Greg's Testimonial

12/02/2025

Hello Grant and Everyone at Rivendell:

After many years of being a fan of everything Rivendell, and learning much bicycling wisdom from Rivendell, I wanted to send you a note to express my appreciation. What I have learned from Rivendell has significantly shaped how I look at, and enjoy, bicycles and cycling. If it was not for what I learned at Rivendell, I would not be the happy and avid cyclist that I am today.

Please indulge me while I relate my cycling history and how Rivendell impacted my cycling world.

My journey through the fabulous world of bicycles is likely pretty typical of a Rivendell customer.

It went something like this...

*I learned to ride a bicycle as a young person in the early 1970's. I had a 20" Schwinn Typhoon and it was with me all of the time, usually with a baseball mitt hanging from the handlebars. The Typhoon had chrome fenders for riding in the rain and the coaster brake allowed me to lay down some "sweet skids" and ruin rear tires at an alarming rate. The bike worked incredibly well as a daily companion. It had comfortable high handlebars; it lent itself well to standing up and sprinting and it never broke. It had a comfortable saddle and I loved to ride that bike all day every day. I rode it in everything from jeans and sneakers to basketball shorts and sneakers. No one wore helmets in the 1970's. It was just so easy and fun to jump on my Typhoon and go somewhere without any preparation. In some, ways, that Schwinn Typhoon in the 1970's was some of the most enjoyable cycling of my career.

*I then graduated to a "10 speed", which was a chestnut-colored Schwinn Varsity. I rode the Varsity through junior high school and into high school. I also rode the Varsity with no helmet, as no one wore helmets in those days except for (In my mind anyway) professional bicycle racers. And, I rode the Varsity in whatever clothes that I happened to be wearing and whatever shoes I happened to be wearing. The Varsity did not have fenders so I sprayed water on me when I rode it in the rain. There was more to go wrong with it, and it required more maintenance than the Typhoon. The saddle was narrower than the Typhoon, and not as comfortable. It was just not as carefree as the Typhoon as it had a front and rear shifter and front and rear hand brakes. But, all in all, it was an easy and enjoyable bike to ride.

*In about my sophomore year of high school, I got a red Schwinn Super LeTour II. This was a much more serious bike, at least in my mind, with downtube shifters, quick release wheels, a narrower saddle and much lower handlebars. Now, when I wanted to go for a ride, I had to fill up the water bottle, put on some appropriate cycling shorts and put on some shoes with stiff soles as the Super Le Tour II had clips and straps. It had no fenders and narrower tires. I had entered the "fitness" riding stage of my cycling journey and just about every ride was pushed to max out heart rates and to ride as fast as possible. The skinny tires punctured all the time and I got to be an expert at fixing flats. These were very enjoyable years on the bike for me, but it was all about the workout and the fun on the bicycle, as from the days on the Typhoon, were diminished.

*By now I had a driver's license and cycling had become solely a mechanism for a workout and I was completely in the camp of "fitness rider." If I wanted to get in a good workout, I went for a fast bike ride. If I wanted to go do something fun with friends, I took a car.

*I then graduated to a Peugeot that had sew-up tires, a lugged frame, a very narrow saddle and very low handlebars. Now, I was very firmly in the "cycling for fitness only" arena. Every ride required that I put on my wool riding shorts, my wool jersey, my Detto Pietro shoes (To go with my clips and straps), fill up two water bottles and air up my precious sew up tires. Cycling was still rewarding, but had become nothing more than an entertaining high intensity workout. The bike was not comfortable in any way, but everyone knew, this is what serious cyclists rode. Those other bikes were for kids. I was a "serious cyclist," so I just went along with the program and tortured myself on an uncomfortable bike with too narrow of a saddle, too low handlebars, no way to carry much of anything and very narrow and expensive tires that rode very harshly. The fun was gone, but I got some GREAT workouts.

*I got burned out on cycling and just got off the bike for several years. In my early 30's, I saw an Benotto in a classified advertisement in the local newspaper. I purchased the Benotto and attempted to get back into "serious cycling". The Benotto was too small for me and was even more uncomfortable than the previous Peugeot. I doubt that I put more than a couple of hundred miles on that bike. Every ride ended up for an aching back and a numb crotch. The sew up tires and Campy components mean very little when you have to eat Tylenol after each ride to take the pain down!! But this is what serious cyclists rode, so I figured that was just the way it was. I sold the Benotto and got back off the bike for several more years.

*I was considering getting back into cycling in my late 30's. I saw a mid--level Nishiki Pueblo mountain bike at an auction. It had very high handlebars and needed a bunch of work. I won the auction for very little and took the Nishiki to a local bike shop with instructions to get it fully road worthy on a budget. The Nishiki was clearly NOT what serious cyclists rode, but I just wanted to get around the small town I was living in at that time. It was kind of a "kids' bike" in my mind, but it got me to the post office and to the grocery store with a messenger bag on my back. I put fenders on it. It was high handlebars, a comfortable saddle and I could ride it in the rain. I rode the Nishiki all over the place and my love of cycling was literally reborn!! I always told myself it was not a serious bike and would not be appropriate for any type of a longer ride. But one day, on a whim, I rode the Nishiki across the rural countryside where I lived, to a town 20 miles away, and then rode home. I had done a 40-mile round trip on a "kids' bike". My back did not ache and my crotch was not numb. This was it!! I was back on the bike. My love of cycling had been reborn.

