Ritchey road logic 2.0

I’m looking at buying steel road bike.

I’ve been looking for a few years and the time has now come to part with some cash as my old Kaffenback is getting rather tired. Now I thought I’d found the perfect replacement, Ritchey logic.

I know a few people on here have it and was just wondering what the feedback is, where did they buy it from etc.

My budget is probably going to be 2K. Thank you

It’ll ride the same as loads of other bikes, some cheaper! You are paying for the badge…

I had an older one, loved it – the badge – but I have a Nigel Dean 531 from the 80s which rides as well…

I’ve not ridden either, but for a fraction of the price, and I much prefer the paint scheme……….

Only reason I didn’t get one was the brake drop is for long drop brakes, which means only the non-series shimano brakes fit. Not a real issue, but I’m a tart.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/steel-road-bike

Ritchey’s steel frames are always sorted – a big improvement on gas-pipe P-X IMO as I’ve owned both. Not ridden the Ribble, but everyone can see it’s a knock-off of the Ritchey. Charlie the Bikemonger might be able to sort out a deal on the Ritchey.

I’ve built a couple of these now for customers. IHN off here has one of them. I’ve ridden all sorts of carbon fibre wonder machines, but I’m lusting after one of these badly!

What size would you be incidentally?

Ritchey’s steel frames are always sorted – a big improvement on gas-pipe P-X IMO as I’ve owned both. Not ridden the Ribble, but everyone can see it’s a knock-off of the Ritchey. Charlie the Bikemonger might be able to sort out a deal on the Ritchey.

1) referring to Cr-Mo as gas pipe just makes you sound silly. Unless you believe that the magic fairy dust in some tubesets makes a difference to the ride. I don’t think Ritchey even say what their logic tubeset is, it could be Cr-Mo (the same as the Ribble, and P-X).

2) Without digging around, I suspect the Ribble has been around longer and has quite a few differences to the Ritchey, the only commonality is a double diamond frame made from steel.

Only reason I didn’t get one was the brake drop is for long drop brakes, which means only the non-series shimano brakes fit

I have long drop Shimanos in my Genesis Equilibrium ?

I have long drop Shimanos in my Genesis Equilibrium ?

But they’re not 105/ultegra/etc, they’ll be BR560 or something, which is usually equivalent to an older groupset. Not a problem, unless you’re a tart and want stuff to match!

unless you’re a tart and want stuff to match!

I’m the opposite, I’d rather not have the names and decals on there at all, spent ages getting the ‘Ultegra’ off of some callipers and mechs a while back 🙂

Burn the heretic!

Although my latest build has no visible* Shimano, SRAM or Campag bits!

*cables and BB’s excepted

IHN off here has one of them

Yoo-hoo! I have, it’s a lovely thing to look at and a lovely thing to ride. Ultegra and Racing 5s shifty/rolly bits. White saddle, bars and hubs really set the frame off

I was looking at buying the frame from ACycles and getting a groupset deal from Merlin and building it myself, but MBoy was able to do me a cracking deal, so the business went his way.

I love it. If you’re anywhere near Cirencester and anywhere near 6ft, you’re welcome to give it a try.

You only have to pick-up either to tell the difference – the P-X is heavy and dead in comparison due to the thicker gauge tubing.

I have a very lightly used 57cm Ritchey with Ultegra, bought off here. It is a lovely bike but I’m not using it as much as I should, would that be of interest?

How tall are you on that 57, assuming it fits OK?

I’m 6’1, fits perfectly.

I have a very lightly used 57cm Ritchey with Ultegra, bought off here. It is a lovely bike but I’m not using it as much as I should, would that be of interest?

If the OP passes…
Email me, please, on nixon.d@btinternet.com

1) referring to Cr-Mo as gas pipe just makes you sound silly. Unless you believe that the magic fairy dust in some tubesets makes a difference to the ride. I don’t think Ritchey even say what their logic tubeset is, it could be Cr-Mo (the same as the Ribble, and P-X).

