This is a shameless attempt to save the the most advanced civilization in
history from imminent self destruction by eliminating carbon emission,
dependence on foreign sources of fuel,obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
Cycling accomplishes all those things at once and helps us develop a better
understanding of ourselves, each other and our relationship to the cosmos.

Oh, horse puckey!
I like to ride bikes, have been doing it all my life.
The rest of that crap is just a fringe benefit,
and the blogosphere gives me a chance to share my interior
monologue with virtual rather than imaginary friends.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

The elves of Rivendell are delivering for Christmas!

      I received notice that my new bike frame is coming from the painter and should be shipped later this week which means it may make it before Xmas!  Hooray!  It was a long decision to make since they are very expensive, as bike frames go, and it wasn't easy to pick the right bike.  I wanted a bike for fully loaded touring and, being a fairly stout guy, as cyclists go, I wanted something intended for somebody over 215# with another 30# of gear to tote.  They make a couple bikes, the Atlantis, which for some reason never appealed to me, the Hilson was lighter and more suited for credit card touring, the Hilborne was definitely a better candidate but I wanted something hefty enough and with the clearance necessary to use off road on forest paths and trails occasionally.  That meant the Bombadil:
It is a stout tube bike made for mountain biking and fully loaded touring with a reinforcing second top tube.  It looks like an awesome bike, with it's simple clear coat over polished steel, it looked like something out of a Mad Max movie.  It also had these two built in bosses on top of the fork crown
which I'd never seen anywhere else and they piqued my imagination.  I thought they would be useful for some sort of "commuter  accessories" like, you know, an RPG launcher and an Uzi submachine gun.  The kind of things a guy needs in traffic.  I pictured myself blazing through rush hour traffic, barreling past  terrified drivers
brandishing a bright green light saber with my shoulder length red hair blazing behind me like an afterburner.  But I really  needed the opposite, a bike made for touring  which could be used off road occasionally, and, after all, it's unseemly for a man my age to grow his hair that long.
      Fortunately Rivendell introduced the Hunqapillar which is a design intended to be a compromise between the Hilborne and Bombadil.
 That's the one I ordered, a stout touring bike which could be used off-road.  Not only was it a compromise functionally but it more than split the middle on price, not a small consideration--$700.  I think it also has those interesting "accessory" bosses I mentioned, might have to rethink the hair thing.
   If you don't know who they are, Rivendell Bicycle Works is a magical place in the forests of northern California where elves and fairies design and assemble particularly beautiful bikes.  Using time honored techniques and attention to aesthetics, they fashion them from special tubing made of alloys mined, hand forged and drawn by an ancient race of Dwarves who live deep inside Mt. Diablo.  The Hunqapillar is named after an extinct breed of mastadon only found recorded on a cave wall in France.  Therefore it was given the French name: Hunqapillar (hunk-qua-piyah) which means."strong friendly...ah...thing!"
   Warning: there is another story about this circulating on their website (Rivbike.com), something about a former Bridgestone exec; it involves Japan, Taiwan, exchange rates, all sorts of technical stuff, a name on amailbox somebody couldn't forget-- but that's all just cover.  If you believe in such things, you were probably one those mean kids who would let Tinker Bell die and don't believe in Santa.

3 comments:

  1. tell us about your planned build, Marc!
    -rob

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  2. The build is simple, a touring bike, I will be stripping the parts from my LHT and selling that frame.

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  3. cool. can you link me to anything bout your lht build? personally, i love my lht, although i do sometimes wanna trade up for something fancier...

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