In the Beginning Rivendell Bicycle Works has existed barely ten years — and beginning even before its founding — has managed to engender almost continuous controversy, as well as outpourings of both unadulterated love and scorn. In 2006 it comprises merely ten people, plus a contract framebuilder and a painter for custom bikes, and a…
Month: February 2018
Caminade: The Circle of Cycle
Hearing it might shock the average rider of your swoopy, parrot-painted Italiano-alluminio wonderbike, but many such bikes are actually way, way old skool. In fact they’re so old skool they still spell it “olde school.” Aluminum frames? Octagonal tubes? Coupled bikes that disassemble with a few twists of a wrench for easy traveling? How about…
Tech Specs: 1951 Rene Herse Concours
Stan Laferrière, Owner Rene Herse Frameset Rene Herse & Cyclo Drivetrain Ava & Brooks Cockpit Maxi-Car & Super Champion Wheelset
Gitane: The Dark-Eyed Wanderer
“Gitane” is an unutterably lovely word if you speak French, both in sound and meaning. It is pronounced “zhee-TAHNN” and represents the more romantic of the French words for “gypsy.” There could not be a more evocative or euphonious name for a bicycle in all the history of pedal powered transport.
Stronglight: Eyes on the Future
When first contacting Stronglight for information about the company, I received a charming but curious response. My requests had included, naturally, a timeline, a list of events the company sees as particularly important in its history, the position the company sees itself occupying in the present and future of cycling, a bit about its marketing practices,…