Great post, Beth. I just reread the BQ article (its actually the Spring 2010 issue) and what a great couple of bikes you have! Congrats - really makes me want to go for a ride.
Aaron Young Rochester, NY On Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 2:30 PM, PATRICK MOORE <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > Photo, please! > > On Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 9:32 AM, Beth H <periwinkle...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > Enough of you are familiar with The Rivvy (my '99 LongLow) that I > > don't need to go into the background (for those who aren't see > > RivReader # 18 or the Summer 2010 Bicycle Quarterly). > > > > But here's the part of the history I haven't shared with folks. > > > > When I selected the LongLow in 1998, Rivendell was phasing out their > > All-Rounder, and was testing the Atlantis. They were also offering the > > Heron. I really, really liked the idea of a 26"-wheeled do-everything > > bike, but I also wanted to have the flexibility of swapping in drops > > or uprights. Based on the geometry of the time I had concerns that a > > 26"-wheeled frame would not give me a short-enough top tube for that > > sort of flexibility without sacrificing standover height. I also > > wanted a bike that do it all -- commuting, touring and unencumbered > > sport riding -- and the LongLow seemed like a better choice than the > > last of the All-Rounders at the time. > > > > Along the way I've had ample opportunity to try all sorts of > > configurations with The Rivvy, and while the uprights felt great, the > > fact is that as I've gotten older I've favoered a fatter and fatter > > tire -- something that no one was really planning for in 1998 for a > > 700c-wheeled touring frame. The fattest tire The Rivvy can take with a > > fender is a 700x32 and in the rear that is a tight fit. > > > > Enter the All-Rounder, which came to me through an act of unspeakable > > amazingness in fall 2007. I spent three years running it with drops > > and never being fully satisfied with it. This year, fed up with my > > inability to run a fatter tire on The Rivvy and finally freeing myself > > of my stubborn struggle with drop bars, I swapped the entire handlebar/ > > stem setup from the LongLow to the A-R, and voila! > > > > I now have The Bike I (Really) Always Wanted. It just took me awhile > > to figure it out and get there. > > > > So now I have a Rivendell LongLow hanging on a hook in partial > > assembly, and I will stare at it (rather guiltily) this fall and > > wonder how to configure it next. Rather than pay a frame builder to > > make it take a roomier tire (I might be able to squeeze a 35 in there > > with fenders if I do that and I don't know if it's worth the cost to > > add 3 more mm), I will just disassemble it, clean it really well, and > > perhaps -- gasp! -- even repaint it. > > > > In the meantime, the person responsible for bringing the A-R my way > > should be happy to know that I'm riding the crap out of it even more > > than I was before. Thanks. > > Beth > > > > -- > > 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<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > . > > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > > > > > > -- > Patrick Moore > Albuquerque, NM > For professional resumes, contact > Patrick Moore, ACRW at resumespecialt...@gmail.com > > -- > 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<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@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.
