# Ritchey 40th Anniversity Run of 40 Frames



## ssulljm (Sep 3, 2006)

This just in From Steve "Gravy" Gravenites on his FB page, will update info as rec'd :

"In riding with our friend Tom Ritchey yesterday I learned he will be making 40 classic steel frames (road and MTB) for his 40th anniversary of making bikes. Proceeds from four of those bikes will go to non-profits: 

1. Project Rwanda
2. NICA
3. Trips for Kids
4. Free Bikes 4 Kidz

What kind of frame would you have Tom make?


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

ssulljm said:


> What kind of frame would you have Tom make?


Annapurna, maybe an Everest.


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## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

29" Annapurna....


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

I'd be happy with either a road or mountain bike in my size.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Great news! Stellar, stand up guy with his work for charity. I'm looking forward to seeing the frames. I'm not particularly keen on a copy of any vintage model but hopefully they are fillet brazed. That would be what I would love to see, in any case.

Thanks for passing along the information.


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## pure bikes (May 15, 2009)

An updated version of the Commando would be sweet.


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## scooderdude (Sep 27, 2004)

Road classic and Annapurna


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## Roadsters (Jul 7, 2008)

Tom has two basic approaches to choose from here: he can either built these in honor of where we were thirty years ago, or he can show us what he's learned in all that time.

An Annapurna with shorter chainstays and steeper angles would be fine, but to interest me it would have to incorporate some improvements like cable routing for V-brakes and a 1 1/8-inch threadless headset.

Aside from the nostalgia of it all, steel frames and forks don't interest me much any more. I think aluminum and carbon have made them all but obsolete, mainly due to steel's tendency to transmit vibration rather than absorbing it the way aluminum and carbon do. And if you disagree, go find some contemporary high-end bikes with steel bars, seatposts, cranks, and rims.

No matter what Tom builds them out of, for a frameset to be something I'd take seriously enough to use as the basis to build another 19-pound rocket, along with anyone else, he'd have to at least acknowledge the work done by Gary Klein, as shown in the two illustrations on the bottom of this page.


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## Major (Jul 8, 2008)

A P22 Team would be nice. With 26 inch wheels of course


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

Roadsters said:


> Aside from the nostalgia of it all, steel frames and forks don't interest me much any more. I think aluminum and carbon have made them all but obsolete, mainly due to steel's tendency to transmit vibration rather than absorbing it the way aluminum and carbon do. And if you disagree, go find some contemporary high-end bikes with steel bars, seatposts, cranks, and rims.


Blasphemer!!! Tar, feather and have 'im quartered!!!


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## bmxcollector (Nov 21, 2006)

I don't think I'd hold my breath waiting for Tom Ritchey to acknowledge Gary Klein when building his 40th anniversary framesets...


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

Roadsters said:


> And if you disagree, go find some contemporary high-end bikes with steel bars, seatposts, cranks, and rims.


What _vintage_ high-end steel framed mtbs had steel bars, seatposts, cranks, and rims?
(after the early bullmoose bars there aren't many with even one of those components, much less all)


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

bmxcollector said:


> i don't think i'd hold my breath waiting for tom ritchey to acknowledge gary klein when building his 40th anniversary framesets...


hhaaaaa! Lmao.


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## Machianera (Feb 5, 2011)

Roadsters said:


> Tom has two basic approaches to choose from here: he can either built these in honor of where we were thirty years ago, or he can show us what he's learned in all that time.
> 
> An Annapurna with shorter chainstays and steeper angles would be fine, but to interest me it would have to incorporate some improvements like cable routing for V-brakes and a 1 1/8-inch threadless headset.
> 
> ...


:thumbsup: I am curious to see the 19-pound rocket.


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

Machianera said:


> :thumbsup: I am curious to see the 19-pound rocket.


