Rivendell vs Waterford

[Veronica]

You know you could always get it and have it painted green.

V.

[sandra]

We've already done retirement. Hubby retired federal after 37 years. We missed the money and both went back to work. I'd go to my job if they quit paying me. I like it that much.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, Actually, it's not so much self control, but ever since you put up the pic of your dh's bike, I have wanted a green one. If I want a green one, then I'm going to GET a green one! I'm not even a green person, but like I said. If I have to pay extra I will. I'm not compromising on this, even though I'll probably drive a neon forever because I don't care about the car.

Oh! So the plot thickens....
Well then you should be told
The Saga of the Green Rambouillet.

It all began when he was a little boy in Iowa.....
(no, maybe I'll fast forward a bit)

It all began over a year and a half ago, when he was having trouble getting his 10 year old Trek hybrid set up to ride the way he wanted it too. The Trek was not cooperating and was starting to show its age. I was not riding bikes yet, hadn't ridden since I was a kid. I'm 53.
Anyway, I told my husband that he really deserved to get himself a brand new bike after all these years, and it should be a GOOD bike, not some cheesy bike. He does not spend a lot of money on himself. He began to look at and research bikes. He wanted the kind of bike that would perfectly match the kind of riding he was hoping to do here in the rolling hills/country we live in. He also wanted a bike that would be comfortable for long rides of say 70 miles. After much careful research (he's a careful and patient man), he decided that a Rivendell Rambouillet was the right bike. It was a big step.

The closest Riv dealer to us was Harris Cyclery near Boston- a 5 1/2 hour drive round trip for us. He wasn't sure about whether he'd take a 60cm or 62cm frame. Harris had both in stock, so we drove there one weekend for him to test ride them. I told him to take all the time he needed, and to not give me a thought while I waited in the store for him to test ride and discuss bikes endlessly. I sat there for about 3 hours, watching people come in and out excitedly with their new bikes, watching the gleaming bikes being rolled back and forth, spinning silver spokes and clicking gears...
He rode them both, and found the 60 was best. BUT.....all the Rambs at the time were bright blue. He didn't like that blue at all. They then told him that Rivendell was about to start making the Ramb in dark green. They said if he was willing to wait about 4 weeks, they'd have some new ones coming in in green. He was thrilled, and ordered one on the spot.

So we went home and waited. And waited. 6 weeks came and went... 2 months went by....then he was told it would take another month....or maybe two or three more months. At that point, frustrated, he decided to buy the blue one right there already at Harris, have it sent to Joe Bell clear over in CA (the GREAT bike painter) and have him STRIP it down and repaint it (at an additional cost of several hundred dollars to us), then send it back across the country to Harris to build up. It was getting rather complicated, but he'd have his green bike within 2 months then for sure.

And so....the blue bike in MA got sent back to CA to be stripped and painted green. My DH had seen a pictures of a beautiful dark machine green Ramb that Joe Bell had painted for someone else- and Joe said Yes I know that one, I have a paint sample of it still right here! Wonderful!

OK....another development in the meantime. All this bike talk and all that sitting at Harris' looking at happy people on new bikes had infected me.
We visited a girlfriend and I borrowed her hybrid bike and started riding. I absolutely loved riding, and couldn't believe I could still ride after 38 years or so off a bike. Her bike had to be returned in 2 weeks. What would I do??

I asked DH what he thought of the preposterous idea of ME getting a bike too. Would he scoff, would he be resentful of my trying to horn my way in on his happy pastime?....NO!- he was thrilled, he said he had always dreamed of riding bikes with his sweetheart one day. (what a man!)
Thus, in the midst of his no-bike torture saga, this wonderful man takes me BACK to Harris to get ME a Rambouillet...and they just so happened to have one in my size in blue right there in stock, no waiting!
I got my bike and started riding happily. DH continued waiting patiently.....


More delays to get the bike repainted. We still didn't know when exactly it would be painted and ready. Joe Bell had his waiting list after all. By this time it was 5 months since DH had ordered the first Ramb at Harris'.
I felt so bad for him!
ONe morning he sheepishly showed me a Rivendell for sale on Ebay. It was a beauty- a custom Riv in a cool frosty pale ice blue, in his exact size, in PA within a few hours drive, in wonderful condition and very nicely priced with a Buy it Now low price. It was ready to ride.
I said GO FOR IT!!!! JUST GET YOUR *"{%RH^# BIKE ALREADY!!!!!
He bought it. The next day we drove to PA and picked it up. It was fabulous and just needed some new gearing for our hills.
So.....DH was in seventh heaven tinkering on his new beauty and riding it, making it his very own.

