# 1981 Ritchey Everest, S/N 1R0079



## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

This is the oldest mountain bike I own and one I got some years back from a regular member here. It is one of only a few bikes I have that has been repainted. The work was done by Cyclart because they were able to supply the original Ritchey Palo Alto" decals.

How early is this for a Ritchey? Well, on the oldmountainbikes.com website there are only three bikes that are listed as earlier, and one is Tom's first bike and another is owned by Alan Bonds. Some features that distinguish this one are the knob cable guides, the ring on the seat collar for the rubber seal, the clamp-on stem, and of course the decals.

Is this a 2012 Pearl Pass candidate? Probably not because the crankset has seen better days, and in comparison to the 1983 Salsa it really feels like an antique.


----------



## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

*Cont.*


----------



## WickedPhatChance (May 28, 2011)

Beautiful bike!


----------



## MERK26 (Aug 31, 2009)

Really nice...love it.


----------



## chefmiguel (Dec 22, 2007)

Very cool, DC! Would you happen to have any before pics?


----------



## eastcoaststeve (Sep 19, 2007)

Beautiful bike DC...another jewel in your collection...well done.




side note: was everyone who rode a Ritchey bitd seven feet tall? Seems like all the ones we see would be skyscrapers for a shorty like me.



Steve


----------



## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

chefmiguel said:


> Would you happen to have any before pics?


Unfortunately, no. But it was really rough.



eastcoaststeve said:


> Seems like all the ones we see would be skyscrapers for a shorty like me.


A direct consequence of only having short roadbike seatposts at the time.


----------



## mainlyfats (Oct 1, 2005)

My goodness... That's a real beauty.


----------



## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

Trivia note: The use of the Simplex front derailleur was dictated by the chain line being moved out to fit around the larger tires. Of the off-the-shelf derailleurs then available, only the Simplex had enough travel.

Surprised the rear is not Huret Duopar.


----------



## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

wasn't the seat collar ring (and accompanying rubber boot) something that was tried out in 1982 for a short period?

I think EL had an old picture of that one up at one point, but maybe that was its twin.

Those are Campagnolo cable stops, by the way...

And I think I see a few others on oldmountainbikes that could be older. You're slipping, DC.


----------



## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Great pics TD!

Another bit of trivia: This bike made a brief appearance in the movies "Klunkerz." So it's a bit of a movie star.


----------



## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

Repack Rider said:


> Of the off-the-shelf derailleurs then available, only the Simplex had enough travel.


That's cool trivia! I wondered about that, thanks!



Fillet-brazed said:


> And I think I see a few others on oldmountainbikes that could be older.


Oh, just a couple not special enough to have serial numbers. And heck, one even has the wrong derailleurs and shifters.


----------



## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

DoubleCentury said:


> That's cool trivia! I wondered about that, thanks!
> 
> Oh, just a couple not special enough to have serial numbers. And heck, one even has the wrong derailleurs and shifters.


haha. That's how I got it. I left the FD but did put the original style shifters back on. There were even marks in the paint left from the originals!

How about the 2RXXX and the XXXXR series, are those confirmed to be later bikes?


----------



## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

You got me beat by a cool 70 or so....
Great bike DC. Admittedly I was daydreaming about riding Pearl Pass on the Everest after reading about your Salsa adventures there.....


----------



## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Repack Rider said:


> Surprised the rear is not Huret Duopar.


I hope this atrocity is remedied.


----------



## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

Aemmer said:


> Admittedly I was daydreaming about riding Pearl Pass on the Everest ....


Do it! I'm dreaming of riding something nickle-plated. Yeah, dream on.


----------



## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

girlonbike said:


> I hope this atrocity is remedied.


It might be ok, because I heard that the first 3 Ritcheys (Tom's, Alan's, and DC's) used the Suntour RD since the shipment from France had not yet arrived.


----------



## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

The Duopar and the VX are both listed in the 81 catalog. The Shimano M700 is not.


----------



## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

girlonbike said:


> I hope this atrocity is remedied.


I would think the VX would shift better.


----------



## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Shayne said:


> I would think the VX would shift better.


No doubt. Anything that had SunTour written on it would have out preformed anything else made at the time.


----------



## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

Those Cyclart folks sure do pretty paint work.


----------



## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

That's a fantastic bike!!!


----------



## YETIFIED (May 4, 2005)

Another awesome bike DC and I love those Cinelli "divers helmet" cable stops.


----------



## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

YETIFIED said:


> Another awesome bike DC and I love those Cinelli "divers helmet" cable stops.


Campagnolo 621 Chainstay Cable Stop. NOS. - Hjulcompaniet™


----------



## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

I've always hear of them referred to as a Cinelli bit too

nova has them listed as such, not sure if it matters though


----------



## nightshade_rider (Apr 18, 2007)

A very handsome bike, DC. 

What is it about the crankset condition that has you worried that it wouldn't hold up? Worn rings?


