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Roberto's 54cm Joe Appaloosa
This is my current everyday, everything, bike. I knew I wanted a Rivendell ever since I built my wife’s Platypus. The ride quality of the Platy has been unrivalled for her and has made all sorts of outings that previously seemed out of her comfort zone not only totally doable, but also supremely enjoyable. Seeing the use Sarah quickly started to get out of her Platy, and seeing her ride it so effortlessly made Rivendell click for me. Riv frames are expensive, about as much as a high-performance, speed optimized race bike frame. However, setting aside the unsettlingly short lifespan of carbon frames, how many hours of use do performance-oriented bikes even get in a year? Riding the Riv almost every day to work not only makes my commute something to look forward to, but it inspires me to take the long way home more often than not. Slowing down, and enjoying my surroundings rather than simply smashing through them. This year, my Riv has accompanied me on countless destination snack rides, road/all-road/gravel rides, a few MTB singletrack rides and a couple glampy overnighters. Not only that, but my longest ride ever to date was aboard the Joe: an impromptu 195km jaunt when a couple companions and I decided we’d rather book it home than spend yet another night camping in the rain. Other than being soaked to the bone, the Joe kept me comfortable and in excellent spirits. I’ve used it for just about everything, there are so many thoughtful details about the frame that make what Riv say about the Joe ring true: “The Joe Appaloosa is as good an all-around bike as we make. It’s 100 percent perfect for 90 percent of the riding you’re likely to do, and 90 percent perfect for the other ten percent.” When I first built my Joe last year, it looked like this: A few things have changed since, let’s take a look! The Joe Appaloosa is one of their 2 dedicated loaded touring bikes. The other is the fabled Atlantis, but according to Riv, they’re both pretty much the same. I’ve adapted my build from the original spec in a way that’s more versatile for my everyday life. Handlebars: Nitto / Bassi Bobby bar prototype. [Available early 2025]Although I love the swoopy Magic Components Moth Bars, I found they somewhat limited what I wanted the Joe to do for me. Being someone that tends to prefer flat bars, the slightly more active position provided by the Bobby bar feels more natural to me. It’s wide and straight enough that I can stick out my elbows for better control on hairy descents and when standing on the pedals. Yet, it’s backswept enough that my wrist position feels natural and tucking in my elbows in a headwind is super comfortable. I love placing my hands right at the bends for a slightly more stretched out position. Based on the made-in-Taiwan version, these feature a 25.4mm clamp, measure 750mm wide and will come in black and silver sometime early next year. Racks: Nitto / Sim Works Obento front and Nitto Campee rear.My preference for front load-bias on other bikes these last years made me naturally want to start with a big front rack for carrying all of my needs. However, I came to learn that the Joe rides better (IMO) when the cargo weight is balanced front and rear. Simon, on the other hand, has come to prefer a front-bias on his Joe so YMMV! I just think the extra-long chainstays make a ton of sense for balancing a large saddlebag and/or paniers. Also, it seemed like a shame to not make use of the oversized M6 rear rack eyelets (a very nice touch). The Obento front and Campee rear’s versatility make them a joy to use on top of looking amazing. Yes, they’re eye-wateringly expensive, but having had the incredible opportunity of visiting Nitto last year, I knew I needed to get my hands on their expertly-crafted racks. Pedals: MKS Pretzel.I started off with Sim Works Bubblys, which are great especially for more delicate-soled footwear. I found myself pretty frequently wanting more grip, so I’m currently riding MKS Pretzels and they’ve been perfect thus far. Fenders: Honjo / Sim Works Flat 65.Ok, these were a splurge and mayyybe a little extra but they’re so pretty… They cover the 2.0” tires perfectly. My next move will be finally installing some Gurp Buddy Flaps I bought last Winter. The front fender needed a little “adjusting” to fit between the lugs of the fork crown. It was a cinch thanks to a handy-dandy Fender Adjuster I made by sanding a piece of 2x4 by wrapping sandpaper around a coffee tin that seemed to be roughly the right diameter. Some good whacks of a ball-peen hammer did the trick. I like to use the fender packaging, some rags or pieces of cardboard to mock up the fender’s position and assess any necessary adjustment to the radius. Aluminum fenders can’t be installed under tension, unlike plastic fenders, or they’ll be more prone to develop stress fractures. The final position of the fender should ideally be it’s natural resting position. Lots of tutorials use the string method for finding the