Sticky Rivendell

I didn’t know how to title this blog, but this is what I landed with.

Let’s check some Rivendells

Joe Appaloosa (51)

Sam Hillborne (54)

I imagine Tani, Mat and Chuyan’s face when I hear the name Riv.

Rivendell is a very special bike brand to the three shop managers. They’ve went and seen their workshop in person, meaning that they’ve seen the beautiful builds done by Rivendell themselves and they know how to build Rivendell bikes close to what they build at the HQ.

These are the main reasons that the customers trust them when ordering a Rivendell build, which makes complete sense.

Roaduno (51)

The young staffs look up to the three and learn the essence of Rivendell by looking at Tani, Mat and Chuyan’s work.

In a way, the Riv Bikes we build for our customers are built with Rivendell’s tradition in mind.

I like the word “tradition”.

You might think I’m not the type of guy to follow traditions, but I believe that things with tradition are more persuasive.

It’s really cool to think that Rivendell’s tradition is still being kept.

Tradition sometimes turns into custom, which I hate.

Are there anything persuasive in things that are told to be a certain way, or that this is the way things should be?

I sometimes worry that if we aren’t making a tradition into a custom, whenever I build a Rivendell bike.

One photo came up to my mind one day, which reminded me of a story that Tani told me from when he visited the Rivendell HQ, while I was working on a Riv build.

Apparently, Tani saw Grant Pertersen, the founder of Rivendell shellacing one of the young staff’s grips on their bike with a smile on his face.

I’m sure he did that to be nice, but I laughed thinking that he was messing with somebody.

I felt that Mr. Grant was the person who could express bicycles in the rawest way.

I feel like that it’s the riders should create that rawness and we as bike mechanics should support that.

It feels silly that I was overthinking. Imagining the riders of the bike your building is essential and this is a custom that I’d like to keep.

I’m in search of a way of expressing personality without breaking the tradition, while not simply copying somebody else.

A. Homer Hilsen (54.5)

I know for a fact that nobody would say that I’m a Riv type guy, but I love their bikes.

I have ridden one of their bikes, but that unfortunately did not last long.

(This was my first Riv Bike. Frank Jones sr.)

Six years ago, I could not understand their brand and the concept of their bikes.

I gave this frame to a college, but I was super bummed.

I was bummed out about myself, because I couldn’t appreciate their charm. I couldn’t find any curiosity towards their bikes and what was the difference between the bikes I like and Rivendell bikes.

I thought about the reasons why Rivendell was born whenever I would build their bikes or I was chatting with a customer about them.

One day, I had the idea of Rivendell being an antithesis of a sport bike, which made sense to me.

Ever since, my respect towards Rivendell bikes has exploded.

They makes bikes that are beautiful and comfortable. It doesn’t need to be fast or technical.

Designing bicycles that are all about beauty and comfort for a couple of decades is pretty impressive…

I can go on forever, but let’s go ahead and check some of Rivendell builds I worked on.

This is a Homer I built for my friend.

He originally bought a Clem Smith jr. and has been in love with Riv. The second Riv he chose was the A. Homer Hilsen.

“My Clem has a rugged style, so I want the Homer to look tidy.” He said.

I thought about a “full kitted” build. Basket and dynamo set up.

The Ultradynamico Cava tires are great for city cruisers like this Homer.

The R14 bag support was chosen for obvious purposes, but he also mentioned that it prevents his coat from getting caught up in the rear wheel.

This is something that I would never think of. I love it.

Front & rea dynamo lights. This is an Everyday Bike for realz.

Can’t forget the SKS fenders.

These types of parts are the solutions to that small inconvenience you feel when riding a bicycle, and having them installed makes a bike become a tool you use everyday.

I shellaced the hell out of the grips, thinking that he’d ride this bike everyday.

Check out the braided sail twine. Ain’t that cute?

The grips were so shiny from all the shellac, my pal asked me if the grips were really dried. I think he likes them.

These small things are always what adds character to a bicycle.

I love to do more builds like this.

Sam Hillborne (48)

This was is the owner’s first Rivendell.

The lugs on Rivendell bikes is one of the aspects that makes their bike stand out.

Polished parts everywhere! Love the vintage look that they give to the bike.

How can I add more “vintageness” to this build…

This customer also asked me if the grips were dry or not.

Like the previous bike, I shellaced the hell out of the cork grips. It looks like a violin doesn’t it?

Not only it looks good, this can prevent the corks from getting soggy due to rain.

I kept the light cables long, so that they can still use it if they decide to go with a different set up. I zip tied the cables to make them stay on the rack strut.

Grips maybe a small part of a bicycle build, but it’s these details that makes a bike different.

Last but not least, Clem Smith jr.

You’re probably wondering “Did you do anything weird with the grips again…?”. The answer is yes, but the photographer didn’t take any photos of the grips, so you are going to have to look at them carefully.

The customer who ordered this build was about the same height as me and they ordered the Clem, which is the Riv bike I want to ride the most, so I shared some of my ideas if I were to build a Clem for my own.

He liked some of my ideas and this is what the bike ended up looking like.

PASS AND STOW 5 rail rack makes a build so sick.

The essential parts had some black parts, so I took advantage of that and decided to put more black parts to this build.

I love how this mucho Clem turned out.

I know that the Clem, or bikes in general are not designed for specific genders, but step through frames had always been seen as a “girl bike”, but I think of a mucho but an easy-going gentleman when I look at the Clem Smith jr.

His face appeared in my head again.

The reason I chose title? It’s just a joke for the overdone shellac grips.

I REALLY want to ride a Riv now.