lokstah said:Hey, cool!
Scott, in your occasional brushes with these guys, have you spent any time on Rivendells--cruising around the block, or what not?
The guy with the Atlantis frame in there is my buddy JB. One time on a ride with him we switched bikes - he always uses SPDs, I had SPDs on my Merckx which I was riding so we just traded for about 10 miles. He has the classic Riv build-up with a Brooks saddle, very high bars, and barcon friction shifters. It was fun and I could certainly see how it would be a comfortable way to ride long long miles with panniers and fenders over smooth roads and gravel. I tried to sprint on it once but it didn't work! Anyway that's the only time I've actually ridden a Riv bike, but a LOT of people around here have them. I see Rivs on the trail, commuting, pulling trailers and trailercycles, on Mt. Diablo, and on centuries. One guy I used to see a lot did Paris-Brest-Paris on his Riv and he had no trouble keeping up with me in the Marin Century last year - not quite as fast but he didn't bother with rest stops.
A couple weeks ago Grant was at the Junction and another guy recognized him and started talking his ear off about how great he was and how he bought his book (Roads to Ride) about 15 years ago and Grant was a retro grouch hero, blah blah blah, brown nose. Grant's a quiet guy and he politely listened but you could tell he wanted to get out of there and finish his ride.
Wednesday night rides start in two weeks Lokstah - come on over and see for yourself! Or any Saturday morning.