= Kleins with ugly forks and slick tires.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Roadsters said:


> Aside from the nostalgia of it all, steel frames and forks don't interest me much any more. I think aluminum and carbon have made them all but obsolete, mainly due to steel's tendency to transmit vibration rather than absorbing it the way aluminum and carbon do. And if you disagree, go find some contemporary high-end bikes with steel bars, seatposts, cranks, and rims.
> 
> No matter what Tom builds them out of, for a frameset to be something I'd take seriously enough to use as the basis to build another 19-pound rocket, along with anyone else, he'd have to at least acknowledge the work done by Gary Klein, as shown in the two illustrations on the bottom of this page.


I'm pretty sure that you forgot to include the "  " at the end of your post. Otherwise we might think that you were being serious.


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## Bigfoot (Jan 16, 2004)

Road tandem! Breakaway of course! :thumbsup:


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

Brazed plexus 29er. Disc brake only, red, white, and blue of course. Modern go fast build with the classic construction.


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

aemmer said:


> 29" annapurna....


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
thjisthisthisthisthisthis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

normal sized wheels, rim brakes, rigid, fillet brazed

no breakaway, no funny bends


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

I would like a team comp w/ bullmoose bars and a road bike. Thank you!


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## guywitharitchey (Nov 29, 2011)

I'll take a fillet brazed canadian only model:thumbsup:


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

hollister said:


> normal sized wheels, rim brakes, rigid, fillet brazed
> 
> no breakaway, no funny bends


But there are already hundreds if not thousands of those out there that even in the best condition won't cost as much as a new one.


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

Boy named SSue said:


> But there are already hundreds if not thousands of those out there that even in the best condition won't cost as much as a new one.


in that case, I want a unicycle

with a 36" wheel


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

hollister said:


> in that case, I want a unicycle
> 
> with a 36" wheel


Talk to Rick Hunter.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

hollister said:


> normal sized wheels, rim brakes, rigid, fillet brazed
> 
> no breakaway, no funny bends


Oh thank god.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

hollister said:


> normal sized wheels, ...


Normal? Is that 29-inch or 650b?


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## IF52 (Jan 10, 2004)

650b would be nice, and according to FB, Ritchey built a few bikes around that wheel size way back when.


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## Z-Man (Apr 25, 2005)

I'd love to see a modern bike that has classical influences. I don't think that cranking out a repro 84 team comp is very interesting, or I should say as interesting as an actual old one. A 29'er single speed commando would make my pants small.... only if it's brazed though...


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

IF52 said:


> 650b would be nice, and according to FB, Ritchey built a few bikes around that wheel size way back when.


I've got one in my garage...

Here's a little info on it (thanks to Laffeaux):

https://www.oldmountainbikes.com/catalogs/ritchey/articles/b_jun-82/82bicycling11.JPG


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## GMF (Jan 10, 2004)

Hey! Where's the other half of that article??


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2012)

I love Ritchey's, don't get me wrong, but I'm not into reproductions. 
Although, a fillet brazed Swiss Cross with a bi-plane fork would be cool.


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## YETI_Chris (Jun 20, 2006)

yo-Nate-y said:


> = Kleins with ugly forks and slick tires.


Why you a Hater of the Kleins? My Klein was 21 pds with Mtb Tires !:thumbsup:


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

Not hating, per se.....more just reacting to the "Tom'd better thank Gary" angle.


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## Roadsters (Jul 7, 2008)

The point of mentioning Klein's work was to show that he took torsional rigidity and bottom bracket flex seriously, and to this day it pretty much goes unmentioned by other builders.










Here are all three of my Klein bikes. From left to right, they weigh 21 1/2 pounds, less than 19 1/2 pounds, and less than 18 1/2 pounds.

All of them have 300-gram Slime tubes, which add about ten ounces to a bike over lightweight conventional tubes.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

Roadsters said:


> The point of mentioning Klein's work was to show that he took torsional rigidity and bottom bracket flex seriously, and to this day it pretty much goes unmentioned by other builders.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So what? :madman:


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

colker1 said:


> So what? :madman:


seconded


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## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

Back on topic, you guys may want to slap me but I would sell myself into slavery for a 29'er Annapurna with disk brakes and geometry to handle a 100mm fork. I don't think Tom should limit it to 40 frames though, with his reputation for mass production that is probably like 2 days of work for him.


