Sticking it to the man: Grant Petersen and Rivendell Bicycle Works

Grant Petersen.  You can't really utter this name in a room full of bike people without getting more mixed opinions than you get shades of color in a hand full of paint swatches.  The guy and his Rivendell Bicycle Works are legendary, notorious, misunderstood and massively important all at one time.  For those of you who don't know, Grant Petersen is the founder and owner of the 23 year old Riv (will refer to as so from here on) who specialize in what many would consider (and perhaps Grant himself) bicycles that maintain the fire of time tested, comfort oriented, practical frame designs and bike builds that have an emphasis on the aesthetic value of lug work, unique color selections and clean, smooth lines that suggest and achieve a rugged elegance.  Building the frames around componentry that boasts simplicity, interchangeability and accessibility are one of the staple facets that underscore Riv.  Grant, along with his friends and helpers who have come and gone along the way at Riv have helped breathe some greatly needed fresh air of no-frills, do it yourself, keep it simple mentality into the psyche of a speed-of-light-changing bicycle industry.  To look deeply at what Riv seems to stand for would entail one to simultaneously look at Grant himself; for the previous is not substantiated much without the latter.

 of one of the Riv employee bike builds.  This bike does a good job of checking off
all the marks that make a Rivendell bike what it is in my eyes.

Bridgestone Cycles

In the mid-80's Grant landed a job as the marketing director for the stateside division of Bridgestone Bicycles and began splicing his philosophy and ideology into bicycle design and marketing for the company.  It would be easy to get lengthy by going into depth about the prolific nature of each of the many bicycles (MB, XO and RB series all being considered) that grant and his team helped design; suffice it to say that with the correct viewing glass, Bridgestone's USA division (Bstone from here on) stood out as an absolute diamond in the rough during a time when the waters were convoluted and muddy.  As the race oriented nature of the mountain bike boom (and road for that matter) saw bicycle frames built and spec'd with frighteningly light weight materials, component design that often functioned on a razors edge and metal bonding processes that compromised fatigue life; Bstone was giving the proverbial middle finger to the inertia that seemed to suck in just about every niche of the bike industry at that time.  

Bstone was like a sore thumb that the industry couldn't quite push down.  From the deliberate use of lugs in the frame construction to the continued outfitting of friction shifters in a time when marketing and selling a bike without indexing seemed like financial suicide, Bstone was pushing durability and simplicity as the modus operandi while being perceived as a seemingly fringe outlier in cycling.  Thanks to grants visions, what sound like some strings of good luck, flexible leadership at Bstone and some amazingly Honest-to-god marketing; the company put out some incredible product and imagery that will be remembered for a long time to come.  After having poured 10 strong years into the company, Bstone closed the doors to it's U.S.A division in 1994.  Regardless of what varying degree of input and creative freedom Grant did or didn't have at the company, it's importance would have a long lasting effect in the cycling industry for years to come.  Fast forward to October of the same year and Grant, carrying the same torch started Rivendell Bicycle Works with the little money he had after a short stint of unemployment.

a photo of Grant looking slightly proud and borderline embarrassed as he holds a 1993 MB-1
.. those bi-lateral forks tho ;)

 Riv's Importance today

After founding Riv Grant maintained the same level of dedication through not only his product line but also an infrequent mail order magazine called the Rivendell Reader that seems to be somewhat of a holdover from an early mail-only news letter called the Bob Gazette.  These zenes along with the Riv seasonal product catalogs of the time offered a deeper insight into the thoughts and questions of grant and his small company.  Articles spanning the subject matter of fishing to the practicality of double sided, non-clip in style pedals was staple material in his anything-sorta-bike-related approach to the proliferation of the company's identity, or lack thereof.

So here we are; its October of 2017 and I find myself half jokingly, half seriously entertaining the notion of spending what by my standards is a hefty chunk of change for a birthday gift to myself.  As a bicycle builder/teacher at our non-retail, city/grant/donation funded community bicycle shop I make little cash: enough to save here, spend there, and dream a little in between.  I want and have for some time wanted a Riv frame set even though I have had bicycles that closely parallel what various Rivs frames would offer.  I might not actually acquire one anytime soon, but a Joe Appaloosa touring frame would certainly be right in line for the last touring bike I would ever need or possibly want to own.  Though a very similar build can easily be accomplished almost entirely with vintage and second hand bits, the new spin on classic design, geometry and overall build principle that Riv brings to the table is very much worth supporting in my opinion.

I would be kidding myself if I said I have not taken some inspiration for "mountain bike" builds
from photos of well built bikes like the bombadil, hunqapillar and atlantis. 

Though you could easily acquire a slightly less expensive, mass produced, modern equivalent of one of their frames (the Surly cross check's nearly identical geometry to the Atlantis for example), its important to see that by spending the extra dollars you solidify a lifetime investment (assuming you keep the thing and don't ride "enduro" level trail on it) that will not only outlast your components and look beautiful while doing so, but will help put some dollars into the pockets of a great little state side business.  There simply aren't many companies left that parallel the quality, goals and ideologies that Riv endorse.

After reflecting on the matter I find that its not so much that I need a Riv as it is that a huge part of me wants to contribute to one of the last standing sticks in the cogs that compose the inner workings of our mostly ass backwards bike industry.  I see Riv as just that, a company that is not afraid to follow its values through the thick and thin of things, regardless of brand recognition, monetary gains or fill-in-the-blank incentives to sell out.  Though certainly not the only one, Riv is a company that continues to pour love into designing and carrying well crafted goods that seem to maintain a phenomenal life expectancy while boasting all the earmarks of time tested, enduring goods.  If more companies would put a foot down in the midst of outward pressure from distributors, the promise of easy sales to under educated consumers and the promise of continuity in the form of cheap labor and manufacturing, we might see a slightly brighter future for the industry as a whole.  Though Riv is a small company with just enough employees to count on both hands, their impact has and will hopefully continue to echo throughout the cycling world as a force that is not afraid to cut through the smoke and mirrors of tomorrows X-hype products that exist simply for the sake of existing; that are sold simply to meet the margins and maintain the status quo.