Interbike: Ritchey P-650b gets modern head tube

by 10

Lovely bike with today’s wheel size and today’s steerer size…

There from the start
There from the start

Not much of a headline, is it?  Any excuse to show off a nice steel hardtail.

As much as we loved the idea of last year’s Ritchey P-650b and the way the skinny head tube looked with the rest of the steel frame, it turns out that it’s pretty hard to find 650b forks with straight steerer tubes.

So they fixed it.

Not plain: Plain classy
Not plain: Plain classy

The third Ritchey 650b model (the first came in 1977) is the 2015 P-650b is a lovely blue and red number with one of the prettiest head tubes going.  Looking a bit like a pepper mill, the updated front end is flared at either end to accept its bearings, allowing for a tapered fork with a minimum of material and without visually overwhelming the rest of the bike.  Cowled KGB-style dropouts join subtly-bent seatstays and downtube for a frame that is unique without being loud.

Like a pepper mill.   In a good way.
Like a pepper mill.
In a good way.

The P-29er sees the same update but, frankly, didn’t photograph as well.

ritcheylogic.com


Comments (10)

Leave Reply