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  Home > Our Bikes >

  Yves Gomez

 
$1,500.00
Made in: Taiwan

Availability: In stock, but must be painted. 6-8 weeks.
product code: F-GOMEZ


  

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Description Warranty/Specs/Other
 
NOTE: 2012, new sizing.

Old sizes: 47 (26"), 52 (650b), 58 (650b), 62 (700c) now replaced with

New sizes: 50cm (650b), 55cm (650b), 60 (700c).

We do have remaining stock of the old sizes as well as new. Old sizes may become unavailable as they sell out. Till then, more choices!

Some pics of Dave's Gomez here.

Yves Gomez

It is the same mixte frame as the Betty Foy, but some guys wanted a more manly name, and it's hard to get manlier than Yves Gomez, The International Man's Mixte.

Other than its being a mixte, it's just like the Sam Hillborne. A Betty in Black and Gold.

What's it for?
-- any kind of road rides--solo, club rides, fitness rides, whatever
-- weekend touring
-- fully loaded touring
-- commuting
-- fire trails
-- bike camping

Some have even set it up as a 650b mixte mountain bike.

Clearance is key to the Gomez. It has enough to fit tires up to 40mm wide, so it's good on rough roads. It has clearance to take fenders easily, even with 40mm tires, so it's the ideal foul weather commuter. What you can do on a bike, you can do on Mr. Gomez.

The benefits to this style frame:

1. You don't have to swing a leg high over it to get on.
2. It's also if you have a child or big load of groceries on the back. Same if you have a bad hip; it's a low step-over.
3. It's even easier to fit it since the height of the top tube is never going to be a problem on the Go.

Whether you want one now or need one now, whether you carry babies or groceries in back or don't, the chances are someday you will need a bike that's easier to get on, and when you do, you'll be hard-put to beat the Yves Gomez.

Frame Quirks & Details
The slightly upsloping virtual top tube would have about a 2-degree slope to it, bringing the head tube higher. That makes the Go better able to fit slightly taller riders than, say, a normal mixte can. Just a little.

Every lug is investment-cast, a rarity for step through frames which historically have been short-sheeted in the lug department. They're the best quality lugs available in the world today, and were designed specifically for the Yves and Betty. Same with the bottom bracket shell.

The fork crown, also investment-cast, is the same one we use on our most expensive custom frames. As fork crowns go, it is as good as they get, with functional and structural details others plain don't got. It's wide enough for 42mm tires; the brake hole is cast low, to maximize tire and fender clearance; and the "wing" on top is visual art in a space that's usually blank. On the Yves Gomez, the wing is painted gold or cream, like most of the lug windows.

The Yves is designed for long-reach sidepulls, like the Silvers or Big-Mouth 73's. They're easy to set up, powerful, easy to use, easy to maintain, and will never give you a lick of a problem.

Simple Sizing
 
If you have a PBH between 70cm & 81cm and can ride a saddle height (measured from the center of the crank to the top of the saddle) between 60cm and 72cm, get a Yves 52..

If you have a PBH between 80 and 92 and can ride a saddle height between 70 and 82, get a 58. In April 2010 we'll have a 47, and a 62. But the 52 and 58 fit most of the riders who we think ought to be interested in a fine mixte.

Frameset only or complete Gomez
We've built up hundreds of mixtes over the years, and they all get pretty much the same kit, with minor variations.

The Yves Gomez frame is designed to be used with Albatross bars, or some other swept-back bar, but it works fine with drops if you use a DirtDrop stem. Anyway you build it, within reason, it's a great-riding, versatile, easy on/off bike. Someday your hips will demand it. Before then, it's just a regular good-old bike.

Our No Warranty Frame Warranty

It may seem odd for a company that makes such reliable frames to not have a standard instant freebie replacement - warranty, but hold on. Just  because something that's defective is likely to break, doesn't mean  anything that breaks is defective. Even superbly designed, artfully made steel bikes ridden according to design intent can break. We know that, and go to great lengths to prevent it. 

We're skilled, experienced non-defective designers. We use top-notch, proven, non-defective materials. Within the few but real constraints pricing imposes, we're selective about who builds our frames. When it comes to caring about weight and shooting for lightness, we're super conservative. It's not far off the mark to say we don't care about weight, and it's absolutely true that we never compromise a frame to make it lighter. A good frame weighs what it ought to weigh.

After all that, sometimes a frame breaks, and that's no more proof of a defect than a broken window is proof of defective glass. It is impossible to tell the history of the frame. It may be impossible for even its owner to know it. Sometimes even good things break, and anybody, or any company who doesn't acknowledge that is not being honest.

All that said, broken frames are rare. Crash damage, and running into garages with bikes on the roof rack are way, way more common. Tell us your frame's story. We may fix it for nothing, but you pay the freight. Or we may charge a fee for the fix. It is at our discretion, but we're not your enemy, and you are our friend. We keep that in mind, always.

The great thing about steel frames is they can be fixed. In many cases, the fixed frame can be reinforced so that it's stronger than the original. You want a fresh start, but a fresh start with a beefed up frame can be even better. A thicker tube. An extra tube. Whatever it takes, we can do it. In almost all cases, a fixed frame needs new paint. We'll work with our local painter and get it to you at no profit. A repair may cost nothing or nine hundred dollars. It all depends.

In any case, we feel beholden to original owners only. No other warranty (or non-warranty) is implied, so don't go inferring any. But no matter how you came upon your frame, we are happy to advise you on how to get your frame repaired at a reasonable cost. We want your bike back in action, too. Fair enough?


Average Customer Review: 5 of 5 | Total Reviews: 2   Write a review.

  5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
 
good trail bike January 8, 2012
Reviewer: dave from wc, ca  
full disclosure... i'm an employee,

but i got an yves, set up with longboards and fatty rumpkins (it's a tight fit) and it's more fun for on/offroad  tours packed with panniers and a basket than any other bike i've owned

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  6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
 
My windfall bike November 19, 2011
Reviewer: Phillip Hathaway from Boulder Colorado  
Approaching my 60th year I received some money that I never expected; enough to buy a new bike I never expected to be able to afford. I'd known of Rivendell for a while and I knew I was going to get a nice bike, I just didn't know what it would be. When I realized I'd be closing in on 80 if I was riding it 20 years hence I chose the Yves. I wanted to enjoy it a loooooong time!

Within a week of delivery I had two benchmark experiences. My boss, a woman my age, asked "Why is it a girl's bike" . Not snarky, just genuinely curious. Be ready for that. You'll need some kind of explanation. A few days later I was chugging up a dirt trail at the edge of the foothills here early one morning. A steep pitch forced me to walk the last couple of yards and as I crested the top a young woman running the other way swung here head as she went by and said with slight astonishment "What a beautiful bike!" Be ready for that too.

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