[edited to add:
Rivendell Bicycle Works was a sponsor of this website in May - June . This post was written prior to that time.]
I have owned my
Rivendell Sam Hillborne("Graham Greene") for 6 months now, and have ridden it for 1,800 miles. It is time for a review. The short version is: "I love it. I love it
so much!" For the long version, read on.
I received a
Rivendell Sam Hillborne frame as a holiday gift in December , purchased from
Harris Cycleryin West Newton, MA. We were not yet comfortable building up a bike on our own, so the build was done at
Harris as well. It took me a few months to save up for the components, and the bicycle was ready in the end of April.Note that
Harris Cyclerywas not a sponsor at the time, and that everything in relation to this bicycle was a standard purchase.
My choice of build for the
Hillborne was informed by test-riding a floor model in my size. Since I had no real experience riding a roadbike at that point, I mostly went with recommended specs. These included a 3x8 drivetrain,
Sugino cranks,
Nitto Noodle handlebars with
Silver bar-end shifters, and a
Brooks B17S saddle. My 52cm frame was built for 650B wheels and cantilever brakes.
The three things I specifically chose for this bicycle were handbuilt wheels with dynamo lighting (see details here),
Grand Bois Hetre tires (see review here), and
Tektro short reach brake levers. The discovery of these brake levers was crucial for me. One thing that had hitherto prevented me from riding bicycles with drop bars, was my inability to squeeze the brake levers - especially from the hoods. I have small hands
and I have damaged nerves in my hands. The combination made squeezing this type of lever impossible. When I described the problem to Elton at
Harris Cyclery, we went through different brake levers to see whether any existed that I
was able to squeeze. The
Tektro levers were
it and I am extremely happy with them. Elton also showed me some methods of hand and finger placement that work well for me and do not send electric currents through my fingers. I cannot stress enough what a break-through this was in terms of understanding why I was having problems riding with drop bars before.
Over time, I added other personal touches to the bicycle. These include a
Carradice saddle bag,
a
Nitto M-18 front rack from
Renaissance Bicycle (a sponsor), an
Ostrich handlebag bag from
Velo Orangewhich I use on long trips,
a twined and shellacked
Klean Kanteen water bottle,
and my beloved
Power Grips (see here for my initial review of them).
I have also twined and shellacked the kickstand (to prevent it from scraping against the pedal when the bike is parked),
and added a leather
Velo Orangechainstay protector. This product is great for preventing the paint on the right chainstay from getting nicked by the chain slapping against it when the bicycle goes over bumps - which began to happen to my
Rivendell within the first few rides I went on.
There are a few additional little details that I enjoy, but no one else probably notices - like these green cable endcap crimps,
and the "taupe" zipties (see top right, under the waterbottle) for routing the dynamo lighting that I find to be less noticeable than black ones.
Over the time I have owned him, I feel that Graham has attained an appearance that is distinctly personalised. Looking at him reminds me of the many "firsts" I experienced on this bicycle: from learning to ride with drop bars to going downhill at 30 miles per hour, while cornering, with a full handlebar bag.
These experiences certainly did not happen all at once. After I first brought the complete bicycle home, I had a minor hysterical breakdown when the reality of owning it hit me. What on Earth would I do with such an expensive bike with drop bars?What if I wasn't able to ride it? The bike would end up standing in my livingroom as a beautiful, ridiculous testament to the gap between my imagination and my abilities.
This emotional self-flogging lasted for a couple of days, but then I began to ride the bike. I took it slow and started by setting the handlebars quite high, so that I could get used to the drop bars. The
Hillborne has what I would say is a long top tube, and I have a short torso - so the degree of lean this placed me in required some adjustment on my part.
Over the course of the first month I owned the bike, I rode it almost daily and lowered the handlebars weekly - until eventually I was comfortable with them being at the level of the saddle. I would recommend this method to those who find dropbars intimidating.
