I just completed my first transaction with Grant of Rivendell. He is quite a gentleman. He not only provided me with a nos Suntour Superbe Pro Crank in the rare size of 172.5 with Chainwheels for $110.00. He also included in the deal a photocopied article about child growth (for my new baby boy-- I am a first time father at 50), but also included a DVD about how to raise a toddler. What a guy!
My riding did noticeably improve by jumping from a 170.0 crank to a 172.5. (To all the guys that say 2.5 mm makes almost no diff.)
Rivendell seems to promote the wonderful beauty and benefits of a steel lugged frame but they miss the original aesthetics of frame size, stem height, classic equipment. I know that classic derailleurs and brakes are hard to find, but that doesn't make them any less desirable. I just can't get used to seeing a road bike with less than at least a fistfull of gleaming campy seatpost and gorgeous short reach brakes, and low slung bars. For the record, my old back loves the low position and narrow clinchers seem to have taken me everywhere I ever needed to go on both coasts.
Garth Libre in Miami Shores