag would block it - also why I didn't go with a seatpost mounted rear light like many randos use. On the Platypus it looks like the longer wheelbase makes that a non-issue. My guess is you could run a fairly large saddlebag without blocking the light. I went with this Spanninga https://spanninga.com/product/pixeo/ which doesn't look as cool as the SON light but sits much lower on the fender. Mike M On Friday, November 27, 2020 at 8:14:32 PM UTC-8 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > [image: 6B8356C6-6B0A-4D84-8E77-DC9653BE0FB5.jpeg]What a day. The shop > called with an assortment of issues they are having in getting the polished > look they imagined. Thankfully, none of those things will keep the bike in > the shop. I picked it up today! There it was, amongst the full suspension > mountain bikes and the bros who were working on them. But I did not need to > feel sheepish - those guys raved about my unfortunately named Platypus. “We > all watched when it got taken out of the box,” Adam said, “And we were so > impressed.” I think for folks who never do dyno or rendering, they did a > nice job. I broke them in with my Clem’s dyno this summer, and they > remembered. I am glad the most intense parts of building my bikes are over > for them; I know they put a lot of time into these jobs and there was a > learning curve for them. > > Their issues were these: > 1. Too much dyno wire. It is looped and tucked away by the kickstand plate > for now, but one guy is comfortable cutting/soldering the wire and could do > it in the future, by appointment. > > 2. The mechanic mashed the “head tube collar” (did I say it right?) with > his rather old wrench and has ordered a new one to replace it, free of > charge. > > 3. My NItto Big Rear Rack, size medium will NOT fit on this bike. I’ll > call Rivendell and ask about the large. Such a shame; that was one of the > parts I saved from my Betty Foy. > > My issues are these: > 1. My teal and rose anodized valve stems and caps are in transit from > Analog, so I will need the shop to install them when they arrive. (My tires > are tubeless, so the tape will be disturbed. I’m not attempting that > myself!) > > 2. I forgot to explain about the Microshift thumbies. The shop set them up > right and I wanted them set up wrong. If you don’t know what I mean, > Rivendell switches the Microshift thumbies around for a completely > ergonomic experience. I’d have never known about it but Lovely Bicycle > discovered it on her black Clementine. So, I got home, noticed they are all > wrong and therefore cannot set up my bars yet. No mirror, bell, iPhone > mount, NOTHING. A real handicap. > > 3. There is an intermittent rattle coming from somewhere near the front > wheel. I dread explaining it to them but I can’t live with it, so I hope > they find it. > > I bought the frame and parts from Rivendell and the wheelset, fenders, > dyno lighting and pedals from Analog. Everyone did a lovely job. The build > from Rivendell was pretty standard. I stayed with my favorite aluminum > Bosco bars and got white Ergon grips for them. Analog did a lot of fun > things with color for the bike; we decided on teal and rose for my > raspberry frame. For wheels, we initially chose Velocity Quill rims with > rose anodizing. Unfortunately, Velocity was so backordered that my > September order would not arrive until middle of December. So, I went with > polished silver. That took a big piece of our rose out of the frame, which > was unfortunate. We still incorporated it in our Edelux light, bottle cage > bolts and caps for the valve stems. We anodized the Spank Oozy pedals in > teal (and don’t those wide pedals look like Platypus feet?), as well as the > headset spacers. Spoke nipples and valve stems. We kept the hubs silver and > I even splurged for the SON dyno hub. I ordered a Spurcycle bell, a custom > color Randi Jo bag (not here yet) and a grey grid Banana Sax. I think that > about covers it! > > I took the bike for an 11 mile ride tonight, up and down Killer Hill. This > bicycle is a completely different animal (ha! Platypus puns!). It’s nothing > like my Clementine, even though it has the same 52 Bosco bars and Ergon > grips. Mounting a Platypus is like climbing into your SUV when you’ve been > used to your minivan. Those 700c wheels sit you up nice and tall, and the > bike is shorter in length than the Clementine, more compact. I find the > Platypus to be agile; I never try a sharp turn on my Clem; it would be akin > to trying to turn a long boat sharply. > > After only 11 miles I can only offer my impressions, but I may not hold to > them once I get more miles under my wheels. > > The Platypus is just easy. It climbs really nicely, accelerates easily and > is just the fanciest darn bike I’ve ever seen. But it isn’t a doily. You’ll > be amused to know the first thing I did was kick the top tube with my boot > heel in the parking lot. (The mark rubbed off.) After riding nearly 3,000 > miles on a step through this year, that mixte tube is going to take getting > used to. My husband said the bike is really fancy; the prettiest details > he’s ever seen. But it’s not a retro show bike - it’s a bike that looks > like it is actually going to be ridden. > > I have lots of adjustments ahead of me; I remember wishing I could just > get my Clem figured out and then leave it alone. Adjustments or no, I can > already tell this is a fantastic bike. Betty than the Betty. Different than > the Clementine. I have 150 miles to make my 3,000 mile goal. I’m planning > to hit that 3,000th mile on my Raspberry Riv. > > I’ll attach more photos and a video in the post following this one. > > Thanks so much for cheering us on, > Leah > > > -- 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]. 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