Mid-reach road bikes date back to the introduction of the first pneumatic tires and gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, with many vintage bikes featuring ample clearance to accommodate 32 mm and larger rubber. Charlie shares with us one such bike from the Rivendell catalog of yesteryear, the Romulus, for this week’s Readers’ Rides!
It seems there’s been a lot of hype these last couple of months/years about the return of the mid-reach, large clearance, road bike. From brands like Basic, Soma, Black Mountain, Crust, and of course, that influencer of all influencers and pedaleur of romance, Ron. Having grown up in Durango, Colorado, I saw road bikes all the time. My parents were roadies. My brother was as well. Even so, MTB was in the water, and I never saw the allure of the road. I derided those Lycra-clad roadies without mercy. To be fair, I didn’t even really get into bikes until I moved away for college.
Well, I eventually got caught by the winds of the times, and around the time that Ronnie started sipping the fine wine of the country roads of Connecticut again, the same time that the Crust Malocchio took the internet by storm (with that sweet paint-job) I too heard the call of the paved roads near my home in northern Colorado. I began searching the internet for something within my meager budget. I didn’t have much to spend on a bike at the time, but I did have an idea of what I wanted, and I had a deep parts bin from my years as a mechanic. Now, I should have known that I’d be destined, not for one of the sweet frames above, but for something equally sweet from the catalogue of that most consistent of purveyors of mid-reach, rim-brake, road-bikes: Rivendell!
Man, Rivendell bikes had captured my attention about a decade ago now, and Grant’s velosophy played a significant role in my reintroduction to bikes generally, and to my taste specifically. I always thought that if I got a road bike, it might be something like the Roadeo. Look at how sweet that thing is! But even then, it wasn’t really calling my name. No, instead, the Crust Trader provided me with an older, shall we say, “vintage,” Riv: the Romulus.
Taking some cues from Ron’s builds, as well as from his Ultradynamic partner Patrick, I built this bike to be my intro to road bikes. I used the tricks of the trade regarding “Shimagnolo” and blended some Campagnolo Athena with Shimano 9-speed stuff (nine is fine, as they say). I’ve got some tiny chainrings on there so that I can climb like a goat, even if I’m not setting any KOMs.
And let me tell you, the siren song of the road has satisfied my ears… and legs. I love this bike. It may not be as stiff or as light as modern offerings may be, but as with all Riv’s it is comfy, and it is capable. I’m having a blast on road and gravel rides on this thing, and while I’ll never give up my love of riding in the mountains, I’ve come to be okay with riding on roads as well as trails.
I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. See you on the roads: I’ll be wearing a Hawaiian shirt as a reminder not to take myself too seriously, but I have started wearing bibs and SPD shoes.
Build Spec:
- Rivendell Bicycle Works “Romulus” frame and fork
- Shimano 105 headset and bb
- Sugino Cranks — I think the rings are 44/26?
- Shimano 600 Tri-Color front derailleur
- Shimano Ultegra rear derailleur
- Shimano 9 spd cassette and chain — 11-32?
- Shimano BR-650 Brakes
- Campagnolo Athena 11-speed brifters
- Nitto Mod 177 “noodle” bars (need to be flared, but that can wait)
- Nitto NP stem — 110mm
- Camp and Go Slow eastern rattler tape — the very best!
- Ultegra hubs laced to Mavic Open Pro rims
- Panaracer Gravel King SK 700 x 38 gumwalls
- Ron’s bikes “Fab’s Abs” handlebar bag
- Quad-lock phone mount
- Zefal HPX frame pump
We’d like to thank all of you who submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared here at The Radavist. The response has been incredible and we have so many to share over the next few months. Feel free to submit your bike, listing details, components, and other information. You can also include a portrait of yourself with your bike and your Instagram account! Please, shoot landscape-orientation photos, not portrait. Thanks!
