Price Paid:
$1050.00
at Ebikes Favorite Ride:
Railtrail Bike Setup:
Tiagra brifters, Tiagra FD, 105 RD, Ritchey 36/46 cross cranks, Salsa Bell Lap handlebar, Ritchey Pro stem & seatpost, SI Maxflite saddle, Avid V-brake w/ Travel Agent front brake, Tektro Oryx canti rear brake, Time ATAC XS pedals, Neuvation R28 SL3 wheels, Shimano Octalink BB, Maxxis Raze tires, SRAM 11-26 9-speed cassette & chain. Summary:
I got this bike to dabble in CX racing (I'm hooked!) and as a flexible bike that could handle anything while traveling. I shopped around quite a bit to find an affordable way to build a break-away 'cross bike. I couldn't find anything for less than this Ritchey by quite a significant margin. S&S coupler-equipped bikes can be really nice, but framebuilders will charge anywhere from $400 to $750 to add the couplers to the frame. Then it's another $350 for the case! At just over $1000, Ritchey gives you the breakaway frame, carbon fork and headset with the case. Is it too good to be true? I would say that it isn't. The coupling system is clever and lighter than S&S couplers, but the downtube connection doesn't inspire confidence. However, I've raced four cross races on it and everything has held up fine.
Building up the bike took longer than normal since you have to deal with the cable connectors--make sure you have two sets of derailleur cables and an extra brake cable. You really have to crank down on those little set screws on the cable connectors! Another note is to make sure the rear brake pads have plenty of clearance to the rims. The rear end isn't the stiffest thing around and I was getting the rim to rub on the brakes on out-of-the-saddle steep climbs.
The ride is very smooth as steel should be. Steering was slower than I was used to because of the slack head tube angle (72*), but many cross bikes are in that range and I got used to it pretty quickly. In racing, when shouldering the bike the rear brake cable is a bit of a pain since it's at the 8 o'clock position instead of 11 o'clock like it should be on a cross bike. Ritchey uses the same lug at the seat tube/top tube intersection as the road frame which determines where the brake cable runs. This would be easy to remedy by having cable stops running on the top of the top tube. When you break apart the frame, you could just remove the short stretch of housing from the cable stop on the top tube and then it could go with the rear triangle for packing (are you listening, Tom?). The only other complaint I have is that the main triangle is a little tight with the semi-sloping top tube which makes it a little more difficult to shoulder the bike in a race. Strengths:
Price, ride characteristics, light weight, flexibility (lots of braze-ons), they give you an extra downtube coupler. Weaknesses:
Rear triangle lateral stiffness, rear brake cable routing. Similar Products Used:
None, this is my first 'cross bike.
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