Mark: Welcome to the group, and congratulations on your retirement. Yes, after 38 years, just get the best bike you want and don't compromise. Fortunately, any Rivendell model is a "bike you can grow old with" The designs allow a variety of set-ups, and it's easy to get the bars up high, so comfort is not an issue. Spend some time on the various photo groups & you will see a wide range of set-ups, bars, seats, racks, tires, etc. I believe Grant one time referred to a bike frame as a place to hang the parts you like to get the bike you want.
As to which model, think about what you want to do with the bike, and remember that the versatility allows you to do a lot of different things with the same bike. Do you want a "nice bike" to ramble around on? Do you know for sure you're going to load it down with 4 bags & take off on extended tours? Is your main interest off-road trails? It's amazing how just adding some racks or changing the tires can transform a bike. When I bought my Atlantis 10 years ago, the model line-up was more limited than today. I knew for sure I was taking it touring and the Atlantis was the heaviest duty frame Riv made at the time. Rivendell had a wonderful brochure that showed Atlantis set up as touring bikes, commuters, mountain bikes, etc. So my choice was a lot easier than it would be today. I do 2 or 3 extended tours per year, but when I'm home the Atlantis is my go-to ride. To me, it's comfortable, stable and fun to ride off-road or on, loaded down or with minimal luggage. My intention when buying my Atlantis was that I wouldn't be needing to buy any more bikes. While I am occasionally tempted by interesting looking bikes, a deep breath reminds me that the Atlantis does everything I need a bike to do. After 10 years and well over 40,000 miles, the two of us are aging nicely together. dougP On Thursday, February 14, 2013 2:19:36 PM UTC-8, markt...@gmail.com wrote: > > New member to the group here. Just retired last spring after teaching for > 38 yrs and am thinking that I deserve a new bike to ride during my > retirement. Seeing Keven's proto-Appaloosa on the Riv website, I noticed > the quote that the Appaloosa was a "bike to grow old with". Since the > Appaloosa isn't yet available, any recommendations for which other Riv > would be a "bike to grow old with". (My kids already think I'm old, but > nevermind!) I like the price of the Sam, but can't get used to the double > top tube. Last time I checked, my PBH was 86.5 cm. > Thoughts? Anyone have a Riv for sale that could work for me? > Thanks, > Mark Taintor > Chanhassen, MN > > -- 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
