The 2025 Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen bicycle
Rivendell Bicycle Works has sold A. Homer Hilsen "country bikes" since 200611 It was introduced in the 38th Rivendell Reader.. It has the geometry of a classic road bike but can fit larger tires. Unlike the Sam Hillborne, it doesn't have fork braze-ons for V-brakes or cantilevers so sidepull (or special centerpull) brakes are the only option. That's fine by me; I much prefer the looks of sidepulls over V-brakes. I wish it had the forks they spec on the Appaloosa with the top screw mounts, but everything else about the bike is ideal. And the color is the best Rivendell has on offer.
I bought this bike built with picked parts (as opposed to a parts package) after they discovered it during an inventory in August 2026.
Fitment
Rivendell set this bike set up with fancy brakes, a dynamo lighting system, and fenders. The Homer can take a drop bar, but I chose a swept-back Albatross handlebar instead.
I went for a classic polished silver, blue, and black trim look. The black shows up in the dynamo headlight, pinstripes on the fenders, and the skeleton key front derailer. It's also present in the zip-tied dynamo wiring its way to the rear light.
Wheels
Velocity Dyad rims laced to a Silver rear hub and SON28 dynamo hub: A dynamo light is required equipment on bikes I use daily. I kind of picked the Dyads at random.
Continental Contact Speed ("basketball") tires in 42mm: I didn't want 48mm tires like I had on my Rove, but I also didn't want to go below 40mm. Rene Herse doesn't sell a 700C tire in that range and these looked like the most reasonable option that Rivendell offered. Hopefully they're durable enough for the bike gutters I ride through.
SKS Bluemels B55 fenders in silver: These seem like metal encased in a plastic and have less coverage than the PDW Metal fenders on my other bikes. They're nice but Honzos are also really nice and might fit the aesthetic here better.
Paul Racer centerpull brakes in polished silver: An alternative to the long-reach Tektro sidepull brakes, so far these have a great feel to them and more than enough stopping power. They're also really easy to adjust.
Contacts
Nitto 90-190 110mm stem: Quill stems make a lot of sense to me because you can adjust the height after the fork has been cut. But I always disliked their handlebar clamps because you have to take off tape, grips, brakes, and shifters on one side of the bars to get them off.22 The handlebar has to thread through the stem's clamp to come off. But this is a "faceplate stem" and has a threadless stem-like faceplate that can be removed to swap a handlebar out. It's a little uglier than a traditional quill but it's nice for someone like me who likes to swap bars out.
Nitto Albatross handlebar in aluminum: I run this on my Rove and appreciate its sweep, hand positions, and rise. The other options seem to go too far in rise or not far enough in sweep.
SimWorks/MKS Bubbly pedals in silver: These match the polished silver aesthetic pretty well and have a nice platform. Coming from MKS, their bearings are amazing. Other MKS pedals feel a bit more sterile and I already have the black version of these on my Brompton.
Rivendell 182.55 saddle: This is a pretty basic saddle. It's a lot harder than I expected and the nose is particularly wide. I haven't ridden it enough to form much of an opinion on it, but it might be one of the first things to go.
Wool grips wrapped in bright blue Newbaum's tape: Not a very conventional choice and I'm not going to go so far as to shellac these. I'm curious how long these last. The feel is good, they have a lot of grip and are slightly squishy.
Drivetrain
Rivendell Silver3 Double 170mm crankset geared in 44/28: 44 and 28 is a somewhat ridiculous range to have on this kind of bike. I could have gone with a large chainring in the 30s to get the low down to 24 teeth, but I am topping out the high gears on descents so I'm glad I went with this.
Microshift 9-speed cassette geared in 11-36: There's a version with a 38-tooth large cog, but I got the 36 because it's entirely silver. This gives the drivetrain a gear ratio range of 21.4 to 109.9, which is larger than most of my other bikes.
Rivendell Silver2 friction shifters mounted bar-end and as a thumbie: The front derailer is controlled by the left bar-end mounted shifter because I don't often need to switch it. I stay in the high gear unless I'm going up a pretty steep grade. The thumbie on the right-hand side does see a lot of use, though. The power ratchets are easy to dial in and readjust in case I overshoot a cog. I'm still getting used to friction shifting but so far I like it a lot.
KMC 9-speed chain: I'm not picky about chain manufacturers as long as there's a quick link on it.
Utility
SON Edelux II dynamo light in polished: I considered the Ladelux because it's newer and its stand-light functions might be nicer, but it's a lot more expensive and only comes in black.
Busch & Müller Secuzed rear light: Somehow the stand-light on this thing lasts for minutes and it's very bright. This is mounted to the left seat stay on one of the eyelets and works well there, but I'll have to move it when I install a rear rack.
RydeSafe Brrrring Brrrring bike bell in blue: I vastly prefer the friendliness of the brrrng bells over the more shrill dingers. I mounted this one on the stem to keep more handlebar positions open.
Greenfield kickstand with foot: This is my first adult bike with a kickstand and it's a game-changer. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that they're not worth the weight. Unfortunately none of my other bikes have a kickstand plate and I'm too scared to mount one to the chainstays due to the risk of crushing the tubes.
Outer Shell Mini Saddlebag in graphite: This just holds some repair kit items, like tire levers, a patch kit, and some allen keys. I wish there was a way to store this stuff on the bottom of the downtube like most of my other bikes though.
Future
Rivendell was out of the 32R size of their Nitto Big Back Rack and I'll probably have to wait until next year to fit one. In the meantime, I might put on the stainless Tubus Fly I took off the Trek if it can fit around the fenders.
I want to get a frame pump, but the FramePlumper was also out of stock in the right size.
The Paul Moon Unit is a tempting upgrade for the brakes, even if the existing cable hangers do the job.
The SKS fenders are nice but lack mudflaps, which is a real liability for the front fender. I'll be ordering some but I need to drill the fender to fit them, which is a little nerve-wracking.
I've used 110mm stems before but on the Homer, it feels a little long. I might size this down to 85mm or 60mm even as long as the steering doesn't get too squirrely.
The saddle might not work out for me, in which case I'll go back to a Specialized Mimic.
I may end up with drop bars on this bike, but I want to really give the Albatross a shot before then. Just in case, I bought the shifter mount/pod for a bar-end shifter on the right hand side.