Rivendell News

Tweed, rings, shifter

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:46:12 +0000

We got some samples in today, coming along, pics tomorrow, and more samples to come. Later this year we may have some fancy fender news. Not THAT fancy, not tweed-over-teak or anything, but some new good news nonetheless.

Here are some pictures of the tweeds.

The Birthday thing again. Might want to read it!

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:39:12 +0000

At some point we're going to give you a birthday present. An offer, a deal, not a wrapped box and a bow.

You must be a paid-up Rivendell member. It costs $20 a year, and with that $20 you get $10 (half o' it) off your first order, so it's really only $10...and you get other stuff too---like a 5 percent credit rebate on purchases, free shipping on non-bike, non-wheel orders over $150, and yadda yadda (there is more).

But for now, for right now, the topic is Your Birthday, and what we'll do for you on that day and for a week following it.

A few details:
1. They will be for paid-up current Rivendell members only.
2. They won't be retroactive. In other words, if we start the program the day after
your birthday, you will have 364/25 days to look forward to it.

So, here's all you need to do-

Email Miesha at miesha@rivbike.com Subject line- Birthday.

In the body of the email, just type in your name (first and last), mailing address, and your birthday, and nothing else. Seriously, nothing else. No questions, no adding things to current orders, just your B'dayte in MM/DD/YYYY form. The American Way.

Miesha will snab your birthday, copy and paste it into your customer file, and go on to the next one.

This is JUST for your birthday.

We won't keep this post up here too long, so do it now. We may post it or something like it again, but no assurances. Thanks.

Italian consulate in Philadelphia UPDATE UPDATE

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:05:10 +0000

It arrive this morning 30 minutes ago. Thanks to all who were rooting. Back to bike stuff.
Best,
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hey, won't do this a lot, maybe only now, but:

Katie (21) is going to Rome on Thurs for a semester there, and her papers are languishing in the Italian Consulate in Phila. She got stuff in on time, she included a self-address and paid for FEDEX envelope, she's begged nicely, and they've broken promises to get it into the mail yesterday. Then today.

On the wild off chance that any of you WORK there, for the love of Zeus, can you light a fire under somebody and get them to FEDEX Kate Petersen's stuff tomorrow for Thurs morning delivery?

Her plane leaves Thurs at 6pm West time. She can't go without her Visa, passport, other stuff.

Over and out.

Yikes.

UPDATE:
THey FedEX'd it tonite (Tues) at 9:05 Eastern time. Maybe we'll get it tomorrow. Good to have it in FedEx's hands and out of the hands of the Consulateers. I'll report tomorrow, then back to bike stuff again.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrant.

Labor Day Weekend Hours

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:36:35 +0000

We will be open on Saturday, the 4th of September, from 10AM to 4PM, and closed on Monday, the 6th. Otherwise, we're around all week, so call, come by, or check the web if you need anything.

If you are a current member, we want your birthday on file

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:18:51 +0000

We are going to start sending you an electronic coupon with a 7 day expiration date on your birthday. Can't say right now what they will be good for (a discount, most likely) or exactly when we'll start (we're shooting for a month), but we need your birthday on file to make it work.

A few details:
1. They will be for paid-up current Rivendell members only.
2. They won't be retroactive. In other words, if we start the program the day after
your birthday, you will have 364/25 days to look forward to it.

So, here's all you need to do-

Email Miesha at miesha@rivbike.com Subject line- Birthday.

In the body of the email, just type in your name (first and last), mailing address, and your birthday, and nothing else.

She's just going to work her way through these, so if you have any questions, please send them to the appropriate staff member listed on our staff directory.

This is JUST for your birthday.

More details to follow. Thank you. And happy birthday.

-John

Rivendell Garage Sale and Ride: Saturday, October 2.

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:02:14 +0000

We're planning a garage sale, to be followed by a ride up Mt.Diablo, on Saturday, October 2.

Stuff has been piling up around here, and it's time to clean house. We don't know exactly what we'll have for sale yet, but expect variety- racks, saddles, bags, prototypes, components, maybe even a Renovelo or 2.

