ahh..played hookie today.
some history. i used to be a B.O.B. member. bridgestone owners bunch. grassroots cycling stuff. i believe nostatic was a member. really grassroots. beeswax as chapstick, wool jerseys and pants..nobody weighed their bikes. FENDERS! i had a mountain bike. MB-2..no suspension. just a nice steel frame. fast!
being grassroots, i think they lost business to the ever present siren's song of exotic bike frames and full suspension. bridgestone closed their doors. one employee opened a company, called it Rivendell. (might be the land Elves come from?)..he took the same grassroots mentality and started building bikes. old school. brazed lugged frame. good ole steel.
i found out he was local!! i used to email "grant" about life as a mech engineer..i went civil and lost touch.
today i walked into his shop. everyone looked FAST!! lean..wearing lots of cotton..haha.
i chose their roadbike. the ROADEO. big heavy, stout...beautiful!! the lugs and little details made you want to rub them. the tires were big fat 33's!! he set me up with a bike my size..fitted me to it.. a loaner, he fitted. he changed out a stem. i took it for a spin, and i was GONE! it was kinda heavy feeling, but nimble. it is without doubt, the best bike i have ever ridden for me!! it was so stable. i've always had a difficult time turning to look at my blind spot. my bike wandered. this thing was planted and kept giving me feedback as to where we were going. i tracked straight. i pulled into a german auto garage, and did the tightest u-turn in the shop. it was tiny. i went to look at a cherry BMW 2002 tii..(it was amazing)..the german shop guys knew Rivendell test rides went by their shop all the time. they were super cool. some bike were way out there. wacky almost. but that Roadeo was amazing. i now have to have one. i think my wife is on board. she insisted i test ride it.
the shop was cool. they sold swedish wool, and swedish axes as well.
i think my road bike will be oldschool, and my mountain bike can be the tech wonder..
how much can i get for a kidney?
