An inside look at a Ritchey Breakaway Titanium Gravel Travel Bike (aka a CX bike)

[@tomshield9730]

White saddle and bar tape does look good. I put it in the same category as varnished woodwork on a sailboat -- looks great when it's on someone else's.

[@GravelCyclist]

Haha each to their own!

[@stinkyfungus]

I have a surly travelers check, same idea - but on a steel budget. It uses S&S couplers. SRAM 1x build, ritchey comp carbon cx fork, short arm Vs, DTswiss/shimano wheels. Redshift shock stop stem and seatpost. Those of you drooling at the concept of this ride, but cant afford Ti... may want to look into the travelers check.

[@GravelCyclist]

Nice option, thanks for chiming in. Before I scored this ultra-rare Ti variant, I was rolling a Ritchey Breakaway Steel bike.

[@roadglide]

Beautiful bike Matey. Titanium loveliness. Those welds are almost Moots worthy. Excellent taste in Ti bikes.

[@germanhugger41]

Really nice bike.... It's nuts that Ritchy discontinued making them....

[@GravelCyclist]

Agreed! No more Ti from Ritchey, which in my opinion makes for the perfect travel bike. No paint to worry about scratching up, etc.

[@roadglide]

Agreed!

[@aaronpyre]

It looks like NDVR bought the design from Ritchey or replicated it very closely

[@larrymalavear3099]

Titanium it the best material for a bike you are going to keep for the rest of your life. My 2006 Litespeed Tuscany road bike seems to just float over the payment. And a with a ceramic bottom bracket it like peddling in outer space. Thank you for the review.

[@GravelCyclist]

Nice one Larry! I've got a 1994 Lynskey era Litespeed Ultimate road bike kicking around that I just love and will never sell!

[@chrisscott8362]

Love that Ti bike mate! Thanks for sharing.

[@tubeyou6331]

I have the new Ritchey Carbon Disc Breakaway and love it. I'm running eTap Disc and it take a bit of extra work on the rotors and pulling the hydro lines, it awesome in the mountains!

[@GravelCyclist]

Nice setup Tracy. I have to admit, I wouldn't mind trying one of the carbon models. For the disc brakes, I reckon I'd run something like a TRP HY/RD. Then, I could still split the brakes, but no eTap hydro levers :( Always a trade-off somewhere!

[@p.g.reitsma7245]

Very nice! Love the look of titanium. I have an old Deep Cove Hummer XC and it feels and looks great. A few questions and one suggestion if you don't mind. Where did you find the cable quick-connects? Do you know who built these frames for Ritchey if they did not themselves? What bars have you considered? I run FSA Wing Pro Compact in aluminum(Giant CRX-1 gravel bike) and carbon(TIME VXRs) on several road bikes and love them. They have sensible dimensions. What pads are you running on your Avid Shorty Ulti's? Found anything you prefer over stock? Great presentation of your sweet ride! All the best from Alberta Canada.

[@johnstuart5712]

Love the bike. I have a Sage Barlow titanium bike that I had fabricated, utilizing S&S couplings, so it could be broken down. Travelled all over with it and I am using the Ritchey case (so far with no problems) but would love to see you do a video of breakdown and erection utilising the S&S case. Haven't gone the cable disconnect route so it is a complete breakdown and build when I travel, so the quick disconnects look like a great time saver! Again, great video and stunning bike!!

[@GravelCyclist]

John, just an FYI, I usually pack the handlebar into my personal luggage. It fits into the S&S case, but it is a royal pain in the rear and I want to avoid damaging all of those nice components. Sage Barlows are nice machines, had a chance to check them out first hand at this year's Sea Otter. Hopefully, I can knock out a pack and unpack videos soon.

[@tedder42]

@@GravelCyclist I can break my S&S apart and put into that big case in about an hour. Same with putting it back together. Sometimes I have to fuss longer to pack it but it's not terrible. I also carry a luggage scale so I make sure it is just under the common 50lbs limit.

[@mstieber79]

@@GravelCyclist Which frame size do you pack into that S&S? I'm able to get a 56cm cross ti bike, several kits, helmet & shoes into the standard Ritchey case and stay below 22 kg. Packing the handlebar separately is an interesting idea.