----------



## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

hollister said:


> I've always hear of them referred to as a Cinelli bit too
> 
> nova has them listed as such, not sure if it matters though


I had never heard who made them until Steve Potts told me... maybe both of them made something similar.


----------



## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

Fillet-brazed said:


> I had never heard who made them until Steve Potts told me... maybe both of them made something similar.


they look exactly the same from what I can see. I've seen em in a few different styles(slotted, recessed, and not)

my guess is the same company made them, it just depends on who sells them?

and yeah, cool looking bike. I love those canti mounts and bars


----------



## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

nightshade_rider said:


> What is it about the crankset condition that has you worried that it wouldn't hold up? Worn rings?


Worn and distorted rings. They used so little material to make the granny that it really isn't round anymore. Also, the tapers on the arms might be off such that the pedals feel like they aren't really axially aligned.


----------



## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

DoubleCentury said:


> Worn and distorted rings. They used so little material to make the granny that it really isn't round anymore. Also, the tapers on the arms might be off such that the pedals feel like they aren't really axially aligned.


I have that exact problem with my Mercury. The taper is off just enough that I can feel it. Good thing is after a few miles I stop noticing. Then I get on my modern bike and it feels all wrong, then I get used to it again. My granny ring on my TA's turned into a bio pace too. Good thing is you can get reproduction rings that are good deal stronger or so I heard. I think velo orange has them.


----------



## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

Fillet-brazed said:


> It might be ok, because I heard that the first 3 Ritcheys (Tom's, Alan's, and DC's) used the Suntour RD since the shipment from France had not yet arrived.


The first three Ritcheys were Tom's, Gary Fisher's and one sold to a friend of Gary's named James MacWay, later stolen. All Tom supplied to Gary were the frames, and Gary built up his own and James' bikes with parts sold over the counter at the bike shop.

Some years later I saw a frame rusting quietly in Tom's garden, and he told me it was his original.

Alan traded for his frame by painting a trade show backdrop. He just got a frame, and built it up himself.


----------



## scooterendo (Jan 30, 2004)

Gorgeous. Makes mine look modern by comparison...


----------



## scooterendo (Jan 30, 2004)

The custom top cap makes it go much faster, though...


----------



## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

Nice touch!

Does your bike have vertical drops but older stuff otherwise?


----------



## -Anomie- (Jan 16, 2005)

You know I approve!


----------



## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

Me too.










(Sorry, not yet ready for prime time viewing)


----------



## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

The red, black and gold is a perfect copy of my old bike. The last time I saw that bike was in 1987 when I was riding to the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge and I saw a rider on it. He had bought it from the one I sold it to, who now owns Otis Guy #23, shown in another thread.

The coin capping the stem is one of Joe Breeze's trademarks, and can also be seen on some Otis Guy bikes. Buffalo nickels seem to be the most popular, for size and image.


----------



## -Anomie- (Jan 16, 2005)

Repack Rider said:


> The red, black and gold is a perfect copy of my old bike.


I'm sure you know this, but for those who don't I intentionally built my Ritchey up to be a replica of Charlie's red and gold bike (seen below). It involved getting the brake levers, chain rings and crank arms anodized, and the bars brass plated, not to mention new paint and decals. I actually have a set of Magura levers (the ones on it above are Tommaselli) and Suntour Mighty shifters (Power shifters above), but that should be all I need to change to make it as close as possible to yours. Of course, the frame is a McKinley and I assume yours was an Everest, but it's what I had to work with.

CK's bike from 1981:


----------



## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

CK, are there any bikes that you've sold or given away that you've regretted? That sure looks like a good one. 

Nice tribute bike, Anomie.

Shim orientation fail:


----------



## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

girlonbike said:


> CK, are there any bikes that you've sold or given away that you've regretted? That sure looks like a good one.
> 
> Nice tribute bike, Anomie.
> 
> Shim orientation fail:


Where's Todd Beemer? 

Beautiful OG! Let's see the whole thing. Oh, and nothing wrong with the shims that way... unless you're OCD.


----------



## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Fillet-brazed said:


> Where's Todd Beemer?
> 
> Beautiful OG! Let's see the whole thing. Oh, and nothing wrong with the shims that way... unless you're OCD.


There's a pic somewhere on IV with original paint. Then Kurt killed the originality it by repainting it...full bike pics are in the Otis thread on Retrobike. I'm not digging for links though.


----------



## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

girlonbike said:


> CK, are there any bikes that you've sold or given away that you've regretted? That sure looks like a good one.


I suppose I should have kept all of them.

At the time it didn't seem like getting another bike like that would ever be a problem.


----------



## clockworkgazz (Nov 22, 2007)

hindesight is 20/20 as they say, stunning bike all the same- great work.


----------



## LeicaLad (Jun 5, 2010)

Just for a contrast/period study view:

Order #133, November 1981.


----------