Details to follow, but here's what we know so far-

Garage Sale- 8:30-10:30AM. Riv Driveway. Cash on the barrel head. All sales final.

No-Host/No-Liability Ride Up Diablo- 10:45AM until, well, as long as you like.

The weather in October can be warm, although it hasn't been so far, and it's usually too early for rain.

Watch this space for more information, but mark your calendars, and come on over.

-John

Poser Pedaling

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:57:41 +0000

Nope, not a mean rant with name calling, sorry.
In an old Rivendell Reader we had a thing about Chi Running, which is a technique that blows holes in conventional running technique---or at least suggests many opposites. A similar thing called Pose Running sprang up. A Rusky running coach started it. Chi and Pose may claim to be different, but the difference are small, and they have tons of similarities, and I don't like running anyway, so why even talk about it?

It's interesting, is why! And now there's "Pose Cycling," which -- well, the Russian guy says it's all about efficiency, and the whole Pose Thing is a combo of performance-based and injury-prevention based, and although I like the second, I don't care about the first all that much. I'm not against what anybody might consider to be "high performance," but I don't agree with all the things that get lumped in as that, and the whole idea that racers and racing should set the standard and be the role models for us schmucks is --- makes me sick, sort of. I couldn't be more against that, I couldn't possibly believe it any less than I do.

So it is with that single misgiving that I ultra-highly recommend you read the link (if I can figure out how to make it a link) or cut and past the url-thing that's coming up momentarily.

Naturally, we all love authorities who agree with us, and this may be that kind of case. I think he pulls back on the shoes, although he does qualify it by stating that the fancies are good for long distances, where you may go zombie-like and slip off. I'd say no even to that, but I've never ridden my bike to the point where I felt I needed to go to sleep mid-pedal stroke on it.

Anyway, here's the

Pose Cycling Home Page. Nice Croc in the main photo! (see how much better that photo would be if the rider were riding to the right, into the screen, the way we move our eyes when reading or looking? But the Crocs make up for it.) Anyway, read all the links in it, all the sections, whatever you like.

G

Posters, speed records, and so on

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:26:57 +0000

It's local news that a rider attempting a downhill speed record on one of the steepest roads in the Berkeley Hills (15 miles west of us) crossed the centerline, hit a car, and died. The controversy stems from a website that lets you download your cyclometer data to prove your speed and get the record. I don't know the ins and outs of it, but here's one story about it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/us/04bctilden.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=kim%20flint&st=cse

Sorry it's not a link--you'll have to cut and paste it, but it's still amazing that this can even happen.

Stories and controversies like this make you think about things like influence, free will, personal and corporate responsibility, fate, families, blame, do-overs, technology....lots of things that people take strong stands on.

Years ago when I first got a cyclometer, I went 52 mph down the same road. I've never been a radical descender, so I was surprised to see his time was 49mph. Maybe my cyclometer was off---that's what I'm thinking now.

Readings ending in "9" always push you to the next even "0." Downhill speed record attempts are always scary and not worth it. How much of the "prize" is personal, and how much of it is "the admiration of others"? This comes up in a lot of things.

Rock climbers who "free solo" (climb alone and without a rope) go up vertical and even overhanging rocks a thousand feet or more. Would they do it if nobody watched, or nobody would ever find out about it? They may say it's a personal challenge or provides some kind of insight, but would those reasons still hold up with no audience?

A few years ago a unicyclist came by and told stories of touring Europe in a group of other unicyclists. There is a lot to be said for camaraderie and shared experiences and all, but it makes me wonder if there are any solo unicycle tourists out there, and IF they'd do that way out in the Scottish boonies with nobody around, if given the choice of a one-wheeler or two-wheeler. How much of it is external drive, and how much internal? That's a good question, I think. I don't know the answer, and for the record, I like unicycles. I can't ride one, but I likem....

