A Bit About His Rivendell Sam Hillborne, from Ryan.

Ryan and Katy have been regular customers, shop riders and friends for a while now!

Katy had this beautiful Ritchey Ascent built by us a couple of years ago, Ryan has a beautiful Drop bar Singular Peregrine, but wanted to have something built with sweepy bars for a more upright riding position. 

Owen went all out on this build, from the 1" threaded Chris King mod, to the chainring light mount; it's a special one! 

To see all the details of the bike on the build gallery, click here.
Read on for a bit about the bike from Ryan!

-Ryan-

I’ve been riding more and more tours and short trips with Katy (my wife and cycling buddy) for the past year, but despite loving taking photos from my bike and exploring unknown paths, I started realising how much I was actually missing. There have been so many moments when Katy would say something like, "Did you see that windmill?!” No I didn’t, I was hunched over looking at the tarmac from my low stack and drop bars.

Last year we cycle-toured northern Italy from the Dolomites to Venice, using hired step-through bikes. While the bikes themselves weren’t the best, being in an upright position for once allowed me to take in the lakes, mountains and architecture surrounding us. I wanted to emulate that feeling for myself, but ideally on a bike that I also loved the look of.

There was only one solution: build another bike. 

My dream bike. The Rivendell Sam Hillborne.

Ever since I first saw a beautifully lugged steel Rivendell bicycle, I always dreamt of building up a frame for myself someday. But which one? I loved the look of the Atlantis, but I needed something with a bit of a shorter wheelbase for easier manoeuvrability. When the Woods dropped a new run of Sam Hillborne frames, in a gorgeous earthy ‘Mustard Gold’ finish, it felt like the stars had aligned. 

Aside from the frame the first part I knew I wanted was the Magic Components Moth Bar. A swept, upright position focused bar with multiple hand positions, plenty of space for bar bags, perfect for taking in the views. Combined with the compliance of a quill stem and a fork with a decent amount of rake they make for a very comfortable ride feel.

I love the look of the Silver OM-1 mech, a full chrome / silver mech is a hard thing to find these days. The rapid rise style mechanic allows for beautiful shifting under load on a climb when you need it the most.

The White Industries Double set-up with a 44 - 28 allows for some speedier riding but also a very good climbing range, useful when loaded. More importantly, it looks really nice, especially the brass hardware paired with the gold chain, crucial.

I’m a big fan of winter riding, as well as an evening after-work ride, so having the dynamo setup has been such a gamechanger. It also takes some bits off my handlebars, leaving more space for hand positions.

Having Owen’s expertise to help choose some key components like the rims, dynamo setup elements, and drivetrain, was so essential in bringing everything together, as well as his bad influence to go all in on the jade Chris King headset. His knowledge on different setups and keen eye and care for matching all the parts to create a cohesive visual finish was beyond what I could have hoped for. 

All the finishing touches that were put in by Owen and Jack really make the build. For example Owen somehow turned my difficult bar wrap brief of ‘like a sword from Lord of the Rings’ into reality, and Jack fashioned a gorgeous handmade light mount from a chainring, leftover gold chain, mounted together with a piece of spoke cutting. Jack may have even sacrificed the skin on his fingers to solder the world’s neatest dynamo cable job. Thanks Jack.

I’m already planning some future trips to put some miles into the Sam. From a coastal ramble around Norfolk, rural France, the Isle of Wight, and many more. I’m also excited to explore more of our local quiet lanes, dipping between them via farm tracks and bridleways, finally taking in the sights.