Grant Petersen is the guiding light behind Rivendell Bikes. The term “retro-grouch", for a rider who only likes old bicycle technology, was probably coined for him. His book, Just Ride, has just been published.
Petersen makes the argument (one that has to be made), that most bikes sold today aren't suited to the kind(s) of riding most people do. He says that most bikes sold today are either racers or are modified from racers, and that the bikes, and their related equipment, are keeping more people from riding more often.
He says in the introduction:
In real life, I'm not as mean (or judgmental) as I sound in this book…… and then goes on to sound as judgmental (if not as mean) as he says he's not.
Petersen wants bikes with upright postures, with carrying capacity, and with fenders, and he spends a lot of ink explaining why other bikes are just bad. He implies that a single bike can do everything, but I have two arguments about this: first, the bikes from Rivendell are not cheap, and I suspect that most of them are sold to people who also have other bikes. Second, he himself has written (in Rivendell Reader 42, p. 6 [Rivendell Reader is/was a publication about matters bicyclistic sent out by Rivendell on an unpredictable basis; many of the chapters of the book apparently first saw light as articles in the Reader]) that he expects many riders will have several bikes:
How many bikes?Petersen also comes down hard on helmets, charity rides, special riding clothing (especially shoe/pedal systems, although the research he quotes appears to be 40 years old), and he espouses what must be minority opinions (although he may be right) on lights, nutrition, and riding safety topics, including Critical Mass Rides.
seven is good. a beater, a bomber, a single-speed, a touring bike, a lightish road bike, a do-all racked and bagged bike, a mixte, a loaner, and a work in progress. seven? Make it nine.
Nonetheless, this is a good read for the non-competitive rider. Once you get past the notion that Petersen seems to think that everybody should ride the way he wants to, you can see that part of what he's arguing for is less competitive riding, and more fun riding (and no Hill Slug could argue with that!). He comes out in favor of short rides (even a few minutes), bike camping (one of his particular joys is the “sub-24-hour-overnighter", or s24o), and allowing riders who have no interest in improving technique to be allowed not to worry about technique.
In his writing, both in the book and online, he seems to argue that riders who ride for speed or distance are wrong, and that we should give that up and ride for fun at low speeds. I suspect, though, that the real effect of this book (if it has one) will be to help riders of one type to accept riders of all the other types, and maybe even for us to try other rides and bikes. I, for example, have never ridden trail, and have little interest, and I don't ride my city bike enough. I also have been a bit overbearing on The Excellent Wife's technique, and have had to give that up. Perhaps this book will spread a bit of velo-tolerance: I, for one, could use it.
Good book, cheap. Quick read. After you're done with it, you might change your riding style, or you may know even better what you like about the way you ride. I suggest you check it out.
I've read a lot of his stuff, and would quibble with the observation that he is arguing for less competitive riding. Rather,he argues against the overwhelming influence racing design has on the bicycle industry, when such a relatively small number of folks ride competitively. He doesn't think riding for speed is wrong - he raced for years - but that bikes simply do so much more. Spandex is important for people who do race, silly for people who don't. I agree the helmet stuff is controversial.
ReplyDeleteYour quote above about having seven bikes is accurate, but was directed at the bike-centric patrons of his company, who tend to be older folks (like me) that have sorted out their Rivendell preferences over many years of bike ownership, not at the general public. And unlike almost any business anywhere, he regularly and warmly endorses other multi-purpose bike companies (like Surly) and encourages people to check out their stuff if the budget doesn't stretch to RBW.