my custom rivendell romulus

v.o. randonneurriv romulusriv quickbeamswobo dixontrek 630links

 

Back when Rivendell made the Romulus, they had a few "unpainted" frames and so I was able to pick my own color and build it up exactly how I wanted. It was my first bike build (completed in May '04). For several years it was my core road bike and commuter and I had it setup with a nice Campagnolo/Shimano drivetrain mix, but the Campagnolo brifters wore out and I was not able to succesfully rebuild them so...

In May of '08 when my Velo Orange Rando bike finally came together I decided to overhaul the Romulus to make it more capable of touring and off-road riding. I did several weekend camping trips using a Tubus Cosmo rack this past summer but as shown above I've put back on the minimalist Tubus Fly since I don't plan on any touring until next summer.

I love the friction-shifting Silver shifters and the nice wide gearing of this setup. The Jack Brown "blue" tires are perfect for touring and offroad riding.


2004"Custom" Rivendell Romulus
frame/fork Rivendell Romulus 61cm (I'm 5'10" with an 88cm PBH)
color Light Jadestone Metallic or "Mythril" - Imron #B8103.
See RR#30 (pgs. 31-32) for the bike I saw at Rivendell with this color.
headset/BB Ultegra  
crank Ultegra 52/42/30 172.5mm  
front der. Shimano Ultegra  
rear der. Shimano XT
shifters Dia-compe "Silver" Friction shifters - I like them much better than some Shimano indexed bar ends shifters I had for a few months.
cassette Shimano XT 12-34  
chain Connex 908  
wheels Shimano XT and Velocity Synergy Rims 36 hole Offset rear rim and 32 hole front. I built this wheelset so that it could handle light touring and offroad riding.
tires Jack Brown "Blue" 33mm  
brakes Ultegra long-reach  
handlebar Nitto Noodle 46cm I went with a slightly wider bar, which works well on this bike.
stem Nitto Tech. Dlx 9cm  
saddle B17 Black  
seatpost Nitto Jaguar SP72  
pedals Bebop pedals When touring I usually use Shimano M540 pedals, because I have more walkable shoes for those pedals.
extras Tubus fly rack - I use a Tubus Cosmo when touring.