Ritchey Breakaway

Price Paid:  $4000.00 at Local Bike Dealer

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Across Europe

Bike Setup:
Ultegra, carbon, nicely outfitted

Summary:
I have the ti cross bike and it's the best bike I've ever owned. I've taken it on several trips and love the fact that there hasn't been an airline that has had any clue I was shipping a big. I'm a big guy, 230 lbs, but the frame feels as solid and responsive as any I've felt. I can tour quickly down a country road, and take an intense mountain bike trail through a national park.

Strengths:
If you like to tour or do something other than sit in a hotel room on business trips.

Weaknesses:
They are rather pricy, hard to find... the steel model was back-ordered 3 months, so I bought Ti which was in stock. No regrets there.

Price Paid:  $1100.00

Model Year:
2007

Summary:
so this review is for the steel breakaway.

Great bike, but there is considerable flex in the frame. Just put your foot on the pedal in the 6 oclock position and press downward - the rear triangle moves quite a bit.

This flex, however, does not reduce the ride characteristics as the bike is really nice.

1. Quick disconnects for shifters and rear brakes work great
2. retorque bottom coupling AFTER every ride as it does tend to loosen a bit during rides.
3. Packing instructions do not work for 56 cm bikes
4. packing, I found that works: 1. front triangle intertwined with rear wheel on the bottom, with memory foam wrapping around the frame and between the wheel, spokes and frame. 2.cinch one of the sets of buckles. 3. included separator 4. intertwine rear triangle and front wheel and again use memory foam to protect frame from spokes etc. 5. handlebars interwoven with front wheel spokes, so that stem is centered over top of hub on front wheel (with foam between them). 6.cinch other set of buckles 7.memory foam over top of everything.

yes the memory foam is heavy but it really works well.

42 lbs with bike, shoes. all tools, all clothes, etc.

i would definately recoomend this bike to the travler, who wnats to take a high quality bike to far off destinations

Strengths:
overall the bike is wonderful and very race worthy and soaks up a lot of road chatter like a steel bike should. The ride is great and the design is brilliant.

checks like luggage

Weaknesses:
paint is not that durable, and the wheels do get some abuse, but less abuse with the packing sequence I mentioned above.

takes some tme to set-up and breakdown

Similar Products Used:
trek, fuji, specialized....blah, blah

Price Paid:  $960.00 at Performance

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Away from home

Bike Setup:
I bought the steel version 54cm frame set / case from Performance, and added Centaur components I had laying around. I have a spare compact crank for it for the mountains. The bike also has a PBK carbon seatpost, Ritchey WCS stem and bars, SSM Aspide saddle and Time RXS pedals. Currently its strapped with Conti 4 Seasons which are great tires.

Summary:
I think it's best to start of with describing who this bike is not for. If you don't own a bike tool kit or you bring your bike to a shop for a "tune up," this bike is not for you. This bike will require personal maintenance, including truing wheels and fixing broken stuff from traveling. If you like to keep your bike pristine and periodically wipe your bike down with a diaper and stare at it, this bike is not for you. It will get scratched, dinged, and chipped every time you travel with it. If you like $500+ wheels on your bike, this bike is not for you. The wheels get a lot of abuse in the included case and will go out of true every time you pack the bike. This bike is not for you if you like to save money. Realistically you can rent for many years on every bike vacation you take and spend less money. You'd have to rent a bike for 50+ days to even come close, realistically most of us don't get that much vacation time in 3 or 4 years. This bike IS for you if you have a very specific way you set up your bike that is unique and/or you travel to places where it's hard to rent.

Strengths:
You get to where you want to go, you unpack the bike, you ride! I never got charged for oversize. Rides like a dream, clamping system is rock solid. Steel is real!

Weaknesses:
I travel with a floor pump and Minoura foldable truing stand which (barely) fit in the case. All together the packed case weighs very close to the 50lb airline limit. Wheels need to be trued every time. The paint chips easily and the frame gets scratched a lot. The case straps (especially the connectors) break easily.

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Price Paid:  $1195.00 at performance

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Ritchey Steel Breakaway XC

Bike Setup:
Campagnolo Centaur Triple group with a long cage RD. Ritchey long seat post with Ritchey saddle, Crank Bros Candy Pedals, TekTro cantis, 3 sets of wheels Campy Record hubs, 32H DT Swiss RR1.1 and 1 set of 36H TK 7.1 rims for touring. Ritchey bars, stem, and headset.

Summary:
Purchased the bike for a possible touring bike because of the ability to travel easily. Have used the bike all winter as a road bike and an XC with different wheel sets including studded snow tires. I setup the bike with a Campagnolo Centaur triple group. The bike assembles and disassembles very easily and is ready to go with a minimal hassel. I have ridden the bike on a lot of dirt and the ride is solid.

Strengths:
Easy to pack and unpack. Great riding bike on the road and off road with XC tires. No problems encountered with the clamp used to secure the down tube to the BB. Use a park Torque wrench for the correct setting of the bolt. No sign of any problems and I have assembled and disassembled the frame a dozen times. Good attachments for touring racks.

Weaknesses:
Have not encountered any real weaknesses. I was nervous about the fork until I put some hard miles on the bike. I did purchase a Surly steel fork for hardcore touring again not a real weakness because of the use it will be put to.

