Roberto's 54cm Joe Appaloosa

This is my current everyday, everything, bike.

I knew I wanted a Rivendell ever since I built my wife’s Platypus. The ride quality of the Platy has been unrivalled for her and has made all sorts of outings that previously seemed out of her comfort zone not only totally doable, but also supremely enjoyable. Seeing the use Sarah quickly started to get out of her Platy, and seeing her ride it so effortlessly made Rivendell click for me.

Riv frames are expensive, about as much as a high-performance, speed optimized race bike frame. However, setting aside the unsettlingly short lifespan of carbon frames, how many hours of use do performance-oriented bikes even get in a year? Riding the Riv almost every day to work not only makes my commute something to look forward to, but it inspires me to take the long way home more often than not. Slowing down, and enjoying my surroundings rather than simply smashing through them. This year, my Riv has accompanied me on countless destination snack rides, road/all-road/gravel rides, a few MTB singletrack rides and a couple glampy overnighters. Not only that, but my longest ride ever to date was aboard the Joe: an impromptu 195km jaunt when a couple companions and I decided we’d rather book it home than spend yet another night camping in the rain. Other than being soaked to the bone, the Joe kept me comfortable and in excellent spirits.

I’ve used it for just about everything, there are so many thoughtful details about the frame that make what Riv say about the Joe ring true: “The Joe Appaloosa is as good an all-around bike as we make. It’s 100 percent perfect for 90 percent of the riding you’re likely to do, and 90 percent perfect for the other ten percent.”

When I first built my Joe last year, it looked like this:

A few things have changed since, let’s take a look!

The Joe Appaloosa is one of their 2 dedicated loaded touring bikes. The other is the fabled Atlantis, but according to Riv, they’re both pretty much the same. I’ve adapted my build from the original spec in a way that’s more versatile for my everyday life.

Handlebars: Nitto / Bassi Bobby bar prototype. [Available early 2025]
Although I love the swoopy Magic Components Moth Bars, I found they somewhat limited what I wanted the Joe to do for me. Being someone that tends to prefer flat bars, the slightly more active position provided by the Bobby bar feels more natural to me. It’s wide and straight enough that I can stick out my elbows for better control on hairy descents and when standing on the pedals. Yet, it’s backswept enough that my wrist position feels natural and tucking in my elbows in a headwind is super comfortable. I love placing my hands right at the bends for a slightly more stretched out position. Based on the made-in-Taiwan version, these feature a 25.4mm clamp, measure 750mm wide and will come in black and silver sometime early next year.

Racks: Nitto / Sim Works Obento front and Nitto Campee rear.
My preference for front load-bias on other bikes these last years made me naturally want to start with a big front rack for carrying all of my needs. However, I came to learn that the Joe rides better (IMO) when the cargo weight is balanced front and rear. Simon, on the other hand, has come to prefer a front-bias on his Joe so YMMV! I just think the extra-long chainstays make a ton of sense for balancing a large saddlebag and/or paniers. Also, it seemed like a shame to not make use of the oversized M6 rear rack eyelets (a very nice touch). The Obento front and Campee rear’s versatility make them a joy to use on top of looking amazing. Yes, they’re eye-wateringly expensive, but having had the incredible opportunity of visiting Nitto last year, I knew I needed to get my hands on their expertly-crafted racks.

Pedals: MKS Pretzel.
I started off with Sim Works Bubblys, which are great especially for more delicate-soled footwear. I found myself pretty frequently wanting more grip, so I’m currently riding MKS Pretzels and they’ve been perfect thus far.

Fenders: Honjo / Sim Works Flat 65.
Ok, these were a splurge and mayyybe a little extra but they’re so pretty… They cover the 2.0” tires perfectly. My next move will be finally installing some Gurp Buddy Flaps I bought last Winter.

The front fender needed a little “adjusting” to fit between the lugs of the fork crown. It was a cinch thanks to a handy-dandy Fender Adjuster I made by sanding a piece of 2x4 by wrapping sandpaper around a coffee tin that seemed to be roughly the right diameter. Some good whacks of a ball-peen hammer did the trick.

I like to use the fender packaging, some rags or pieces of cardboard to mock up the fender’s position and assess any necessary adjustment to the radius. Aluminum fenders can’t be installed under tension, unlike plastic fenders, or they’ll be more prone to develop stress fractures. The final position of the fender should ideally be it’s natural resting position.

Lots of tutorials use the string method for finding the fender’s centreline, but I don’t find that method to be satisfactory.

Using digital calipers, I measure the actual width of the fender (which varies, especially after re-radiusing the fender), divide it by 2 and set the calipers to that dimension. Then, I lay the fender on a flat surface and use the caliper to make an etch on a piece of masking tape I put on the fender. If in doubt, I flip over the fender and repeat to validate the true center.

The rest remains unchanged, lots of which was actually pillaged from my former Hog’s Back:

Derailleurs: Shimano XTR front and rapid-rise rear. I first used them on my former Le Montréal, then moved to the Hog's Back before landing on the Joe

Transmission: 45/36/24 x 9 speed 11-36 cassette.

My favourite shift lever setup: Shimano Dura-Ace bar ends mounted on upside-down Paul Thumbies. When under the bars, they’re out of the way when I want to move my hands forward on the bars, as mentioned earlier. Friction, obv. Also initially featured on my Hog's Back

Brakes: Shimano XT calipers & Avid FR-5 levers which I love. They’re cheap, have a great shape, are plenty stiff and have much less lateral play than similarly-priced levers. I’ve had these for about a decade now.

Wheels: Shutter Precision front hub, Shimano LX rear hub, Sun Ringle Rhyno Lite rims, 36 Sapim Race double-butted spokes per wheel. A solid, bang-for-your buck wheelset. The Shutter Precision hub is from my former Bianchi Grizzly and has about 8 seasons and at least 5 Winters under its belt. The bearings are certainly starting to show their age, so I might be due for an upgrade!

Continental Race King 29x2.0” Folding: A staple! And, as it turns out, have the low rolling resistance of much more expensive tires. The tread is highly versatile and the casing is comfy. Although these are tubeless-ready, they're not setup that way. I don’t want to deal with goopy tires on all of my bikes.

Saddle: This Brooks B17 is my first leather saddle, and I’m quite happy with it!

The latest batch of Joes just landed! Hit us up if you’re looking for your own forever bike.