Question on Ritchey MTB's
 

These seem to have a cult following...

I'm continuing to evolve "backwards" and am riding my front suspension MTB's less than I used to. I think that I'm beginning to understand why some guys like rigid/rigids. Who says us old farts need suspensions!

Does anybody have photos or catalogs with "Ritchey USA" MTB's ?

The one that I'm interested in has "Ritchey USA" on the down tube and a nice small "TR" logo on the seat tube. I thought that it was late '80's but I don't know that for sure.

I know that many people consider Tom to be one of, if not THE Godfather of it all... But I have never come across Ritchey resources... And I'm only just now beginning to study his early work.

Any info you have on these would be great!
Thanks in advance

I have a customer that has one sitting under cover but on a wood pile. I have tried to get a close look but it's pretty hard not to be too creepy when drooling on customers stuff. Anyways. it looks to be of EXTREME quality! It is red, a mix of lugged and flawless fillet brazing. Not sure on the year but it has non indexed XTR so it must be pretty early. It is HUGE but I've tried to get it regardless. Did I mention the paint quality? Truely one of the best MB's I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure the tube set was Tange Infinity BTW.......If I found one in my size I'd give a paycheck for it.

The online Ritchey resource...

http://www.oldmountainbikes.com/catalogs/

kpug505 wrote: "Not sure on the year but it has non indexed XTR".
There's no such thing.

Thanks for the resources you guys! TR's portfolio is even more impressive than I thought it would be!

I am very interested in picking one up and giving it a try in the foothills around Boulder and Golden. It sounds like these are pretty ultimate single trackers.

I want to offer this guy a fair price... Based on the links you posted, I think that this would be a
1986-88ish so my question is, what would be a fair price to offer on a "Ritchey USA" (still unknown model to me) that has been sitting/neglected for nearly 10 years. I don't want to insult the guy....but I also don't know if it is cool to take a classic like this and try to "upgrade/modernize" it....??
Rigid fork and everything appears to be original to the bike which makes it very outdated technology, but I thought that with some work on the derailleurs and a new set of tires it may ride better than any of my GT's or maybe even better than my Raleigh M400 with FS....

It's brilliant white, looks like an Ultra, but I dont see any model name on it.

Sorry for all of the stupid questions. Basically, I don't know what an 80's Ritchey is worth in fair condition....:o

Here's some interesting ebay results:

A late 80's Ritchey Outback that went for just over $400 plus shipping-
http://cgi.ebay.com/RITCHEY-outback-...QQcmdZViewItem

This one with dirt-drops and bar-end shifters has been re-listed several times with no takers at $750-
http://cgi.ebay.com/RITCHEY-MOUNTAIN...QQcmdZViewItem

Two current auctions to watch-
http://cgi.ebay.com/RITCHEY-MOUNTAIN...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1985-Ritchey-Asc...QQcmdZViewItem

Also, I thought I recalled a very nice Ritchey Commando, with the camouflage paint scheme, that was recently listed, but I couldn't find it.

Thanks epicurean, it will be fun to follow those auctions and see how they do.

I've never gotten to ride one, but there must be something special about them...... I wonder if it's because they ride really well, or if it's the fact that they were handcrafted by a guy who is really respected, or maybe it's all of the above...
Now I really want to try one :)

Add me to the list of folks that would love to have a classic handbuilt Ritchey.

At one point the MTB team I was part of was talking about being sponsored by Ritchey...Hmmm...I wonder if that lead could be pursued again...

I bought an 89 Ritchey Ultra frame and fork last fall for about $200. That is prestige tubing. It was third in the line and had more aggressive geometry than the ascent or the outback. They all had a fillet-brazed seat cluster, or something that looks very much like that. This bike is fairly unique in that a customer took advantage of the Ritchey custom paint program, and it is painted Rasta. I am waiting for warmer weather to build the wheels for this one.

I watched that camo commando (vee dub sold it) go for about $350, I think, complete and fairly original, last fall as well. Commandos and Timberwolves are older, and command a little more money (and nearly a guarantee that Tom did all of the brazing; by 89 he was just putting the submodules together). The ultimate Ritchey (excluding the road bikes) was the annapurna. That was a full fillet-brazed bike, with a weird sleeve thingie that made it look as if there was part of a lug in there somewhere.

The annapurna was custom, expensive, and rare. If you find one of those you just hit the jackpot, because he didn't make many.

Oh, hey, pay attention to the seat mast sticker. Some say Designed by Tom Ritchey, and some say Designed and Built by Tom Ritchey. Guess which one is worth more...