*So, I did the worst thing that I could have done. I made an appointment at a boutique bike shop and got "fitted" to a new and serious road bike. I got a full carbon fiber Bianchi road racing bike with a narrow saddle, low bars and clipless pedals. If the cheap Nishiki mountain bike was fun and fulfilling, I could not even imagine how much I was going to enjoy this very expensive and serious carbon fiber Bianchi. I got some new clipless shoes, two water bottles, and set off on the same 40-mile round trip that I had so enjoyed on the Nishiki mountain bike just weeks earlier. Of course, it took a while to get ready to go with the shoes, shorts and jersey. In addition, I had to always pack at least two spare tubes as that is what the bike shop recommended. Spoiler alert, that ride was a terrible experience. I had to stop several times to stretch my aching back. My crotch was completely numb within 45 minutes. I lived in a rural farming community and the roads were always full of clods of dirt and debris from tractors and equipment travelling to and from farming fields. So, almost every ride on the Bianchi involved one or more punctured tubes. My reborn love of cycling died in just a few short months of trying to get that Bianchi to work for me. It was puzzling as I had a serious bike, clipless shoes, good cycling shorts and yet I still was in pain and not having fun on the bike. The Bianchi stayed parked and I largely went back to the cheap Nishiki mountain bike.

*I started to hang around a nearby bike shop, a different shop from where I had purchased the Bianchi. This shop was in Hutchinson, MN and it was Outdoor Motion and it was owned by Chad. I was telling Chad about my experience with the Bianchi. Chad told me he was a dealer for a small company called Rivendell from California. He told me Rivendell had a great outlook on cycling and that I might learn something from their website. So, I sat down that same day and looked at the Rivendell website. It was like someone pulled the blindfold off of my eyes. l saw cycling in a whole new light. You could have a steel bike that was comfortable in all ways and still be a serious cyclist. You did not have to ride an uncomfortable carbon fiber bike and max out your heart rate on every single ride. I read everything I could . On the Rivendell Website. I eventually ordered all of the back issues of the Rivendell and read each of them cover to cover.

*I got one of the early Wilbury bikes and later I got an Atlantis. It was a much different experience than the Bianchi. Here were bikes that I enjoyed immensely and looked great to boot. I sold the Bianchi for a huge loss and never looked back.

*The Rivendell bikes themselves have been transformative for me in my overall views of bicycles and cycling. But the overall Rivendell philosophy is what led to my love of cycling and being a lifelong cyclist. 

*I have dipped my toes into mountain bike racing and have purchased appropriate full suspension race bikes. They are so incredibly complex and the suspension requires at least seasonal maintenance, which is beyond my mechanical aptitude. The wireless shifting is great when it is working, and when the battery goes dead, it is not so great. I always go back to my Rivendell bikes and my Rivendell inspired custom builds on vintage mountain bikes.

*Years ago, I "got off the bike" and planned to never return. The fun had simply been sucked out of cycling by the industry and the expected norms. It was 100% what I learned from Rivendell that got me "back on the bike", hopefully for as long as I can ride a bike. I am now 60 years old and I ride almost daily summer and winter. Thank you for the inspiration and please "keep up the good work."

*I have read many posts about film photography in Rivendell. I was a very avid film photographer for many years. I have now switched fully over to digital. I had a few film items laying around the house. I was hoping to donate these items to Grant/Rivendell with the hopes that you can use it yourself or find good homes for everything. The Pentax K1000 needs no introduction to a film photographer. It is an elegant workhorse and takes great photos. It has a 50mm f1.4 on it and does a nice job with bokeh when used wide open. There is also a spare 50mm f2 in the box that is a great all around lens.

*There are three flashes included. I was all about natural light for years. But I discovered flash photography and it was eye opening. Just set the camera to match the flash settings and create away!! Some of my very best photos of people and groups were photographed outdoors with a flash. 

*And, lastly, I have enclosed a Holga 120N. It is a medium format "toy camera" that was one of my all-time favorite cameras (And that is saying a great deal as I have owned two Hasselblads). You have to tape it up to prevent light leaks, there are a ton of videos on YouTube explaining the process. I have also included five roles of expired 120 film for the Holga. As you now, expired film, especially in a Holga, can lead to some wonderful results. It can also lead to junk, so please use the expired film for fun stuff you are not an important event. 

This letter started out to be about three paragraphs long. But it morphed into what we have here. Please use and enjoy the camera gear and film or find a good homer for all of it. Please keep inspiring in the world of cycling.

Greg G.