The Saluki was supposed to be a kinda faster, 650b version of the Atlantis but a little less of a full-on loaded touring sled, made by Toyo in Japan, with great lugs and tubing, but for some reason they killed it just as it got going. How did they fuck this up? It was right at the crest of the 650b wave and before any talk of fatter-tired road bikes from the mainstream industry, with none of the pretensions of randonneur cosplay, yet Grant and Rivendell quickly moved on to a cheaper version with an inexcusably awful name that had 700c wheels in most of the sizes. What the fuck. Gone was the chance to have a fun 650b road bike. Not in place of a proper road-racing bike, but a cool second bike if you were the sort of upper-class bike consumer who woulda been up for it. But no. A lost opportunity. Another one for Rivendell. Jesus.
The Toyo-built Atlantis frames were so nice, and the Saluki had a chance to be just as good. Now buying a Rivendell frame with the idiotic names and horrible designs and shabby details would make you feel like a fucking cuck.
Yes, I know that the 650b wheels looked kinda goofy in the largest sizes--and Riv liked to make bikes hella big--but up to like a 58 c-c it was pretty okay, and they only needed to offer a single size above that really, anyway. I don't friggin' get it, but I'm decades into my bemusement over what the fuck Rivendell was doing, so this is nothing new.
It's also hard to find decent pics of the Saluki because, like the Atlantis, the owners tend to load the bikes up with a shit ton of dumb bags and fenders and shit that don't belong on a bike unless you are crossing fucking Mongolia or some shit.
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