Similar Products Used:
Surly Cross Check and 1988 Torelli XC (guercotti built),

Price Paid:  $1026.00 at Edina Bike (MN shop

Model Year:
2006

Bike Setup:
Ritchey comp carbon cross fork and Ritchey headset (included with F/F purchase) Velocity deep-V's with Panaracer Pasela 35c tires (for pavement) or Michelin Muds (for CX) Ritchey Pro compact 34-50 crank (extra 36-46 rings for cross racing), 9sp bar-end shifters, cheap old-school LX high profile canti's, eggbeater pedals, Salsa Moto-ace 42cm bar, 115mm Ritchey stem, generic Fizik Aliante copy knockoff saddle, Ritchey seatpost, powder blue tape goes nice with Magenta/gray frame color.

Summary:
Not to repeat what others have already reviewed, but I think this is the first review of the cyclocross version- I bought a 56cm frame/fork online from Edina Bike in Minneapolis- they have the best current price that I found, but my size only in the Magenta/Gray color scheme, but for a price savings of $300 over other sources, heck I'll take the pink and be manly enough to ride with pride- it's actually a nice color out of the box, and I chose a powder blue bar tape that looks great (IMHO YMMV). I bought the frame/fork mostly for business travel in Africa and other developing country regions, and as a back-up/pit bike for cyclocross racing. So far I've had it on two overseas trips, a few laps of a muddy cross race when my other bike's STI shifters got sticky (long live bar-ends for cross weather!) and about 1,000 miles of winter training on the road. I've got a large stable of road bikes and cyclocross bikes, so I've got a good selection to compare the Ritchey to, and like others, I gotta say this bike rocks! I was prepared for compromise, a do-everything bike that maybe doesn't handle as well on the road like my roadies, or handle a cross course like my dedicated cross racers, but I'm really happily surprised at how well it handles both on and offroad. I'm a bike snob, spoiled by some great road bikes and cyclocross bikes- this one doesn't disappoint at all. On pavement I would describe it as fairly quick handling, due to the slack headtube angle combined with a modest 45mm offset on the fork. I like it, although if you are expecting more of a "stable"-feeling typical of a dedicated touring bike, this might take a few rides to get used to. The long (compared to a typical roadbike) chainstays balance off the front end handling and the overall feel is a predictable stable bike that takes fast sweeping turns on pavement very nicely but asks a little more attention than a typical road racing bike. Where it really shines is in the demands of modest trail riding or cyclocross- sharp turns at slower speeds, Ritchey's "Swiss Cross"-emulated geometry handles beautifully- this ain't no Surly Crosscheck (nothing against the Surly, but it just ain't designed as a great cross racer). Keep in mind that I've only used wide 35c Panaracer Pasela tires for riding on rough African roads and flat-free winter training, narrower tires on pavement will increase the steering response somewhat. I've carried about 30 pounds using a rear rack and front handlebar bag- the stays are long enough to avoid heel contact and it handles well, though not like a dedicated touring bike. But on the other hand, I see no reason why I couldn't mount some narrow road tires and race the occasional crit or road race, it would handle just fine (and better than some dedicated road racers I've had). In the 56cm size, breaking it down and packing into the Ritchey travel case isn't too hard, following the written intruction card included in the case. I'm using bar end shifters which may make it a little easier as the brake levers are a little smaller profile than STIs and I don't have to be as careful protecting them, they're relatively exposed toward the outside of the bag when packed by Ritchey instructions. The wheels with 35c tires fit OK if the tires are deflated- I'm using 36 spoke wheels to minimize damage from rough roads and rough transit, fewer spokes would allow the wheels to nestle more closely in the case, which might make larger frame sizes a little easier to pack. Packing the handlebars in a separate bag would make fitting much easier- you could substitute more clothing in the Ritchey bag instead. But this hasn't been an issue with my 56cm size, no problems using included tube protectors so far for 2 overseas trips including multiple flights on local airlines. If your travels take you away from smooth asphalt, or you're a cyclocross fanatic who racks up frequent flyer miles, this is your bike! If I could just have one bike, this would be it.

Strengths:
Good quality steel, reasonably light at 1800g frame/fork (cyclocross version). Great geometry, nice handling design, good quality TIG welding, frame was perfectly aligned and faced, all threads were smooth and didn't require any chasing (It came as is from the QBP distributor, Edina Bike didn't open the box, just sent it directly to me). This is as close to a do-everything bike as you'll find, capable of racing cross, racing road, light touring, fits fenders (though need slightly smaller tires than my 32c's. With the case included, it's a good deal, at the price I found it, an excellent deal. Even included an extra frame coupler collar, 3 cable connectors and a decent headset. Tom Ritchey travels, and thought a lot about the design of this bike, and it shows.

Weaknesses:
Magenta? Who at Ritchey spec'ed Magenta? But it's really not bad, though the orange or red versions would be awesome.
Nitpicks-
Ritchey/QBP includes 3 cable connectors- the ones for the shifters work just fine, but the one for the rear brake cable is too small to fit the soldered (road) brake cable end inside- I had to file the lead cable end down to size to fit inside the coupler. On a cross bike with canti brakes you don't really need brake cable couplers though, just disengage at the straddle cables. Ritchey packing instructions leave the front brake cable attached, but it's much easier to pack the handlbars if you disengage all the cables and they're less likely to get kinked in transit. And what the heck, why not a pump peg (though a full size frame pump fits below the top tube and stays in place just fine using the seat tube coupler lug)

Similar Products Used:
Waterford X22 cross
Local builder custom crosser
Empella Bonfire
Redline Conquest
TST Ti road race bike
Vintage DeRosa SLX roadie
Mercian touring bike
numerous fixed gears, MTBs, somebody help me!