Fast forward....(skipping the middle part where the repainted bike arrived in MA and almost got sent back to CA again)....

A few more weeks later.... his repainted green Rambouillet was shipped from CA to Harris where they built it back up and we excitedly drove back to MA to pick it up.

IT WAS THE WRONG GREEN. It was supposed to be a dark "manly" French green, like old vintage machinery used to be. Alas. Instead, it was a soft creamy grey green- exactly the kind of green that DH jokes around is MY girly kind of green- the same green I have so many clothes and objects in , that I painted our kitchen in. He even had a pet name for this green already: Sweetie Green.

The happy part is that after all this, all we could do was LAUGH about the Sweetie Green bike. It *was* lovely, after all. He joked that whenever he rode it he would dream of me. He gets many compliments on the color wherever he rides.
I love my bike. He loves both his bikes and is a happy happy man.

And here are our three Rivendells:
http://harmonias.com/Bikes.html

[uforgot]

Great story Lisa! I knew about your pics. Looking at them made ME want one. One question, if it was the wrong green, couldn't he have had it repainted if the painter made the mistake? Sweetie green, yeah, that's the color I want!

[sandra]

I'm in lust too. I have green eyes. I love green clothes. Green is my favorite color. I LOVE your DH's Sweetie Green bike.

Claudia, you must get one like that!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Great story Lisa! I knew about your pics. Looking at them made ME want one. One question, if it was the wrong green, couldn't he have had it repainted if the painter made the mistake? Sweetie green, yeah, that's the color I want!

Well, apparently the painter and my DH were talking about two different green bikes when the painter said he knew which bike DH was referring too. An honest enough mix up I suppose. And by the time DH finally got the bike it seemed like sending it back to CA again would have been totally anal and beyond ridiculous. (remember I skipped a middle part where another painting mixup almost occured) And- the poor brand new bike had been stripped and repainted once already!
By the time it was here and ready the whole thing seemd so ludicrous that it just made us laugh and that made it all ok. It's not like it was a hideous color, so DH decided it was Fate that he ride on a green bike that reminded him of me.

[sgtiger]

Lisa, that's a great story! LOL Thanks for sharing it with us.

[emily_in_nc]

Well, I think that "Sweetie Green" bike is a gorgeous color and not girly at all. It's not like it's Celeste or anything! And your blue one is lovely too!

Emily

[KnottedYet]

So... who the heck won the Ebay bike??

(inquiring minds in SF want to know)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well, I think that "Sweetie Green" bike is a gorgeous color and not girly at all. It's not like it's Celeste or anything! And your blue one is lovely too!

Emily

Thanks.

The funny thing is, whenever we go biking together, people always ooh and ahhh and drool over HIS bike....and they never say ONE SINGLE WORD about my bike- even though they are the same bike!
It's the combo of my screaming neon biking clothes and my electric blue bike- must get them gagging.
I admit that particular blue is not the color I would have PICKED....but hey I was in the throes of biking fever and I needed a bike right then and was thrilled to get such a fine one! I was just about to have to give my borrowed bike back and be totally bikeless!
I love my blue bike. It and I both have "electric personalities". We've learned to ride together from the start.

Besides...next Spring I'll have my new, second bike ...this time in my very own chosen color.


So....that Ramb on Ebay sold for $1975....a good fair price I think.

[KnottedYet]

Who won it!? $1975 sounds pretty peachy.

[uforgot]

I stopped at $1780. Polarbiscuit won. Don't know who that is. A Rivendell Atlantis sold last week for $1576. I'm sure they will come up from time to time, although an Atlantis is not what I'm looking for.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Claudia,

If you want a Rambouillet the same green as my DH has, then you'll have to have one stripped and repainted too, just like we did.
The green Rivendell used recently (after the blue run) is more a dark frosted forest green. Not sure if they actually made any 54cm frames in the dark green either, as there were a surplus of blue 54's at the time.

[uforgot]

Instead of spending $2000, I bought this for my Burley. She's extremely pleased that I haven't tossed her over for a new model. (yet)

[uforgot]

Claudia,

If you want a Rambouillet the same green as my DH has, then you'll have to have one stripped and repainted too, just like we did.
The green Rivendell used recently (after the blue run) is more a dark frosted forest green. Not sure if they actually made any 54cm frames in the dark green either, as there were a surplus of blue 54's at the time.

I saw that dark green and that was a thumbs up too. I was actually trying to find a pic on the Rivendell website to ask you if that was the one your husband wanted, but the website had a "flat tire" this morning. Maybe when they start production again, they'll keep the same color, otherwise I'll pay the $200 for custom.