This was my first Rivendell. Ordered in October of 2019 (and received in November), in the first two years of ownership I had already put more mileage on this bike than any bike previous (about 5800 km), despite having had many others for longer.
The parts, initially, all transferred over from my previous bike: a Soma Grand Randonneur. This made ponying up the cost of the frameset a lot more digestible. The only changes I made was the bar and stem to account for the longer top tube – a short, 5cm Nitto Tallux and initially a Crust Towel Rack bar. The latter was changed to a Simworks SoBar (50cm version of a Noodle) a few months later and this worked much better for my neck and shoulders.
Not much has changed in the two years I’ve owned it at the time of writing this – in fact, while my bike spending was at an all-time high for 2021 (and same with my riding mileage!), I spent nary a cent on this bike! It’s just the way I want it.
This is the first and only bike I’ve owned that I’ve been completely sure I want to keep the bike forever for the entire two first years of ownership. I don’t expect that feeling to change. It’s just a magical bike – surprisingly quick, immensely comfortable, and can do just about anything. I’ve legitimately thought about a second one, set up with flat bars and a big front rack, but instead the Bombadil fills those shoes.
I’ve experimented with Albatross bars on the bike now a few times, which works really well – though I went back to the drop bars a couple times because of the overlap that exists once I have a Hillborne with Albatross and a Bombadil with KT bars.
For 2024, I’ve tucked the Bombadil away and am focusing on riding less bikes – the Hillborne being one, and as such, it’s now free to take on a slightly different role: the everyday bike as well as the long distance and road-ish bike. Above shows the build as of the end of November 2023, and 9600km on this bikes’ odometer.
[Update Dec 2025]
Well, the Bombadil didn’t stay put away for long, and the drop bars have been bouncing back and forth between the two Rivs. For the better part of the last year the Bombadil has had the drop bars and the Hillborne has been set up with flat bars (Crumbworks KT) and the rear rack as my commuter. This has worked well for me – I don’t need more tire than the Hillborne’s ~40mm meats for commuting and errands around town, and the 47mm tires on the Bombadil are well suited to mixed-terrain adventures that suit the drop bars. As this time, the mileage has grown to about 13,300 km on the Hillborne (and 10,250 on the Bombadil).
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