Of course it doesn’t. Not all steel (CroMo) bikes are made of the same grade. Whilst On One and Planet X bikes are fine, they are budget steel bikes and and feel like it. Nothing wrong with that but having ridden a couple, they feel a bit ‘dead’ and you can tell they are not light. Designed well with good geometry though! A more expensive steel frame is typically made of lighter, thinner walled steel tubing and feels a bit more spritely IMHO.

Also – most low pressure gas pipe is plastic!

That’s very kind but I’d be a 54/55cm frame

Some great advice and recommendations on here thank you

Another 57cm here. Loving mine, extremely comfortable, feels quick, starts, stops, climbs, looks great.

Of course it doesn’t. Not all steel (CroMo) bikes are made of the same grade. Whilst On One and Planet X bikes are fine, they are budget steel bikes and and feel like it. Nothing wrong with that but having ridden a couple, they feel a bit ‘dead’ and you can tell they are not light. Designed well with good geometry though! A more expensive steel frame is typically made of lighter, thinner walled steel tubing and feels a bit more spritely IMHO.

All good points although I would refer to Ribble and PX steel frames as scaffold pipes rather than gas pipes 😉

Ritchey pics please!

The steel Ribble is a relatively new offering and quite basic cro-mo IIRC.

The Ritchey damn well ought to be better. I’m sure there’s some good stuff in between though, don’t Genesis anything comparable in nice steel?

I think the Ritchey benefits from om ritcheys ideas about what makes a good frame, as he iterates in this video :

Can I just say how much I enjoyed this comment:

Also – most low pressure gas pipe is plastic!

Perfect.

You only have to pick-up either to tell the difference – the P-X is heavy and dead in comparison due to the thicker gauge tubing.

How on earth can you infer how a frame will ride based on picking it up?

The Ribble is Reynolds 525, so even made in Birmingham for added fairydustness.

I don’t doubt the Kaffenback is heavier than the Ritchey (2.15kg Vs 1.8kg), but it’s a tourer/commuter, if you put racks on the the ritchey it’d probably be a floppy mess. And just for comparison, Ribble claim 1650g for the 525 (without paint, so 100-150g makes it exactly the same weight as the Road Logic).

Ritchey don’t say what the tubeset is on the Road Logic, but the Swiss-Cross (which they sell for nigh on the same price) is Cr-Mo, just like Reynolds 525, and just like Planet-X DN6 steel.

You’re kidding yourself if you think the difference in ride is down to material, different butting choices yes, subtleties of geometry, yup, but those are down to the intended use and the designer.

I’ve got the Ribble. Only the seat tube is Reynolds 525. The rest is unknown/gaspipe/scaffold/girders etc. I’ve got it built up with old 9sp stuff and a few lardy bits. It’s comfy, goes fine and has the added bonus of making my mtb feel light. 🙂

If I had the cash, I’d love to replace it with a skinnymalinky.

525 (and 520) are Cr-Mo anyway, so unless they’re raiding the bargain bin and using Hi-Ten (unlikely) that’s no bad thing, you can find any butting you want on your own tube set rather than being constrained by whatever Reynolds offer (or having to get something custom made).

Reynolds only actually make 2 different steel’s (excluding stainless)

Cr-Mo (525, 725 heat treated)
Air Hardening (631, 853 heat treated)

And Manganese-Moly (531, 753), but that’s not used anymore as it’s little advantage over Cr-Mo and can’t (easily) be welded.

oh-ok. The only noticeable thing is that all the other tubes are v slim. Anyway – it’s very comfy, but stiff enough under power. My old alu frame would have rear wheel rubbing when climbing with the same wheelset. The Ribble doesn’t. Not fussed about weight – I don’t race on it – it’s just for social/training miles. Perfect for that.

Can anyone explain the integrated headset cups? Do the bearings just sit inside the head tube and therefore make straight contact with it?
If so, wouldn’t that eventually encourage wear into the headtube?

Or do the bearings sit within an internally pressed cup?

