My LBS just finished building up my new commuter, do-it-all bike -- a Ritchey Breakaway Cross. I've been wanting a cross bike for a while since I no longer own a mountain bike and have always loved the Ritchey Swiss Cross (one of my holy grails). Altho I never found a Swiss Cross, I got the next best thing -- and perhaps better for my purposes.

I'll be using the bike for commuting as well as trail rides and light touring, and the Breakaway Cross has mounts for fenders and racks, which the Swiss Cross does not. Plus I love the orange-and-gray color scheme, which Ritchey only produced for a short while. Just picked up the bike yesterday so I haven't had an opportunity to ride it except for around the parking lot, but I think it's going to be a winner.

I put Rivendell Jack Brown tires on it for road use so I won't have to reset my computer when I use my wheelset with 32 mm cross tires for off-road use. It should ride super comfy.

The bonus is that it came with a travel case, and it will pack down to the size of a large suit case, so I can use it for cycling in other parts of the country. I usually ride 1-2 bike tours every year but have previously restricted my trips to those within driving range. Now I can fly across the US and take a bike with me. Hello Oregon!

Very nice bike; that's cool you can it easily on a plane. I'm a big fan of cross bikes for general all around use.

That bike sounds perfect for your needs. Congratulations on your new ride.

I didn't even know Ritchey made frames. Great looking bike.

What saddle is that?

Does it have S&S couplers? How do you take it apart?

Ritchey frames are legendary among cross bike and mountain bike circles but production apparently was limited. The Ritchey Swiss Cross is one of my "holy grail" bikes that I have searched for but never found in my size. A few years ago, they came up with their "Breakaway" series of travel bikes, which seem to be selling very well. They also reintroduced the Swiss Cross, but it is more of a strictly racing bike with no mounts for fenders or racks. The Breakaway Cross is very similar in geometry to the Swiss Cross except it has mounts for fenders and racks -- and it breaks down for traveling. All of the Breakaway models (road and cross) come with travel cases. They use a different system than S&S couplers, but it seems to be very well designed and I have heard nothing but good reports about them. The frame comes apart near the seat cluster and the bottom bracket. It has a special clamp that holds the downtube together near the BB, and an extra clamp near the top of the seat tube, which is reinforced by the seat post. The cables use special clamps that can be disconnected during travel.

The saddle is a Fizik Vitesse that I found on eBay a while back. I liked the color and won the auction for a low price because apparently I was the only one who did. It matches natural cork or tan bar tape pretty well.

I also bought the Breakaway frame on eBay. It came without the matching Ritchey fork, which is probably why I got it for a good price. I had my bike shop put a Soma steel lugged cross fork on it, which suits my purposes better than carbon anyway.

Very cool. Would love to see some break down pics when you pack it up for travel.

Looks cool! I've read good things about the Breakaway system on Ray Hosler's blog.

Very cool bike, Congrats!

if you are interested in packing Ritchey, check out this:
https://bikeaway.tumblr.com/post/1744...away-s-s-style
and this:
https://bikeaway.tumblr.com/post/3369...ase-of-courage
as well as videos and descriptions here:
https://bikeaway.tumblr.com/post/5410...-breakaway-for

steel fork? nice. Don't see new ones around much anymore.

Ritchey has his own way of getting the function of the S&S without buying their couplers.

seatpost has 2 clamps around it, 1 for the 2 frame's sections . the other clamp has joined the 2 portions
of the downtube..

Just too cool! Thanks!

The orange and grey looks great!

Took the Ritchey out for three rides over the weekend, ranging from 24 to 43 miles on pavement and unpaved trails. With the 33 mm Jack Brown tires, it really has a cushy ride and rolls very nice for such wide tires. This bike is gonna get a lot of use, commuting on days when rain is not expected as well as trails and light touring. I'm gonna leave fenders off it for the time being even though it has been raining every day lately because I have another commuter bike with fenders.

How long does it take to break down/pack/reassemble/re-tune a bike like this?

I haven't tried packing it yet, but other people who own them tell me the bike can be broken down and packed in about 15-20 minutes with practice and 30 minutes otherwise. There are videos on YouTube where you can watch someone doing it as well as the Ritchey website. I may not ever use mine for traveling in the case, but it's nice to have that option.

I have shipped regular bikes for tours before and it was a royal pain. Had to find a large bike box, partially dissemble (pedals, handlebar, seatpost), wrap all of the tubing, take it to FedEx, pay them a bunch of money and then hope the bike arrives in time. Last time I did that, it cost about $50 to ship the bike to my tour departure point and $100 for the return trip, and shipping costs have gone up a lot since then. The box was damaged on the return shipping and frame would have been dented and scratched if I hadn't packed it so well.

The Ritchey travel case supposedly counts as a regular suitcase by airlines. They don't guarantee that, but I've never heard of anyone getting charged extra (beyond normal luggage fees).

here's your answer:
https://bikeaway.tumblr.com/post/5410...-breakaway-for