Leather, Lugs & Wool
We've been bucking trends with lugged steel bicycle frames, wool cycling clothes, cotton bike luggage and leather saddles ever since 1994. In an industry that introduces revolutionary technological advances every season, we've stuck to what works and have flown the flags of safety, comfort and lasting value for over twenty years now. These things don't get old, even when technology does. Rivendell bikes are designed to be used hard and handed down for generations of riders. And behind the fancy paint you'll find a commitment to quality, supply-chain responsibility, and a healthy work environment for our staff. Give us a call sometime or visit us in Walnut Creek, California.
—Dave Schonenberg, General Manager
Presidential Pardon:
"Grant Petersen has told us how much time and care you spent to provide the fine Rivendell bicycles for us. They are real masterpieces, and your skill is obvious in the beautifully painted frames".
Sincerely,
Jimmy Carter
Custom Rivendell color comments, just fyi
Solid colors look thicker and less dainty and elegant, but the frame beneath them can handle any solid color, so if you're among the group who thinks metallics and pearls are for churls, we can accommodate you. Red Rivendell Metallics have flecks of something in them that make them look fancier, or like a super starry sky. I like them when the grain (or fleck) is super fine, and not when it's coarse. I think Joe Bell thinks the same way, but in any case he knows that I do, so if you want a metallic, you'll get one with a fine, not a coarse, grain.
Pearls are sort of like metallics, and there might be a technical, painter's difference between a pearl and a super fine grain metallic, but when they get close, I can't tell. Basically, it's a bit of tiny texture added to the paint. The difference between sand and dust, maybe (figuratively speaking). Pearls sometimes seem "deeper" than metallics. It's a world that I'm not able to describe in words, sorry.
How dark should it be?
Keeping in mind that the contrasting color is always creamy, here's the deal: A dark color hides the same-color lug edges, and also is too contrasty against the cream. Just like looking at somebody wearing dark clothing in front of a bright background, it confuses your eye. A medium or light-colored main color doesn't have this effect, and shows off the lugs better, too. —Grant
The cranky craftsman is a cliche and what you expect whenever you go to the best—you assume you'll have to forgive some rudeness or bite your lip to get the thing that the cranky jerk can do better than everybody else. Maybe that's why the guy's working in a shop, and isn't a concierge or a flight attendant.
But in JB's case, it's the opposite and the best of everything. He's so clearly the best that nobody even contests it. He's humble and gracious when he talks of other painters. He has redone 9-hour paint jobs when they weren't just right. He has modified decals to fit over bottle bosses and around lugs, and the results look painted on. The more you deal with JB, the more you realize what a bargain his paint jobs are—the prettiest and the toughest. It's a joy to send him money and an honor to have him paint our customs. His quality ethic has rubbed off on me. Now and then, send him a bottle of Glenlivet 21. Not the 18, the 21.