Per Riv: The Atlantis is our most versatile bike, our best-seller, and as evidence of its mature design, is virtually unchanged since we introduced it as our first production bike in 1999.75. It is ideal for loaded touring, trail riding, commuting, and general riding where you're likely to want tires 35mm wide or wider most of the time, and fenders a lot of the time. Around here, we have a saying: You can do anything on an Atlantis. Because you can.
The Atlantis is a stout over built road touring bike. Riv lists its heaviest use as loaded touring (road touring is implied). The heaviest use of the Bombadil is loaded trail touring so by Riv standards this bike is built for heavier use. By normal standards both are over built and bomb proof. I would not hesitate to do an off road tour on my Atlantis. Maybe someone can shed some light on this. Based on the way Rivendell shows the bikes in pictures the Atlantis seems to be designed as a road bike and is optimzed for drop bars. The Bombadil seems to be designed as a mountain bike and is optimized for upright bars. The Atlantis is built heavier then most production mountain bikes and in the past people have built them up with upright bars and used them for trail and mountain bikes. As Riv says you can do anything on an Atlantis. I think the Bombadil is just optimizing a bike for this use. Different bikes for different people and uses. My Atlantis is built up for loaded road touring but dirt roads and single track could be toured as well. Aesthetically I do not like the double top tubes and none is offered on any of the Atlantis sizes. I don't mind the extra lateral tube but the Atlantis does not suffer from not having one. If I were to own one bike it would be the Atlantis. It is probably the most versatile bike for me (I have no interest in riding anything more technical then smooth single track). I am lucky enough to own several several bicycles and between them I can choose the one most suited to the ride of the day. The only point to this is that the Atlantis should not be dismissed because it the oldest bike in the Riv stable. It has lasted this long for a reason so take a good look at all of the frames and pick the one that you like best and get out and ride. Larry Powers Rambouillet Atlantis Quickbeam Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live. - Mark Twain > Subject: Re: [RBW] Re: Hunqapillar or Atlantis or....? > From: palin...@his.com > To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com > Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2011 07:08:58 -0400 > > On Wed, 2011-07-06 at 20:25 -0700, Anne Paulson wrote: > > How light a rider and load are we talking about here? I'm confused > > because before there was any Hunqapiller or any Bomba, the Atlantis > > was marketed as a touring bike. Now it's only a touring bike for light > > riders with light loads? > > You're right, that's nonsense. The Atlantis is hugely overbuilt for a > bike suitable only for "light touring" and light riders. > > > > -- > 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-bunch@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-bunch@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.