IMO – the Logic 2.0 is a seriously classy looking frame, and the colour is lovely. Its selling at around what? £700 including fork?.
I haven’t checked what the Ribble sells for but i’d pay a reasonable premium for the Ritchey brand plus details like the lovely post binding point, dropouts, and possibly headtube (pending answer to above question!).

If only they splashed some 853 fairy dust on it so I could convince myself it was worth the extra.

If the 57cm above hasn’t sold id probably be interested!

If so, wouldn’t that eventually encourage wear into the headtube?

Is headset cup wear normally an issue for you with normal cartridge bearing headsets?

When assembled correctly there should be no movement between the bearing and the headtube (or cup), and if there is then I would expect LESS wear on the harder steel frame than in a softer Aluminium cup.

Anyway, a lot of Carbon and Alu MTBs have been using direct fit bearings without issue for a while now, and you’ll get a lot more movement and impact on an MTB than road bike.

Is headset cup wear normally an issue for you with normal cartridge bearing headsets?

Ive seen several cups with minimal wear to the inner surfaces. Granted, they are softer alu cups but I consider them a sacrificial component in a worst case scenario.

I see your point, but still, you are rubbing two materials together without the ability to replace the steel if any wear did take place.

Clearly there are engineers whom don’t consider this to be an issue – and I imagine they are completely correct in their conclusions. But it doesn’t sit completely easy with me. Especially on a product/material that is often marketed to have longevity.

I’ll get over it, maybe.

you are rubbing two materials together

well the point is that they shouldn’t be rubbing, they should be in contact, but there shouldn’t be any movement.

It’s also just like a normal Alu cup in that there is an angled surface in there for the outer bearing race to site on so any minuscule tolerance/wear issues are accounted for there when adjusting preload.

Clearly there are engineers whom don’t consider this to be an issue – and I imagine they are completely correct in their conclusions. But it doesn’t sit completely easy with me.

It’s really not an issue, I’ve seen more cases of ovalised headtube and cups moving in the frame than I have direct fit bearings wearing away headtubes on road bikes.

maybe you should have a little more faith that those people that know what they’re doing 😉

I mean it’s not like press fit bottom brackets ever cause any issues is it… oh…er…. 😯

BMX’s pretty much all have integrated headsets. It’s considered the far stronger option as the alu cups can eventually crack if you give them enough stick. I’ve never worn an alu cup so I’d not worry about steel, especially as the same design is used on aluminium and carbon frames which are both much softer.

Ribble is £175btw (plus fork), I’m not anti-Ritchey, I think his MTB’s look the dogs danglies, I just struggle to see how they’re really £700+ frames when (to use others terminology) they’re made of the same gas-pipe as plenty of other (cheap) frames. You can pick up a 853proteam Genesis Volare full bike for only £200 more than the Ritchey frame! And the bottom of the ladder Volare is “custom butted Cr-Mo”, i.e. apart form being custom specified by a different, but probably equally capable person, just the same as the Ritchey.

Tom does however have a mustache, which to be honest probably makes as much discernible difference to the ride characteristics as an 853 sticker.

Tom does however have a mustache, which to be honest probably makes as much discernible difference to the ride characteristics as an 853 sticker

one of my bikes has a sticker of a moustache on it, imagine how well that rides! instant 12% betterer 😀

If it had an 853 sticker with a moustache i’d be all over that shit

they’re made of the same gas-pipe as plenty of other (cheap) frames

how do you know this – haven’t Ritchey been making frames for somethign like 40 years and I don’t think thet have every used Reynolds. They say this one is heat-treated (like 853) and triple butted – which doesn’t sound like gas-pipe to me.

Don’t Ritchey use true temper heat treated tubes in their top end steel frames?

Years ago I had a khs team steel frame in true temper ox ultra ii heat treated, beautiful ride feel but just 4.5lbs for a 17″ meant frame was prone to buckling (beercanning) put it into a tree at 5mph and bent top tube/down tube.

You can pick up a 853proteam Genesis Volare full bike for only £200 more than the Ritchey frame!

The Genisis is about 200g heavier than the Ritchey!

I looked at lots of steel frames before I ended up buying a Ritchey, it’s a lovely bicycle.