I love pretty much everything about this bicycle and find it difficult to muster up any words of criticism. It may be worth noting that some dislike the slight upward slope to the top tube on the
Hillborne, but I have no problem with it. If I have to find something bad to say, then maybe it's that the paint seems to be a bit delicate - but then I am used to powdercoat, and it's just a fact that liquid paint is easier to nick. I am equally happy with my choice of components - perhaps with the exception of the
Shimano Deore rear derailleur, which I have managed to bang up pretty badly in the course of ownership. Next spring, I may replace it with the
Shimano XT "Shadow,"which seems more immune to abuse. Otherwise, everything is perfect.
I don't know how to describe the ride quality of the
Sam Hillborne in technical terms, but in non-technical terms I feel as if I could
live on it. Nothing hurts, ever. The bicycle is miraculously cushy over bumps. There is no "toe overlap" with the front tire when turning. The seat tube angle is just right: relaxed enough to be comfortable without having to shove the saddle back on the rails, but not so relaxed as to stand in the way of "performance." I can keep up with the Co-Habitant just fine on the
Hillborne, and he is a fast cyclist. The most challenging ride I have gone on so far has been a
very hilly metric century (64 miles), and I felt great afterwards. No weight on my hands, no strain on my neck, no knee pain, just comfy cycling goodness. The bicycle seems equally stable at both high and low speeds. I can go over 20 miles per hour while feeling as if I am going 10 and I can plummet downhill while enjoying the view instead of panicking. It is also fantastic on climbs and seems to carry momentum well.
As I have mentioned at the start, I have now cycled 1,800 miles on this bike - whichmay be more than I have cycled on all my other bicycles combined. I had never imagined that I would be doing this much cycling, let alone on a roadbike. I know that it is all supposed to be about the cyclist and not about the bicycle, but I honestly do not think I would have come this far in my road cycling skills on a different bike, no way. I would even credit the
Sam Hillborne with how well I took the track bike I rode in Vienna and to the Italian racing bike I subsequently built up as a fixed gear. Once I learned the skills on the
Rivendell, I felt comfortable on other types of roadbikes as well - but I would not have been able to learn on them.
While the
Sam Hillborne was great for me as a beginner, I am nowhere close to "outgrowing" it. If anything, I feel as if I am slowly growing into it and am only starting to appreciate its full potential. Next summer I am looking forward to doing some more extensive touring and attempting more challenging hills. After all - the bike was born for them.
Climbing ranger staff has still been busy in pre-season trainings. Last Monday Mark Moore from the Northwest Avalanche Center, NWAC, came up to the park to talk meteorology with us. He gave a great presentation mostly regarding the weather around Mount Rainier. The NWAC website is a great resource for all climbers thinking about climbing a route on Mount Rainier. Please make use of all the excellent online weather resources available. Check out the weather link to the right for some starters. The image to the right is from the UW's MM5 model for this Friday at 17:00.
This and the next two photos are of Wiley playing his favorite game of Catch the Feather. You can see a chicken feather floating down a little bit above his nose, looking like it is almost part of the plant.
Updates: the weather observations for Paradise measured 11.3 inches in the past 24 hours! At Camp Muir, the temps hovered in the mid 30's (probably rain) but it was the wind speed that remained impressive. Gusts of 121 MPH were recorded and the average wind speed for one hour in midday was 101!! The Nisqually River (pictured right) is nothing short of a boiling chocolately torrent, as is every other creek and stream around here. The river sounds like a freight train and the ground trembles as large boulders and old-growth trees jostle into the flow. The air even smells of glacial mud, cedar and pine. 
This might sound obvious to experienced cyclists, but I've discovered that good sunglasses are a must, especially when riding through the countryside. Not only will sunglasses protect the eyes from harmful rays and the delicate skin under the eyes from wrinkles, but they also shield from the debris and insects that hurtle toward me at top speed.
To be useful as a shield, I find that the best sunglasses are those that cover as much of my face as possible. Conveniently, the "Jackie O." style is popular right now and every shop seems to carry them in many variations. I opt for cheaper sunglasses, because I have a knack for losing or destroying mine. The darlings pictured here lasted two weeks before I crushed them in my handbag -- which reminds me that I must buy another pair if I plan to cycle again over the weekend.
