Originally Posted by
JohnJ80
... When I had built my last bike - which does have S&S couplers - I had heard some things that the Ritchey ones, while simpler than the S&S couplers, had some rigidity issues. So I was interested to hear you say that they worked well (which I thought they would).
....
I have had no rigidity problems with my Raleigh (made by Ritchey) Break Away, but it is a road bike, sidepull brakes, etc. There is one set of threaded holes in front and rear for fenders, not the conventional two sets that you would expect in back for both fenders and rack. And I do not think I have ever put more than 10 pounds on the frame, excluding water bottles or handlebar bag. But I would not be surprised if a touring load would make the downtube a bit flexy. The bike has 28 spoke wheels, not built for a load.
My S&S bike, I have loaded that down with camping gear and a couple weeks of food. The frame was rated for 60kg (130+ lbs) of load not counting the weight of rider. I suspect that I have put about a hundred pounds on it including water bottles, it handled that without any problem at all.
Thus, my experience is that S&S can handle anything but the amount of metal in the Ritchey downtube coupler would make me nervous with typical touring load. That said, I would probably be quite comfortable with a rack on back and a small set of panniers for credit card touring with the Ritchey system. Or maybe a big Carradice saddle bag instead of panniers in back.