[@GravelCyclist]

@@mstieber79 54cm... I prefer to keep those sensitive Etap brake levers wrapped up nicely in another suitcase.

[@holmesroach]

Know you like the Titanium builds, especially MOOTs like your other favorite. Wonder if a small amount of suspension front and rear will gain manufacturer strategy for those who like that extra cushion on those rough gravel roads? Thoughts?

[@JarodThurley]

Hello. I have been nerding out over the Ritchey Swiss Cross canti frame and was wondering how you find the cantelever brakes?

[@brianmessemer2973]

Wow. Liked and subbed. Looking forward to those packing and unpacking videos. Interesting stuff!

[@jasonj8050]

Nice build. I have tried some folding bikes and they just aren't the same. Planning on building a full size travel bike. Disappointing they discontinued these, maybe I'll luck out and find one used. How has the stem and post held up so far? Seen them on eBay and have wondered if they would hold up and if they were flexy. Price seems very reasonable, I have a titanium fetish but not a titanium budget haha.

[@GravelCyclist]

Post and stem are still going strong. The post does have a little give in it, but the perfect amount to take a little edge off any rough stuff.

[@jasonj8050]

@@GravelCyclist Good to hear, I think I'll try them out. Thanks!

[@Mrmarginofsafety]

My 2c Not much luck with micro 58 front hub for everyday training bearings are so small and if you do alot of climbing repeats the bearing seats will come out of round. Probably ok for racing only. Switched over to Hope hubs no worries.

[@deeranfoxworthy6069]

I have the same exact bike, and recently put on some Paul touring cantis using the Ritchey CX top cap for the cable stop. I had uncontrollable juddering while stopping at speed down hills. From what I know, this is a fairly common issue and I fixed it by putting a Paul Mini-Moto on instead and the mini-v completely fixed it. Do you have such an issue since you're using a problem solvers cable stop instead of the top cap cable stop?

[@GravelCyclist]

I've had no shuddering issues with my setup... pads are toed in and I'm using the Avid Shorty Ultimate, which is not a Mini-V type brake. I have done a ton of descending on this bike, including Crusher in the Tushar in Utah.

[@deeranfoxworthy6069]

@@GravelCyclist interesting. I wonder if maybe having a fixed clamp like that would prevent the shudder vs having a "free floating" top cap acting as a cable stop. Thanks for the response!

[@tecnociclista5342]

Sweet bike, I use a fairly old-school cantilever-brake CX bike for Gravel-riding and it's a lot of fun. Upgraded to TRP Revox brakes and do stop you pretty nicely, too. What brand is the front brake cable hanger on your bike? Looks pretty sturdy...and it's the one component I'd like to replace on my bike....

[@GravelCyclist]

The front cable hanger is by Tektro, but the one I have features a barrel adjuster with a slot so I can split the front brake cable without having to mess with removing any cables from the brakes themselves.

[@tedder42]

I have a custom TI bike with S&S couplers for gravel, travel, and 'bike camping'. It has etap and disc brakes- cable, which is better for a travel bike. The biggest problem is that the front etap derailler limits my tire width to about 23mm. If it wasn't for that the whole bike is designed for 38mm or so. grrrrrr. Looks like your geometry is better for that. I think I could design a bracket to move the derailler forward and rotate it a little bit, which would give clearance. I've never seen such a thing though.

[@dereksmith3632]

Would you know off hand if that crank is compatible with a 10 year old sram 9 speed cassette

[@GravelCyclist]

I don't see why there would be an issue. With that said, I haven't tried that setup.

[@bernd7540]

What is youre frame size and what are youre messsurements?

[@GravelCyclist]

Frame size is 54cm on the top tube. Bike fit is personal, my measurements may not correlate to yours.

[@bernd7540]

@@GravelCyclist Thank you very much, but i am really interestet also in your data too,. I´d like to gather some date because i want to build a simmilar bike

[@christianfranco479]

beautiful

[@GravelCyclist]

Thanks Christian!

[@RadioSnivins]

Looks like a J&L post 'n' stem to this Radio.

[@GravelCyclist]

That definitely sounds about right.