FORT COLLINS, Colo. (BRAIN) — Caveworks, a Colorado-based startup, is offering an indoor smart bike alternative — a highly adjustable indoor-only bike designed to be used with a direct-drive smart (or dumb) trainer.
The Caveworks RIVET will be available as a singlespeed or geared model. Both use a powder-coated steel frame with a standard 30.9 seatpost, 68mm threaded bottom bracket and a custom adjustable aluminum stem that has 12 centimeters of fore-and-aft adjustability, allowing it to fit riders from about 4-foot-10 to 6-foot-six. The Rivet works with any trainer that can be used with a 12x142mm rear thru axle.
Jason Haney, Caveworks' founder and CEO, and Anthony Lenz, its president, both have experience in the bike industry and have been developing the Rivet for over two years. The development process included analyzing available bike frame geometries to ensure Rivet owners could duplicate a wide range of bike fits. The company is having the 4130 chromoly frame made in Mexico.
Haney and Lenz were unaware that Zwift was developing a similar product, the Zwift Ride, which was launched this spring. But they said they were not overly surprised.
"We both realized the need for something like this and we knew it was pretty likely that someone else would have the same notion," Lenz said. Elite also introduced a similar product at Eurobike this month.
The Rivet comes with everything needed except the trainer and pedals. It has water-bottle mounts on the front fork legs.
Caveworks said the Rivet's highly adjustable sizing makes it useful and a bike fitting tool. It also is easily adjusted to fit multi-rider households.
The Rivet's forward-reaching headtube lengthens the effective reach measurement as the handlebars are raised. It weighs less than 30 pounds and has a smaller footprint than most smart bikes or regular outdoor bikes mounted on a trainer.
Compared with the Zwift Ride, Caveworks notes that their product uses more metal parts, less plastic, and more standardized components. It's lighter and is compatible with any direct-drive trainer. Unlike the Zwift Ride, it's compatible with front-end accessories such as the Wahoo Kickr Climb. The Zwift Ride retails for $1,299 with an included Wahoo Kickr Core trainer.
The Rivet will be available this fall in three versions (shown in the photos below):
- Frameset, stem, seat collar, front and rear thru axles and UDH derailleur mount, ready for use with the rider's choice of handlebars, cranks, saddle and other parts. It will retail for $749 with an introductory price of $699.
- Single-speed bike, complete except for pedals, with a single cog and chain tensioner. For use with a virtual-shifting smart trainer or a trainer in ERG mode. It will retail for $999 with an introductory price of $949.
- Complete geared bike with Shimano GRX 1s12 drivetrain. It will retail for $1,399 with an introductory price of $1,329.
More information: caveworks.co.
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The Rivet frame-only option. -
The complete singlespeed build option.
