Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Rivendell Bicycle Works is opening pre-orders for a batch of new lugged Susie W. Longbolts / Wolbis Slugstone frames at noon Pacific today. Learn more about the latest variation on the California brand’s enigmatic hillibike platform for “regular people trail riding” here…
Rivendell’s Susie W. Longbolts / Wolbis Slugstone is what they call a Hillibike, or hill bike, which they see as an alternative to the dime-a-dozen trail bikes of today that emphasize shredding. Counter to the high-speed/high-risk riding that’s often glamorized in modern mountain biking, as Rivendell puts it, “The Susie (or if you’re looking at the driveside, Wolbis) is designed for regular people trail riding, for people who aren’t interested in jumps, drops, shuttle runs, etc and just want a simple, beautiful, and low maintenance bike for riding over bumpy stuff. The suspension is in your tires, knees and elbows, and for the type of riding it’s designed for, that’s more than enough.”
According to Rivendell, three things make a bike work for trails: a long wheelbase (which adds stability), high handlebars (which help maintain comfort and control), and big tires (which help absorb bumps). The new lugged Susie W. Longbolts / Wolbis Slugstone is designed to exemplify these three characteristics in style, clearing up to 2.8″ tires and begging for ultra-comfy, swept-back handlebars. They also feature plenty of braze-ons for racks, fenders, and bottles and are specced with a 1″ threaded headset, 73mm BB shell, and, of course, rim brakes.
Rivendell has made a few changes since the last batch of Susies, most obviously the addition of bubble lugs to the headtube and the addition of lovely cream paint there. They also slightly increased the wall thickness of some of the tubes and increased the bottom bracket drop by 5mm to make putting a foot down a tad easier.
The new batch of lugged Susie W. Longbolts / Wolbis Slugstone frames will be offered in 50, 53, 56, and 59cm sizes with Sergio Green or Dark Gold paint. Framesets are made in Taiwan and priced at $2,000 with an FSA headset. Pre-orders open today at noon Pacific, and demand is likely to be very high. Delivery is expected sometime around May.
There’s a lot to unpack with this unique platform, and we suggest heading over to RivBike.com to learn more about Susie geometry, sizing, history, and more.
Further Reading
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