The Radavist

This is an old video by internet standards, but it’s a great look into what makes Rivendell tick: the people behind it. Check out out for some great video sections of what it’s like to tour in the hills outside of Walnut Creek, California.

This photo came from the Rivendell catalog, but I poached it off Olivier Chételat’s Flickr, which I recommend you check out, after you read these notes, scrawled by Mr. Peterson himself.

What better way to top off your Nitto stem on your tourer than with a Rivendell magnet?

Since 1994, Rivendell Bicycle Works have been supplying the Unracers of the world with practical, classy and comfortable options for riding. Now in their 20th year of business, the brand has pulled together a freaking incredible catalog, reminiscent of Grant’s days at Bridgestone…

Don’t miss the 20th edition of the Rivendell Bicycle Works catalog!

These are awesome and of course, they’re made in the USA! Pick up one from Rivendell.

This weekend in SF, the world-renown bicycle company Rivendell opens its first ever pop up shop. There’s no official flier or anything, just this post on the Brooks England blog, which gives us these details:

Rivendell Bicycle Works SF
June 1st through 9th
12pm – 7pm
3156 24th Street San Francisco, CA 94110 ‎

Soma‘s collaboration frame with Rivendell Bicycle Works has finally arrived. This is a rare bird in the sense that Grant Petersen designed it specifically for Soma, using Rivendell lugs. Grant describes it as a “sport tourer”, ideal for asphalt with road slicks, dirt with bigger tires or just cruising the city. While it’s not a dedicated touring bike it does have the following provisions:

-rack and fender braze-ons
-kickstand plate
-pump peg
-longish wheel base

While Soma’s first run has already been sent out to shops, if you pre-ordered yours it should be on the way shortly. Head over to the Soma blog for shops in your area that will be receiving their orders shortly.

What do I think of it? I think it’s pretty damn cool.

Previously:
Rivendell Collaborates With Soma on Frame Project

Just caught this rad project on the Soma blog:

“Soma is working on a road frame project with Rivendell Bicycle Works. We have admired Rivendell’s amazing frames and their work with Nitto for years and are excited to have a chance to collaborate on this project. We shared with Grant Petersen that we wanted a “road sport” frame, but he was free to interpret what that meant.

Specifications we like to share with you at this stage —

Project name: San Marcos (named after a lovely place in Guatemala where our main warehouse guy was born)
Full Rivendell lug set
Tange Prestige heat treated tubing
Threaded fork with flat crown (1”)
Original geometry from Grant (not a clone of anything Rivendell has in its stable)
Two of the smaller sizes may be 650B

While we are letting Grant do much of the design work, the frame will follow Soma’s philosophy by being tough and reliable and by being affordable to most cycling enthusiasts. We have just received the first prototype and will probably doing a second before this gets green-lighted. Graphics and paint are subject to change, but this prototype does show an alternative graphic scheme we are introducing on some 2010 frames (more news on those later).

As for the question “When can we get one?” Our reply to that is, “It will be ready when it is ready. We want to do it right and ‘right’ takes time.” We are planning a 2011 release, but if it is ready earlier, then we’ll release it earlier.”

Rivendell makes some lovely bicycles. Petersen really knew what he was doing back when he started Rivendell Bicycle Works. One of my favorites in the Rivendell stable is the Hillborne. It’s a general, all-around, all-purpose bike, hand-made in the US by Waterford. Eco Velo snapped a few great photos of a lovely orange Hillborne right here on their Flickr. Check it out!

Ed Litton, a Bay Area framebuilder known for his impeccable lugwork, Rivendell paint, finishing for builders like Bruce Gordon, and period-correct Ritchey restorations, which included building biplane forks, was involved in a cycling accident in Point Richmond, near his workshop. He suffered a serious spinal cord injury. He was taken to Marin General Hospital, the nearest trauma center, and rushed to surgery. Currently, he doesn’t have any feeling from his mid-chest down. He is awake and able to move his arms, but only time will tell of any long-term spinal cord damage.

There’s a GoFundMe set up to help Ed recover his medical costs, so if you have any money you can spare for a living legend, check it out.

If you have a bike with porteur bars, like an old 26″ MTB conversion, scorcher, Rivendell, Crust, or a sweet custom frame, Paul just brought back its Reverse Levers. These are hands down the nicest reverse brake levers on the market. They’re full-machined in Chico, California, ambidextrous between short and long pull, and adjustable cable pull. They’re designed to fit bars with an inner diameter of 19 to 25 mm and come in a variety of finishes.

Check out more at Paul Component Engineering.