The actual Tom built bikes will typically have a decal that says "Handmade by Tom Ritchey" and the imported bikes that may or may not have some finishing by Tom will say "Handcrafted by Ritchey Mountainbikes". The imported bikes are also usually TIG welded (with the seat cluster sometimes fillet-brazed). You probably won't find these decals on the early bikes (which are all fillet-brazed or fillet-brazed with bi-lams in the case of the Annapurna). The early bikes have fairly slack angles and are good for fire roads and that style riding. They are not great climbers. The steeper angles of Bridgestones, etc. or later Ritcheys may be preferable.

The Commando I had was just too damn pretty to ride offroad, so I sold it ...

http://www.oldmountainbikes.com/cgi-...cgi?bike=1B291
http://www.oldmountainbikes.com/cgi-...s.cgi?bike=253
http://www.oldmountainbikes.com/cgi-...=0%200%208%200

Bob

Excellent advice! My memory is fuzzy, but for some reason the only things that I can remember are the "TR" on the seat post and the "Ritchey USA" decal. When I glanced at it, I thought that it looked very minimalist and I was stupid enough to think that it may not have been durable enough to handle serious single track riding in the Rockies...
I know enough at-a-glance to know that this bike is definitely pre-90, so that has got me excited to go back and have a look. I wonder if any of those folks over at MTBR have ever ridden with Tom?

Thanks Bob!
It may have been there right under my nose, so I'll be happy to have a good look again. I thought that the angle looked slack, so maybe I'm way off on the year. Something about it reminded me a bit too much of the 1st generation of Specialized bikes, and I was in a rush to go and look at a vintage Haro Vector, which turned out to be not quite the size I was hoping for....

I'm pretty sure the owner of this bike did ...

http://home.mchsi.com/~bhufford3/rit...yesville07.jpg

This is TR posing with Charlie Kelly's Annapurna (I think from Keyesville 2007). Charlie posts as "Repack Rider" on MTBR ...

http://www.sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/mtbwelcome.htm

Bob

Bob,
That is one of the greatest links that I've ever seen! Is your interest because of the strong Schwinn connection or did you ever do any of that style of riding?

The Pearl Pass,CO photo is so powerful, and I cant believe what kind of monsters Alan Bonds was building... Holy cow!

That bloody Giro d' Italia photo is pretty GNARLY :eek:

What an AWSOME thread!
Once again, you've outdone yourself!

"I'm pretty sure the owner of this bike did ..."
It may be my computer, but your photo above is not opening for me..??

ah, I'm inspired to finish the Ultra. Not quite completely, but maybe I could set up a wheel building station in the spare bedroom, whilst patti's not lookin. just until we get above freezing, of course. I have (and am unable to locate) a decal that is not attached to anything, that says "designed by tom ritchey". I'll find it when I find the decal folder, and post a pic.

Fixed the pic ...

I missed out on the MTB scene as I moved to the boonies right as it was getting started here in the midwest and the first bike I attempted riding was an '83 Univega Alpina Sport (in 1983 -- a blue one). It had pretty slack angles and when attempting to climb with it it would unweight the rear wheel and loose traction. I didn't try again until the mid-'90s and have been playing catch up.

The Ritcheys float my boat as they fit the style of riding that I typically do now (fire roads in the Mark Twain National Forest) and they are works of art (I'm partial to fillet-brazing). Now if I could just find a beat up one in my size that wouldn't break the bank ...

Bob

Longtime Ritchey Ultra owner
 

You can always get new decals and re-do 'em.

My 1981 Ritchey was stolen in Bangkok after 20 years of riding it all over the region.

I have a 1984 Team Competition now, but it isn't quite as fabulous as was the '81.

Sigh.

I seem to remember a bit of backstory, or a suspect... But it more than likely just ended up being just a bike to whoever ended up with it-

Thieves suck.

Yeah, the thief stole it to cover a $100 gambling debt. He then goes off and get killed in a motorcycle crash, but not before the bike is passed on to someone untraceable. Some say it was karma, but I'd much rather have just gotten the bike back. That's the very short version.

There are a couple Ritchey bikes up for auction right now, for those looking. Just FYI.

T.R. himself put the story to rest about the TIG welded 80's bikes in a great video interview. It shouldn't be too hard to find. He did everything the same on those bikes EXCEPT the actual TIG welds. He said that was because TIG welding was the hot thing and he felt they should look into it. He hired what he said was a very good TIG welder to do the main welds. He cut the tubes, tacked them up, did the brazing and final aligning, and painting himself.

Okay. So who bought this one? Item #: 161920337241






Vintage Ritchey Timberwolf mountain bike

Check out the pristine Commando just posted on ebay...even has Tom's signature on it. If I only had room...

What a beauty! Cheap, too!

And, boy, did it go quickly.