We LOVE Rivendell. Always have. Always will. And plenty of y’all feel the same. Take Luke, for instance, who just finished a 62cm Rivendell Atlantis build and was kind enough to send in a wonderfully-documented Readers’ Rides for us to enjoy!
Hey there!
I just finished building my 62cm Atlantis up after a couple of months of slowly adding, subtracting, and shifting around. The Atlantis is the best riding bike that I’ve had the pleasure of owning and feels super planted and steady both descending and climbing. When I recently hit a tree stump up near Mount Sutro, the bike stayed put and I didn’t endo like another bike with shorter chainstays would have. Sick.
I first saw an Atlantis locked up in the Mission here in San Francisco not long after moving here in 2008. I immediately looked it up and knew from the price that it was always going to be a bike that I dreamed about owning rather than having one myself. I’ve followed Rivendell since (through the fixed gear years, lugged road bike years, and hydraulic disc brake years), admiring what Grant and company do with bikes and the attitude that they have.
This year I lost my father in April and, well, my life felt like it imploded. I was very, very miserable after losing one of my best friends and couldn’t see a way out. To try and take care of myself better, I quit my job and began working at a spot here in the City called Spoke Easy. I also decided that it was time to finally get an Atlantis as life’s just too short. My Mom surprised me by buying me the frameset, saying that she was proud of me for trying to find some good in my life and that my Dad would have been so proud of me (love you, Mom).
As for the build itself, I snagged a lot of the parts from eBay and the rest from friends (Jim of Soma hooked it up with the rack; Reuben helped with the Mafac brakes and brake levers and front derailleur). I wanted old school ATB/MTB while also trying to make this thing great for all-around paved/unpaved riding and adventuring in the City, Marin, and East Bay. It’s a ripper. I have a 7-speed cassette that’s 12-32 paired with a Sugino-made White Industries crankset that’s 44-32-22 (my boss Anson gave me the crankset!). Climbing is what I want the most and having a high top-end just doesn’t matter to me. I also went with as much Suntour as I could as I’ve been obsessed with stuff from them. The three-pulley rear derailleur is so fun and the thumbies rule. I like them a lot better than the early XT shifters I have on my Ritchey.
So many people came together and helped me with this build. My friends/coworkers at Spoke Easy were there the whole way as I learned how to build a bike from just a frameset. Three drivetrains, four bottom brackets, and two shifters later, it’s done. My Mom and friends helped me build this dreamy rig and made me realize how loved I am and how lucky I am. I don’t mean to be a big softie here, but this Atlantis is so much more than a bike for me.
Thanks for featuring my forever dream bike. I feel so damn lucky.
P.S.: Thanks to Will at Rivendell, Adom of Calling in Sick Mag, and so many others for helping me get here. Plus, I want to thank my loving wife who listened to me complain about gear ratios, watch me refurb endless bike parts, have shit break and listen to me complain about shit breaking, tolerate me staying late in the shop to wrench on my bike, and never stop loving me through it all.
All the best,
Luke Hendrickson
We’d like to thank all of you who have submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared over here. 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!