-----
We're going to have a few posters for a while. Old French bikes, Hunkapillar, and maybe another. Postcards, too.

commentary and news

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:54:12 +0000

I don't actually care who wins the Not-At-All-a-Tour de France, and I'm proud to say I can't name more than 5 riders in it (Contador, Schleck, Zsa Zsa Zabriskie, Armstrong, and---well, I bet there's a Lopez in there somewhere, or maybe a Stein or LaPierre). I watch it a little, a half an hour or so every fourth day, and if YOU follow it you know that a few stages ago on a climb, Contador---the favorite and last year's winner---didn't wait for his arch rival Schleck when Schleck hit a little bump and dropped his chain. They were both going at it, and this happened, and it took Schleck a whole thirty seconds to remount his chain.
Contador has been criticized for not wating for him. There's something of a tradition to wait until the bad luck guy is back in action, and if you don't, you're a scoundrel unworthy of the yellow jersey. I disagree. It's a Big Old Race Around France, not a club ride, not a Tour de anything, and these riders have every technological advantage going for them, and lots of illegal ones in the van. If Andy Schleck hit a bump, bad luck, but luck is always part of it. If it were a tour or club ride, yep, you stop and wait. In a marathon, if a a frontrunner gets a sideache, the leader doesn't wait. If a hurdler trips, everybody keeps going. In Nascar Racing......and so on. Too bad, but it shouldn't have taken 30 seconds, and he was the captain of his bike, and he didn't see the bump, and...anyway, I hope Contador wins by more than the half a minute, just so people don't say it's a tainted win.

I don't expect to write about the race in question anymore, and no disrepect meant to its history etc, but from now on it's BORAF, not TdeF.
---

We got in some black MUSA shorts, and some Navy ones. Spencer and John, I think, wanted the black. We've had many requests, and let's see how they go. Maybe getting black AND navy at the same time wasn't a fantastic move, but we got 'em.

The Cowboy shirts are selling OK. I think we'll find a horse-type charity and maybe give half the profits to it. That seems fine. We have a few members who are super horse people, and maybe we'll ask them. Or, looking online. Maybe another charity. MISSSY (with three esses) is a good, local one. We've given to them a little here and there, and this That's how we often do it when we go outside our area (that would be bikes) with something. Also, for every cowboy shirt you buy, you'll get a $5 credit toward the next one we get in. Since it can't go on forever, if we stop with the shirts, you can apply the credit toward something else within the calendar year.

---------

Today we got in some double-pull mountainy brake levers, for one-handed riders or riders who (like me in May and June). We'll put them up in a few days after we confirm whether they're for V-brakes or cantilevers. We have lefts and rights, two versions of each, I thik about 15 of each, and I expect it's a lifetime supply. They were cheap, and we'll sell them cheap. Not a bottom-line influencer, unless the bottom line is offering something for one-handed riders.

------

Sally ended up with a carbon bike. It's fine.
------
We should have AMOS #2 prototype in three weeks, but it seems to be happening so slowly.

Hey, the oil is getting capped!
-----

Hey, the dollar is at a 14-year low against the Yen, and we have a shipment due at the end of this month.

(Every time I mention that, at least ONE guy sends me a note saying quitcherwhining, and that's kind of harsh. It affects our prices tremendously, and we absorb all we can, and we'll absorb this one, but it's quite like watching stocks drop.)

-----

Keven is back from Italy-Germany-seeing his brother now.

We're moving along with T-shirts, posters, print catalogue, and Renovelos.

Remember the fancy one we took back and were going to turn it from stripped-down fancy to useful and plain? Jay picked the color. I was expecting brown or grey, but he picked green and cream, and it came out kind of a tealy-green, not what Jay was hoping for, and now it looks like we tried on it. Anyway, we're awaiting the head tube decal for that and a couple of other RENOVELOs, and we'll have them up mid-next week. Two 64 Atlantises, and this Fancy one. Details later. Maybe we'll sell as frames, maybe as complete bikes only (with U-pick the parts).

G

INDEX TO OLD READER ARTICLES

Rivendell Bicycle Works — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:56:19 +0000

Which one had the article about the 650b conversions?

Which was the one with the guy with the old bike....

Find out here.