Hey, Jim --

thanks yet again for this fantastic site and resource. Here are three pics of my new-to-me-but-slightly-used 59cm A. Homer Hilsen. The original owner told me it was from the first Waterford batch. The cut-out detail on the sides of the fork crown is different than later ones, especially those from Toyo. The wheels are handbuilt by Rich Lesnik using Phil Wood hubs and 36-hole Velocity Synergy rims. There's fairly standard kit/gear/components on the rest of it. The rear rack is a Civia Hyland made by (or for) QBP; it's tubular aluminum, has a mount system similar to Tubus, and a stated load capacity of 25 kilograms. It's designed to provide maximum heel clearance for panniers.

Sometime I use this for commuting or errands, but mostly I take it on recreational solo or group rides in, fittingly, the country.

I've owned an Atlantis and a Rambouillet and several other nice lugged, steel bikes. I've got to say that I think Grant at RBW hit a real sweet spot with the design of this bike. I've always drooled over Mercians, in part for their beauty, and I've lamented a Davidson from the mid-'80s that I never should have sold. The AHH has made me forget about those alomost totally. Like my other RBW bikes, the ride is smooth, stable, agile, lithe -- in a word, wonderful.

Forrest Meyer
Iowa City

forrest-meyer@mchsi.com