Excellent write-up on the Riv models! Thanks for posting it.
On Jan 21, 9:25 am, James Warren <jimcwar...@earthlink.net> wrote: > Correction/clarification: The Atlantis does now succeed in achieving the > 2-inch tire clearance. Maybe more, I'm not sure. > > On Jan 21, 2012, at 9:11 AM, James Warren wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > Now that's the kind of question we need on the list right now! > > > The Atlantis came about around 1999 as Rivendell's Japanese-built version > > of their legendary All-rounder. The all-rounder is/was a bike-style > > designed to work well in the following ways: > > > as a road bike for people not set on racing lightness or racing geometry. > > as an offroad vehicle once you mount some wide tires, and the tire > > clearance is wide. Grant would shoot for two inches, although the first > > Atlantis's in 99 through 2001 only got to about 1.9. > > as an excellent touring bike > > and in other ways you can think of, because the bike is so versatile. > > > The versatility came through the very high clearances and cantilever brakes > > which gave no problem mounting fenders and very wide tires. The bike has a > > pretty long wheelbase and pretty long chainstays (although still shorter > > than the 80's Trek 720's). It has a low bottom bracket which improves road > > handling and invites larger tires, especially for offroad use. The other > > part of the versatility is the rack braze-ons and really nice fender > > mounting spots. In the earlier part of the 90's, one of the distinguishing > > features of the all-rounder was basing it around 26 inch wheels. This came > > from the Bridgestone days, when they were one of the few companies making > > "hybrids" based around the more useful at the time 26 inch wheel size when > > offroading is even considered. When Rivendell started, the All-rounder > > model would continue this 26-inch wheel design, and that was one of the > > features that made me want one then. But early in Rivendell's existence, > > they started not liking the 26-inch wheels on the larger sizes, and began > > selling the larger ones with 700c wheels and the smaller ones with 26 inch > > wheel. As a tall guy, this bummed me out until I was convinced that in the > > late 90's, offroad 700c tires, even 2-inch varieties, were beginning to > > blossom, mostly from WTB and Schwalbe. > > > In the late 90's, the all-rounder was a model made in the US and was fairly > > expensive, and Grant wanted to make a version of it in Japan that would > > cost less. This is where the Atlantis came from. It has those all-rounder > > qualities described above, the big tire clearance, the great touring > > behavior, the offroad capability, nice bike to ride unloaded for road > > rides. It's an amazing bike, and it's still available as originally > > designed, only now it has more rack braze-ons for added versatility > > (mini-racks and such). I speak from experience regarding the Atlantis. I > > got mine in 2001, and it really can do everything I would want to do > > riding. All my other bikes are specialists in some specific cycling arena > > that the Atlantis can hold its own: sporty road rides, cross-country > > mountain biking, commuting, sub-24-hour overnighters, country biking with > > long days and mixed surfaces. What the Atlantis excels at that the others > > can't match is touring rides that include camping. 700c in the large sizes > > and 26 inch in the smaller sizes. Amazing bike. One of the higher price > > Rivendell production models, but worth it. And the 700c tire options are > > wonderful now. I don't long for 26ers much anymore. Additionally, the > > Atlantis was ahead of the mainstream now so excited about these modern > > "29ers!" > > > A Homer Hilsen: > > Perhaps without the All-rounder, the AHH could not have come about. Let's > > say you never want to tour, you love country rides, you like to veer > > off-road, you like to go overnight, just not days on end, you like to be > > comfortable for a long day. You like to carry stuff on your bike, at least > > sometimes, and you like road rides. But most importantly, in addition to > > all of the above, you want to do most of it, including the road rides, on > > tires that are between 32 mm and 40 mm, because you've discovered what an > > awesome size that is, including for road rides. Also, because you like that > > tire width so much, you don't want to scale the tire down just to mount a > > fender. If so, then the A Homer Hilsen is the bike. Also, the A Homer > > Hilsen has a cool refinement: dual pivot sidepulls work well and still > > provide the clearance needed to do what's described above. > > > Another way of describing what's above for the AHH is to say that it sort > > of splits the difference between the Rivendell Atlantis and the Rivendell > > Road model. So the AHH is a refinement of the all-rounder, moved closer to > > the road end of the spectrum. Or maybe it's the other way around, because > > the tubing of the AHH is lighter like the road models. The Atlantis uses > > more sturdy tubes for its loaded duties and probably greater offroad duties. > > > The AHH probably tours for days on end better than many bikes that have > > been taken for days-on-end touring by many people for the past 50 years. > > > I'll be that big-tire, fast road-biking is something that few people know > > exists, and I'll bet the AHH is the best bike in the world at it. Also, > > Rivendell calls the AHH a country bike. You should read Grant's description > > of the term "country bike." I'll try to find it. If you take fully loaded > > touring out of the equation (which could be valid, because it's a rare > > thing to do), then I think the AHH is the most versatile and coolest bike > > ever made. > > > San Marcos: > > Rivendell has almost always had a road model available, a bike not designed > > for heavy loads or too much offroad use (but with Rivendells, you can > > stretch those rules even.) Rivendell road models have always had slightly > > longer wheelbases than typical road bikes, and their comfort levels are > > extremely high. You get handlebar position versatility (high included) and > > big tire clearances. The production Rivendells for the road that came > > before the San Marcos have been the Rambouillet, Romulus and the Roadeo. > > With the San Marcos and the Roadeo, you can use 700x33 tires with fenders > > which I think is extraordinary. If the main thing you want is a road bike, > > get one of these. They are superb performers as road bikes and they are > > very comfortable and versatile. The San Marcos is much less expensive than > > the Roadeo. You're not supposed to load them too much, but listen: I have a > > Rambouillet and I stretch the rules often. I put a rear rack on it and take > > it on overnighters. I put Jack Browns on it (700x33) and veer offroad > > sometimes. If I had to knock the whole bike collection down to 1, on paper > > and for practicality/versatility, that one should probably be the Atlantis. > > But even still, in the end I'd have a hard time not picking the > > Rambouillet. I don't know what the San Marcos rides like, but I'm guessing > > it is similar. Rivendell road models are amazing. Also, some people > > (brilliant people who know their stuff by the way) will tell you that the > > optimum tire size for these models is 700x28. They are probably right, but > > for me, ever since I put Jack Brown greens, 700x33, on my Rambouillet, I > > have vowed not to take them off, the ride is so wonderful (and I think > > fast). > > > And remember my friends, it is better to feel fast than to be fast. > > > -Jim > > > On Jan 20, 2012, at 4:58 PM, Mike Goldsworthy wrote: > > >> i'll take a look at it. thanks! > > >> what's the difference between the san marcos, AHH and Atlantis? > > >> On Jan 20, 2012, at 4:15 PM, DustyMerkin wrote: > > >>> Have you looked at the Soma San Marcos, the 54cm does not have the 2TT > >>> but I believe the geometry is similar to the 56cm but not sure. > > >>> -- > >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > >>> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > >>> To view this discussion on the web > >>> visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/p8xMS9KuPU0J. > >>> 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 > >>> athttp://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 > >> athttp://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 > > athttp://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. 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