Rivendell Bicycle Works is a producer of
lugged steel bicycle frames, located in
Walnut Creek,
California,
United States. Rivendell frames, both custom and stock bicycles are designed in the U.S. by Grant Petersen. Bicycles are manufactured in the United States,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and
Taiwan. Custom frames are made in the U.S.
Grant Petersen
Grant Petersen is a bicycle designer, author, and the founder and owner of Rivendell Bicycle Works. He was U.S. marketing director for Bridgestone Cycle (U.S.A.), Inc. during the 1980s and 1990s, where he designed the XO series of bicycles. He ...
, who, while in charge of American marketing and bicycle design at
Bridgestone
is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...
, developed the ''XO-series'', founded Rivendell in 1994.
Background
Rivendell Bicycle Works was founded by Grant Petersen in 1994 in Walnut Creek California. True to the cliche, Rivendell operated out of his garage for the first two years. Rivendell Bicycle Works now operates out of a 6000 square foot office/warehouse in the same town: 2040 North Main Street #19, Walnut Creek, California 94596. They offer lugged steel bicycle frames and complete bicycles, as well as bicycle parts (some of their own design) and MUSA (Made in America) clothing.
Petersen worked from 1984 to 1994 as Marketing Director for the U.S. division of
Bridgestone Cycle
is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...
, Japan's largest bike maker. Bridgestone closed the U.S. office after 10 years when the dollar-to-yen exchange rate fell.
The name came from the innovative mountaineering equipment company,
Rivendell Mountain Works
Rivendell ('' sjn, Imladris'') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of ...
(RMW), best remembered for the frameless Jenson pack. The name is from
the fictional refuge in ''
The Lord of the Rings''.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Companies based in Contra Costa County, California
American companies established in 1994
Cycle manufacturers of the United States
{{cycle-manufacturer-stub