fender’s centreline, but I don’t find that method to be satisfactory. Using digital calipers, I measure the actual width of the fender (which varies, especially after re-radiusing the fender), divide it by 2 and set the calipers to that dimension. Then, I lay the fender on a flat surface and use the caliper to make an etch on a piece of masking tape I put on the fender. If in doubt, I flip over the fender and repeat to validate the true center. The rest remains unchanged, lots of which was actually pillaged from my former Hog’s Back: Derailleurs: Shimano XTR front and rapid-rise rear. I first used them on my former Le Montréal, then moved to the Hog's Back before landing on the Joe Transmission: 45/36/24 x 9 speed 11-36 cassette. My favourite shift lever setup: Shimano Dura-Ace bar ends mounted on upside-down Paul Thumbies. When under the bars, they’re out of the way when I want to move my hands forward on the bars, as mentioned earlier. Friction, obv. Also initially featured on my Hog's Back Brakes: Shimano XT calipers & Avid FR-5 levers which I love. They’re cheap, have a great shape, are plenty stiff and have much less lateral play than similarly-priced levers. I’ve had these for about a decade now. Wheels: Shutter Precision front hub, Shimano LX rear hub, Sun Ringle Rhyno Lite rims, 36 Sapim Race double-butted spokes per wheel. A solid, bang-for-your buck wheelset. The Shutter Precision hub is from my former Bianchi Grizzly and has about 8 seasons and at least 5 Winters under its belt. The bearings are certainly starting to show their age, so I might be due for an upgrade! Continental Race King 29x2.0” Folding: A staple! And, as it turns out, have the low rolling resistance of much more expensive tires. The tread is highly versatile and the casing is comfy. Although these are tubeless-ready, they're not setup that way. I don’t want to deal with goopy tires on all of my bikes. Saddle: This Brooks B17 is my first leather saddle, and I’m quite happy with it! The latest batch of Joes just landed! Hit us up if you’re looking for your own forever bike.
Hugo's VO Campeur
It can happen to anyone. You spend days, weeks, maybe months preparing for a long tour. The route is set, your gear is ready, your chain is lubed, this time you remembered to pack all the silly things you usually forget. You're stoked. Then, right on the first downhill, that janky 30-year old front rack that you got for cheap decided to give out and you go down, hard. Well that's exactly what happened to Hugo last summer. Not only did it cause him to have a concussion and ended his tour on the first day, it was also the end of the road for his 1989 Miyata 600GT. Or so he thought. As luck would have it, after weeks of moping and grieving the loss of his first real touring bike, he came across a brand new Velo Orange Campeur in a closeout sale. Thanks to VO's contribution to keeping the quill stem, rim brake dream alive with the now discontinued production of the Campeur, Hugo was able to transfer over most of the parts from his defunct Miyata with a few upgrades. This sweet setup will serve for lots of commuting, touring and plenty of mushroom foraging hopefully for at least as long as the frame it replaced! Pictures by Troy
Touring Joe Appaloosa
Feel free to open images in a new tab to embiggen This Rivendell touring bike has been my dream for years. I love Riv's commitment to lugged steel, beauty in bikes, and bloody-minded practicality. It's a hell of a balancing act! Swinging into the saddle makes me feel like sinking into a comfortable couch. Rivendell's frames are meant to have you sitting up fairly upright, and perform best when you go with it, ideally with a swept-back handlebar. This, and the extremely long wheel-base, makes the bike look slow, but it absolutely is not. It gets up and goes wonderfully, shifts cleanly, and it's super-stable climbing and descending on really bad roads. You won't believe me until you try one, but please do, you'll be astonished at how these bikes feel. I've ridden this loads up north of Montreal in the Laurentians, and south in the Eastern Townships, on all kinds of roads and unmaintainted rights-of-way. Last year me and Joe went around the north and south shores of the Saint-Lawrence on a weeklong trip, and this year the plan is the VTXL. In any case, being on this bike all day feels natural, restful and encouraging. Joe Appaloosa is a worthy companion for the gentle adventures I enjoy most. Reliable and well-loved parts carried over from other bikes RD-M592, Shimano Deore Shadow 9-speed rear derailer. From my old roommate's totaled Surly that a car ruined. This is the fifth bike it's been on, and it does everything I ever ask of it without complaining. I intend to use it until it explodes, then install an identical one I've squirreled away in my parts box. The Microshift R8 double front derailer turns out to be just fine friction shifting a triple. Figures. The gold KMC X10 chain was on another bike briefly before this one. Very bling. I had to add links from another non-gold