Hands On Wheels x Rivendell Appaloosa

The world renowned Rich of Hands On Wheels and Riv fame dropped by to pick up some dynamo hubs an let us snap a few pictures of his excellent Appaloosa build.

For those of you who don't subscribe to the RBW list, the Appaloosa is a newer model from Riv. Featuring extra long chain-stays and a slack seat tube, these bikes are definitely designed to handle a substantial load.

The Sugino XD is a staple of most Rivendell builds. Seen here in the wide/low double configuration with complimentary bash ring.

It looks like some miniature ponies pranced up and down the tube at some point.

Bucking the trend of reinventing classic lug designs, the fork crown for this model is distinctly industrial. Braze ons at the tops of the fork legs offer more front rack mounting options.

Clearly this bike belongs to a collector of classic Japanese components.

Give me platform pedals any day.

What happens when your customer bails on their custom wheelset? New wheels day.

Classic Riv cockpit: Nitto Albatross x Technomic

The legendary Suntour Command shifters. Way way ahead of their time.

The classic Riv trunk bag never goes out of style.

;-3

One does not simply use any old rear derailleur with Suntour shifters. Not if you're into indexing anyway.

Taken from a classic illustration apparently.

The Nigel Smythe fender flaps with a healthy amount of buse.

If you see this sticker on your rim you can rest assured that you are in good hands... yeah, I'm sorry too.

But seriously, this guy knows wheels. Hit him up if you need somthing special built up (cuz we don't do that) and he'll sort you right out. Thanks Rich!

http://handsonwheels.com/

2016 San Marcos Eroica Build

You already know how we feel about 650b tires. If you don't just google 650b and it should become immediately apparent. You can call it 27 point whatever if you like. So when we decided to introduce a new size for the San Marcos frameset, we went with 650b wheels.

As you may know, the San Marcos was designed by Rivendell and uses their lugs, but with Tange Prestige tubing like our other frames.

The current crop comes with a more Rivvy, frenchified fork, that we think looks great. Overall it's similar to the late Bleriot of yesteryear, but with a few nice features like front rack eyelets and a kickstand plate.

It's not low trail. That's kind of the point. The San Marcos doesn't need a front load to stabilize the steering, but it will still accept one as long as you remeber to steer the thing.

All the 650b San Marcos frames also fit Soma's Cazadero gravel tires. Now you can really have one bike for road riding, touring, brevets and commuting around town.

Even though the San Marcos is probably the coolest frameset we've ever made they just don't sell enough units to keep the project alive. So if you think you'd like to own one of your very own to keep and cherish forever and ever, you've got until the current batch runs out to make up your mind. Once these are gone, that's it. The San Marcos will be going to join the XO-1 and the Saluki in the place where awesome bikes go when they don't get the love they deserve. But don't worry too much, cause we still have a few.

More pictures of the builds from this post can be found at American Cyclery's Official Flickr account.

American Cyclery

The Other Cazadero Tire

A couple weeks ago we posted some pics of the new Cazadero tires in 700c. Well, today we got the 650b samples in, and they're pretty neat.

The width is the same as the 700c version (42mm on a Velocity Atlas).

Plenty of clearance with these 73mm Rivendell Silvers. Since the side knobs are shaped to match the curve of the casing, they'll fit well under a fender.

I was surprised at how well they roll compared to other tires I've used. They're not quite as fast as the New Xpress or Grand Randonneurs, but much faster than the IRD Fire XCs on pavement.

One thing that surprised me was that the curved side knobs actually grip really when when you lean into a turn. Unlike a mountain specific knob, which is designed to dig into soft earth, these knobs are much stiffer due to their shallow profile and thick vertical foundation.

In case you didn't see my post on the New Albion blog, this is the Homebrew road model converted to 650b wheels with the Rivendell long reach brake calipers. I wasn't sure if there would be room for these tires since they are a bit wider than the other tires I was running before, but they actually fit with a decent amount of clearance. We're still expecting the first batch of tires to be available sometime in July. I'm might just have to keep this one for a lightly load gravel touring bike. It's been a blast to play around on.

Dave's Tricked Out Rivendell

Dave sent over some pictures of his Rivendell Hunqapillar with a customized Soma Porteur rack.

In addition to the Porteur rack, this build features lots of nice Japanese parts. Nitto/Rivendell Bosco Bullmoose bars, Stainless Nitto Bottle cages, Sugino XD Touring Cranks, and a Nitto R26 chrome plated rear rack.

The IRD quill stem shifter mount keeps the Rivendell Silver shifters accessible without taking up handlebar real estate. Cork grips plus Newbaums tape allow for multiple hand positions.

He even added a special mount under the rack platform for a dynamo headlight.

We previously featured his Soma Grand Randonneur build a few weeks ago. I think they'll make a nice pair! Thanks for sharing Dave!

Cyclo-touring and bags

Fall in the Bay Area is one of the best times of year. We will often have some of our best and most consistent weather throughout September and October. We may have a storm blowin' in tomorrow, but this past weekend was perfect for a little weekend in the woods.

We loaded up and rolled out Saturday morning. One night in the woods, especially at a camp only 5 miles from a relatively populated area (Marin) means you can get away with being a little haphazard with your planning and setup, but it also means you can get up and decide to head out for the weekend on a whim. Our trip was somewhere in between, and it was great to roll out of bed, get a coffee and turn the pedals all day while taking in the scenery. I think it was the polar opposite of training for 'cross, which has been about all the riding I have been doing as of late.



















Some happy folks rolling along Crissy Field.



















The lineup.



















China Camp in San Rafael is an awesome campground and trail network with beautiful oaks and salt marshes.



































Brats, Knocks, Soy-Beer Brats, squash and onions. Look at the perfect grill marks. Jesse's grilling is the business.


















Post-camping I set off to do my weekly shopping with my new gear tote. It is the Sackville Shopsack from Rivendell, which is made in the USA of fine Scottish fabric in an awesome olive green. If you have used the cheapo bags they sell at the counter of grocery stores you know how they last all of a few months. This bag is stout, classy, and will last decades instead of months. This is the bigger size of the two (they are sized to fit the Wald 137 and 139 baskets) and easily holds a large baguette and all kinds of junk food, which, from looking at that photo, is apparently what I eat.




















Bungee'd to a rear rack is not nearly as class as in a Wald basket, but it does the trick.