I currently own three Rivs (a Heron Road, a Rambouillet and a Quickbeam) and I'd have a hard time parting with any of them. Having said that, I did recently sell my Saluki in favor of a similar custom, with the geometry tweaked more to my preferences.
Every new Riv model seems to get a 1/2 degree slacker seat tube angle than the last. (excepting sporting models like the Roadeo*) This works well for lots of folks, especially them that use a Brooks saddle. However, since I don't use a Brooks and I tend to run my saddle a good bit further forward than many Rivvers (as recommended in a professional fitting I had done a couple of years ago.) this progression has made it tough for me to get comfortable on most of Rivs current models. The stock models also seem to have gradually gotten a bit beefier which makes them feel a little dead to me, a 150 pound high-cadence spinner. I loved my Saluki but even with my saddle shoved all the way forward on a zero set-back Thompson seatpost, it wasn't really working for me. My custom replacement will have a somewhat lighter tubeset and a steeper seattube. The front end geometry is lifted more or less intact from my 650b Quickbeam (which shares it's geometry largely with the Rambouillet as I recall) I hope it'll ride and handle much like my older Rivs, with the cush and all road capability that I've come to appreciate from the fat 650b tires that fit my Saluki. (I literally handed the builder a set of 650b wheels with Hetres mounted and a pair of fenders to fit them and said "build it around these.") I also like suspension on my mountain bikes so I'll probably never own a Riv trail bike... *If the Roadeo wasn't a near spot on blend of my two 700c Rivs, I'd definitely be inclined to get one. In fact I thought about selling both and replacing them with one, but they both carry considerable sentimental value for me so that's not likely to happen. (the Heron was my first ever Riv and the Rambouillet was a gift from my significant other) Plus the orange Rambly is just such an aesthetic home run that I would have a real hard time parting with it... -- 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.