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## scooderdude (Sep 27, 2004)

"The point of mentioning Klein's work was to show that he took torsional rigidity and bottom bracket flex seriously, and to this day it pretty much goes unmentioned by other builders"

Unmentioned doesn't mean unconsidered nor unaddressed in design and construction. And by whose reckoning is this engineering concept "unmentioned", yours?

I just don't get your attempted point.


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

In my eyes reproductions just won't cut it. It would be a shame to have a brand new Ritchey and have to hang old parts on it to keep it "correct". Now some tribute bikes would be cool. Old flavor but new tech. I could even live with rim brakes to keep it looking retro.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Roadsters said:


> The point of mentioning Klein's work was to show that he took torsional rigidity and bottom bracket flex seriously, and to this day it pretty much goes unmentioned by other builders.


Really? What about giving credit the guys that discovered metal, and the one who invented the wheel? And the guy invented paint, and the one who first thought up a double triangle design, and the guy made the wheels the same size, and the guy who invented the hollow tube, and the person who decided to internally butted tubes, and the person who first thought of rubber tires, and then the guy that thought of filling them with air? Not to mention the guy that first fillet brazed, and the thousands of craftsmen who have made small steps toward leading us to where we are today.

Of all of the thousands of important developments along the way, you really think that one guy that took "torsional rigidity and bottom bracket flex seriously" is the guy that most deserves credit?


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## IF52 (Jan 10, 2004)

This is getting silly


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## Machianera (Feb 5, 2011)

yo-Nate-y said:


> = Kleins with ugly forks and slick tires.


nailed!


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

We're a big group of people and we should expect to disagree. I happen to disagree with most of you!  If you want a 29er with disc brakes, get it from some small builder that makes that kind of bike. 

It'll be nice to see a bunch of new XTR stuff on a steel fillet brazed 26" bike without the heinous decals of today's bikes. Do you guys notice that 80s and 90s bike had crazy paint jobs but nice mellow decals? Modern bikes are kind of the opposite now. Boring powder with giant ugly decals.


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## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)




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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Ritchey currently sells the (built overseas, I believe) P-29er. There's some chance that the 40 frames will be handbuilt-by-Tom versions of that current design, if that represents his/their current interpretation of a proper mountain bike. Just a thought...and I don't think it's necessarily a bad one. Of course, I've never actually ridden a P-29er.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

cegrover said:


> Ritchey currently sells the (built overseas, I believe) P-29er. There's some chance that the 40 frames will be handbuilt-by-Tom versions of that current design, if that represents his/their current interpretation of a proper mountain bike. Just a thought...and I don't think it's necessarily a bad one. Of course, I've never actually ridden a P-29er.


The P-29er was shown at last years NAHMBS and was fillet-brazed. I could be really happy with one of those.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

girlonbike said:


> Do you guys notice that 80s and 90s bike had crazy paint jobs but nice mellow decals? Modern bikes are kind of the opposite now. Boring powder with giant ugly decals.


Yep. Most frames (especially road frames) look like they belong on the NASCAR circuit.


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## iamkeith (Feb 5, 2010)

Wow! I actually asked someone about this prospect after hearing a rumor in the P-29er thread on the Ritchey forum, and the response was simply that they'd "talked about it internally." I didn't believe it would actually happen though. Now, I just have to hope that I could somehow scrape together enough money to buy one - though that's probably a long shot. More likely, I'll need to set myself up for another disapointment over something I can't have - just like the P-21 I wanted when I was in College. Nostalgia's good in any form, I guess.

But as long as I'm dreaming.... For me, some form of the the basic P-29er would be just awesome. Maybe the ability to modify cable routing a bit. And the Plexus idea is a good one. Or - better yet - a Soft Tail! Otherwise, I think that bike is beautiful just as it is. (The new headtube design, in particular, looked so nice against the fillet-brazed connections on the hand-made prototypes that they used to introduce the bike at shows.)

As much as I like vintage bikes, I personally think it would be silly to do a retro-geometry or retro-technology bike. The fact that Ritchey is still innovating and is still so relevant is what's cool. To get something that represents his most refined ideas, WITH his frame-building artistry would be the way to go.

