Today marks the 13th anniversary of Blue Lug Kamiuma.

Thank you again for all your supports.

I truly want to thank our customers who travel a long way to visit us. People who fly out from overseas, drive or take the shinkansen. People who call us or email us to order a bike. We had so many people like that this year and I cannot thank you guys enough.

Hope year 14 will be another great one!

・・・・・・

As I posted on the other blog, the special frames were able to make it in time for this anniversary. One of my dreams came true. I did actually cry.

Grant named the frame “Generalissimo Especialle”.

I always liked Grant’s made up Latin words. The name Generalisimo Especialle has an old Italian Road Racer vibe.

There are two colors of the frame. Pink and Periwinkle.


(My hand was shaking from nervousness and everybody was laughing)

What I really love about Rivendell bikes is that you can refer to them as Sam, Joe, Charlie and more fun names like you’re talking about your friend. I’d like to call the anniversary frame, “Gene”. It’s like one of the nicknames Spanish Soccer player, which I’m a fan of.

Such as;
Xavier Hernández Creus　＝　XAVI
Pablo Martín Páez Gavira　＝　GAVI

Watch THIS VIDEO to hear Grant Petersen talk about this frame.

・・・・・・

12 of these frames were built. Grant owns one of them and I bought and built one of them for the shop. 10 more of them are left. (I will get into how we will be offering them later in the post)


“ONE OF TWELVE IN THE UNIVERSE AND THAT’S ALL FOLKS!” this decal was a surprise from Riv. I didn’t know about it until I opened up the box.

I chose to build the Periwinkle color that became my favorite color after talking to Grant-san. (It was really tough to let the pink one go)

I went to the shop and built it up on my day off, without thinking of anything.

I’m sure I’ll be messing around with it a lot, but for this time, I built it up like a bike for general use, just like the name suggests.

To my understanding, “general use” means that it’s not a bike specifically for trails or urban riding. It’s also not a bike to go all Everyday Bike mode. So I did a build that you can both go to work and ride out to the country side without swapping parts.


I always like to go full Rivy for my Riv bikes, which means to build a Rivendell bike using all parts with a Rivendell branding. It’s fun to think how I can personalize the bike with that sort of rule.

The top tube is a step over style like the Charlie H.Gallop.

Nice long wheelbase that make you feel like you’re riding on clouds

The frame didn’t have a name yet when it was born, so the head badge and down tube logo are the ones you see on Rivendell Custom frames.

Gene is an all-rounder like the Atlantis, Appaloosa and Platypus, great for riding daily, for bikepacking and has the wide tire clearance as a HilliBike,

but still has very light tubing like a Homer.

All 12 frames have different color lug bubble fillings. Technically speaking, all 12 frames are different colors.

We’re going to sell the frames in random colors. It would be a fun surprise when people get them. I wanted to be in the same page as our customers, so randomly picked one of the frame in my size. The color of the lug bubble was purple.

The frame was built by Mark Nobilette and painted by Joe Bell. Two legends and friend of Grant-san.


（JB signature on the seat chain stay）

Available sizes are S,M,L. We will measure your PBH at the store

・・・・・

I wasn’t sure how many people will be interested in them, so it was tough to decide how we were going to sell the frames, but here it goes.

We will be selling the Gene frames to whoever passes the conditions below.

①People who have ordered a Rivendell from Blue Lug or people who have ever order any bike from Blue Lug Kamiuma.

②The frames will only be sold it Kamiuma.

③Building bikes shouldn’t have any restrictions, but Grant gave me a list of parts he didn’t want on the bike and types of builds he doesn’t want, so we would like someone that is flexible to our opinions on the build.

④People who can ride the heck out of the bike without worrying about scratches and dirt.

We will have the frames for display at the Kamiuma store until September 21st. This will also be the time for people who wish to purchase the frame to register. If there are more applicants than the quantity of the frames, we will shift to raffle after closing the application window.

(I’m doing this because I didn’t want it to be a first come first serve style and I wanted everything to be fair. I also wanted for people to see the frame in person)

We will not be selling the frames by itself. It must be purchased as a complete bike. (Grant-san had wished strongly that the frame would be ridden instead of being kept in a shed)

If you wish to apply to purchase the frame, please visit Blue Lug Kamiuma.

———————

I’m very sorry that I had to list a lot of rules. I just wanted to respect Grant-san’s wishes and I defintely didn’t want resellers to be buying them. I hope it makes sense and I truly appreciate your kind understanding in advance.

Again, I just want a lot of people to see the frames in person, even if you don’t want to buy them. I want to see people getting excited.

It would be awesome if somebody became interested in Rivendell bikes or gave you a different opinion on step-thru frames.

I just with that more people would become more interested in Rivendell Bicycle Works. If you don’t plan on riding trail, the Charlie is perfect. It’s fun to compare all the models and get to know the brand. I love all Rivendell bikes, so I don’t think the Gene is the only special bike. They’re all great in their own way.

・・・・・

Thanks again for your support.

– Tani