r/Rivendell_Bicycles

I’ve been riding a Soma San Marcos (collab between Riv and Soma) for the past 10 years, and I finally bit the bullet and got the Roadini. I’m really excited about it! The San Marcos is my baby and has taken me everywhere, including easy bike packing overnight situations, but I’m looking forward to a pure city bike. I live in Seattle, so I feel like the Roadini will be my workhorse for most things moving forward. Also, I sewed that stem bag! It’s not that great but up close, but I’m proud of it. I’m hoping to make a lightweight basket bag next.

Took the Atlantis for a little jaunt in the Alberta eastern slopes. The route was a little rougher than expected, but it handled it like a champ! Long wheel base + 2.4” tires FTW.

With the Clem release coming up, I’ve been thinking about letting this go—my first Rivendell.

I don’t dislike the color. It’s actually quite nice. But there’s always another bike, isn’t there? In my case, it’s that light blue or mustard-yellow Sam that keeps catching my eye while a perfectly good bicycle is sitting right in front of me.

Complicating matters is a Crust Bombora that I’ve been loving lately. It occupies enough of the same general territory as the Sam that, in a household with multiple bikes, I’m beginning to wonder how many variations on “comfortable, capable bike I can ride just about anywhere” I really need.

So I’m putting this out there mostly to see if there’s a market for the frame before I do something I may or may not regret.

The backstory, because anyone buying a used frame deserves the whole story:

When I picked it up from Rivendell HQ, I noticed the rear derailleur hanger looked a few degrees off to one side. At the time, I knew just enough about bicycle mechanics to be dangerous, which is to say I noticed it, shrugged, and kept building. And for about a year, everything was fine. I mostly commuted to work on it.

Then one day, just as I was setting off on my commute, I had a chain-suck incident that folded my vintage Shimano XTR derailleur roughly ninety degrees in the wrong direction. A fairly undignified end for a very nice derailleur. 😢

The hanger was repaired and properly aligned afterward, and the derailleur has held up fine since. More importantly, so has the bike. I’ve continued commuting on it and rode it on a metric century without issue. It has some cosmetic wear from actually being ridden, and I’d photograph and disclose all of that clearly to anyone interested.

Tl;dr

So: Sam Hillborne frameset, known history, around $700.

The money would go straight into a Clem and its build, because apparently the solution to having several bikes with overlapping purposes is not to own fewer bikes, but to rearrange which ones they are.
Whacky idea? Or should I leave well enough alone and keep the Sam?

My favourite combo.

I think I ordered the wrong size Platypus. I suspect this because I have loved riding the right-size Bleriot for 20 years. That bike always feels great to ride. But I am ready for a step-through:

Riding this Platypus, I feel like I’m really reaching and it does not feel good.

What to do? Should I swap out the stem? My bike shop suggested a Nitto Quill stem. But it feels like I’d need the handlebars to come back a full fist.

My friend Caleb told me the solution is to give him the bike and get another one. This bike is like jewelry with those hammered honjos. I hate to give it to him just cuz my arms are so short.

I finally mounted my OM-1 on my Atlantis.

The last two photos are the OM-1 side-by-side with a rapid-rise XT derailer. Very similar mechanism and dimensions.

Now it's time to go for a ride!

I got some modifications done (canti brake posts, mid fork attachments, etc) done a few years ago by a local frame builder. I lived with the ripped up paint for a bit, but saved some money for a repaint this year. Loving how it came out! Liking the bike without the decals and letting the lugs talk for themselves.

TLDR: he’s modifying helmets and it kind of makes sense. He states that helmets should focus more on deceleration than skull deformation/puncture. He doesn’t mention the Virginia Tech helmet tests.
I find his writing style works well for my ND brain and he drops in occasional non-sequiters that make me either smile or laugh out loud:

https://www.rivbike.com/blogs/grant-petersens-blog

Stumbled on a fairly rare opportunity to buy a used 2012 Homer Hilsen in Canada for $4,000 CAD.

Seems fairly kitted out, though I'm not sure of the pricing. I can get a new frameset in Canada for a little over half the cost of this build, for example.

I am also having trouble finding geometry information on this 2012 model. There's no obvious link to geometry charts for the Homer on Riv's website using the WaybackMachine. I know that the 2025 Homer accommodates up to 48mm tires while this one will take up to 40mm.

Anyone aware of any other major changes since 2012 that would affect ride quality, component compatibility, and PBH? Main issue is the seller is about 4-hour drive from me, so I want to have as much information as possible before deciding to go check it out.

Marketplace ad notes:

- 50cm Original Homer Frame

- Rick Lesnick wheels

- Berthoud Bag

- Rene Hearse crank & bottom bracket

- Upgraded front derailleur (Rivendell)

- Nitto back rack (not attached)