(Plus, deep down I just _know_ that once I drink from the 29er cool-aid, all my 26" bikes are going to start collecting dust.)


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## 805MTB (Jul 4, 2010)

Those sound like good causes.

Personally, I'd like a fillet brazed frame with a Ritchey Crown Fork, custom sized



ssulljm said:


> This just in From Steve "Gravy" Gravenites on his FB page, will update info as rec'd :
> 
> "In riding with our friend Tom Ritchey yesterday I learned he will be making 40 classic steel frames (road and MTB) for his 40th anniversary of making bikes. Proceeds from four of those bikes will go to non-profits:
> 
> ...


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## ssulljm (Sep 3, 2006)

Here's The Latest on How The Frames Will Be Portioned Out:


40 New Classic Ritchey Frames: Special 40th anniversary paint and graphics, new builds using vintage tubing.

First (60cm road classic frame/fork) to be auctioned off at NAHBS. Starting price $3500. If it goes above $10k, Tom will offer a full custom frame instead. Proceeds going to Team Rwanda.

Second (model uncertain, possibly P-20 or Everest mountain frame) to be auctioned off at NAHBS. Starting price $3500. If it goes above $10k, Tom will offer a full custom frame instead. Proceeds going to NICA

Third (model uncertain, possibly P-20 or Everest mountain frame) to be auctioned off at NAHBS. Starting price $3500. If it goes above $10k, Tom will offer a full custom frame instead. Proceeds going to Trips For Kids.

Third (model uncertain, possibly P-20 or Everest mountain frame) to be auctioned off at NAHBS. Starting price $3500. If it goes above $10k, Tom will offer a full custom frame instead. Proceeds going to Christmas Bike Program (details pending).

Another 36 x 40th anniversary frames (a mix of P-20’s and Everest’s) will be sold at $2500 each throughout the year.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Coolio. I may have to go to NAHBS just to watch.


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

Indeed---do you know what the schedule of the auction will be?


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## charliedid (Feb 24, 2012)

Roadsters said:


> The point of mentioning Klein's work was to show that he took torsional rigidity and bottom bracket flex seriously, and to this day it pretty much goes unmentioned by other builders.
> 
> Here are all three of my Klein bikes. From left to right, they weigh 21 1/2 pounds, less than 19 1/2 pounds, and less than 18 1/2 pounds.
> 
> All of them have 300-gram Slime tubes, which add about ten ounces to a bike over lightweight conventional tubes.


And they all have the ride quality of a 2 x 12


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## IF52 (Jan 10, 2004)

When you say new classic frames using vintage tubes, does that mean classic frames built to the same spec as those from the 80s/90s? Interesting.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

It looks like the auction for frame #1 has started.


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Zero feedback. Do we trust 'em?


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## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

My size.....
Interesting decals.....


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Aemmer said:


> My size.....
> Interesting decals.....


I'm really glad that it's not a 58cm. Otherwise, I'd be very tempted to throw out a bid.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Geez, looks so nice. I'm not a real fan of the fork crown though. I love the color and I'm so happy he used the older Palo Alto decals except the "Classic" on the tt. I wonder who made them for him.

Big bikes look weird to me.


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## Howley (Nov 23, 2005)

Auction - photos? Where - where ?? Give us a link please


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Howley said:


> Auction - photos? Where - where ?? Give us a link please


I can't say where the auction is, but the site starts with an "e" and ends with "Bay." 

The winning bidder's money goes to charity.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Also, if you're friends with "RitcheyLogic" on facebook you get to see extra pics:


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

laffeaux said:


> I can't say where the auction is, but the site starts with an "e" and ends with "Bay."
> 
> The winning bidder's money goes to charity.




maybe a search term with Ritchey Anniversary in it?


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

laffeaux said:


> Also, if you're friends with "RitcheyLogic" on facebook you get to see extra pics:


Uh...whose pants are those?


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

My money's on Gary Fisher.


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## MABman (Oct 5, 2008)

girlonbike said:


> My money's on Gary Fisher.


Flashy Dresser.

I always like that blue.


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