chain to make it fit Rivendell's XXL chainstays. Hplusson TB14 wheels, which used to be on a disc-brake bike, but are just as happy here. 36-hole for tradition and strength. The rear hub is Velo Orange's old 10-speed disc touring field-serviceable hub. It comes apart without tools, which so far has been mostly helpful for easy cleaning, but it's nice to know I can change a spoke without a cassette tool. Dia-Compe GC999 cantilever brakes. Pin-pads aren't as bad as you've heard to adjust. The pulley yokes are just me being deluxe. Nitto Albastache handlebars, the weirdest bars I've ever had. I knew C&L friend Peter would have a pair from his old Bridgestone. Thanks Peter! Dia-Compe non-aero brake levers. These used to be on a Noodle handlebar, and they fit amazingly on the Albastache. The incompressible brake housing was on that other disc-brake bike. Waste not, want not. The Bassi leather bar tape has been re-wrapped who knows how many times, this is their third bike and third handlebars. Tubus rear rack, because the heavy-duty rack goes where it's needed. Does panniers as well as bag-support. The rear B+M dynamo light is bolted to the rack, so it follows along too. Fresh, exciting parts added since owning the frame Nitto Dirt-Drop stem, the elegant choice for a stem you can really wail on if you need to. Trail-approved by Nitto's ultra-rigorous tests. Rivendell/Dia-Compe Silver2 shifters. These came out around when I got the frame. They're the greatest shifters ever made. Brooks B17 saddle, a sure thing. The SON dynamo hub is new, replacing a Shutter Precision which had to replace an entry-level Shimano elsewhere Kasai Trail Beam headlight, for wide beams in the woods at night. It also has a USB port to charge a battery pack. Nitto R14 rack, which is supposed to be a rear bag-support rack. It doesn't get a huge front load, mostly my lightweight sleeping gear, maybe a shirt that needs to dry from a storm. Bassi Classic Triple crank. The range is appropriately large, and perfect for touring wherever I please. MKS Grip-King (Lambda), I was riding in sandals the day before taking these pictures, so super-wide super-supportive pedals were just right. SRAM 11-36t 10-speed cassette, because I get a perverse pleasure from fritcion shifting a 9-speed derailer over a 10-speed cassette. When it's worn I'll replace it with a 9-speed, or an 8-speed, or whatever's in stock. The Widefoot Cargo cage underneath the downtube gets my Nalgene strapped to it on tour. King Cage bottle cages are my new favourite. Affordable and tough, not to mention the good looks. WTB Nano 29 x 2.1" tires. As you can tell from the cleanliness of the bike, great for mud but I like them on everything but perfectly smooth pavement, so great on most tours. Nice and grippy on gravelly climbs as well. Carradice Nelson Longflap, a laughably huge saddlebag, which fits everything necessary for a weekend tour and expands ever bigger with the Longflap folded out. The side pockets don't fit a Nalgene, but only just. Swift Gibby stem bag, this year's Campout edition in coral. I needed a bag, it was in stock, and it was a cute pink. One-handed action is really practical! Not pictured: The frame pump, a pleasure to use and quick to inflate. The beat-up Ortlieb pannier bags The fenders and smooth tires, they're pretty quick to change into for riding and touring on roads and in the rainy months. Words and pictures by me
Justine's Bassi Double-Double
Justine got to know C&L through her first Bassi, a classic white Roma-Tokyo. After a few months wrenching for the shop, she added a fun Hog's Back build to her stable. Seeing them side by side in all their glory is a rare occurence, with their fun mirror image bar tape jobs and tasteful component choices. Thanks for sharing, Justine! For hi-res pics, open in a new tab Your name and the bikes' names: Justine, and my bikes don't have names but I often affectionately call them bécane one and bécane two Your favourite Montréal resto: Tough one, either Banh Mi Banh Yiu for the sandwiches or Robin des Bois for the place's concept Your favourite shop tool: Frickin' love them 4-5-6 affectionately nicknamed shuriken by Marcel, otherwise a crank puller, real satisfyin'! Your favourite meal: Depends, but I adore a good grilled salmon with an olive fougasse Your favourite part on these bikes: Cotton Brooks C17 #heaven & my Dia-Compe blue casing clips #goodstuffisinthedetails Pics by #lightbro bike pic guru @jochhoo
Vince and his Cross-Check
Today in our staff bikes series, we've got manager and senior mechanic Vince. He crossed Canada with his beloved puke-green Surly Cross-Check and still rides it daily (except in winter when his 50kg rust-bucket Minelli comes out). Here's what he has to say! Open images in a new tab to embiggen Your nameVincent Savary Your favourite Montreal restaurantAgrikol Your favourite shop toolPark Tool FFS-2 frame and fork alignment tool, AKA "The Persuader" (BAM!) Favourite mealTonkotsu ramen Your favourite part on your bikeMy bar-end shifter that I de-indexed myself