Ritchey Competition 1983

[Ductape]

Re: Re:

Every step in the progression of the modern Mtn. bike relied on something that happened before. No doubt the Finn's were out in front ahead of App's in the use of this specific tire or it would not have been available at any capacity for Apps to use or attempt to export. This argument can be used all the way back to the beginning of time. How much influence App's (or Ritchey) had in the big picture depends on each individuals perspective and is debatable by all.

From my perspective, by 1980, Cyclepro (followed soon by others) had come out with a decent 26" off road tire that was soon available to the masses. Ukai and Araya supplied quality 26" aluminum rims. With their successful marketing and supply, the 26" tire became the norm. Outside of some fringe efforts, it would take a couple of decades before any other tire size became acceptable at any capacity and be marketed successfully. I would argue Wes Williams had more influence than anyone else in getting the off road cycling community to take a tire size beyond 26" seriously.

You can thank the BMX Cruiser class for their early quality tires and rims, or you can give them a glare, either way, 26" is the direction our sport went for quite a while.

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

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A good analogy that can help to explain the way that bicycles and other technologies develop is the Domino Effect, where one event sets off a chain of similar linked events. From a historical viewpoint I believe that is a commonly made mistake to only concentrate on the big events, whilst ignoring the chain of events that led to them to happen in the first place.

Ritchey's hand-built bikes set off a chain reaction of events that took his design worldwide in a couple of years, link back to ideas coming from John Finlay-Scott, Fisher, Kelly, and Breeze etc.

Apps' use of fat 650b tires effectively died out around 1984. However his sending of 700c Hakkapeliitta tires to Gary Fisher links through Ross Shafer, Gary Helfrich, Bruce Gordon & Wes Williams, who then collaborated with Gary Fisher in the production of the 700c WTB Nanoraptor tire. Each of the above people played their role, and had they not, the chain of events would have been broken and 29er bikes would have not developed.

Of course this story also story links backwards to Apps' chance reading of a magazine article about cycling in Finland to Nokia's development of Hakkapelliita tyres for use by Finnish Army cycling regiments that had been created in response of German and Russian invasion attempts.


More information on the history of early mountain bikes here:
viewtopic.php?t=212482&start=15

 

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Each of the above people played their role, and had they not, the chain of events would have been broken and 29er bikes would have not developed.

Strong statement. There are numerous examples of bikes with big wheels being used off road for decades. One of my best friends used his Custom Davidson Cyclocross frame when we rode together off road back in the early 90's. Rest assured he was not influenced by any of the aforementioned people, and he was far from the only one doing it. Ritchey had built and ridden big wheeled frames off road in 1977 not linked at all to the people mentioned above. It was just a matter of time before someone started building these frames with the capability for higher and higher volume tires.

Grahm, no offense but it seems, your main focus here on RBUK is to shout out about the accomplishments of Geoff Apps. I do quite often read threads here on RBUK, and I have scanned through your exact same arguments over and over. If you google Geoff's name now, unfortunately he will always be tied to you because 99% of everything written about the guy on the internet comes from one source. No doubt he did some fun stuff back in the day but the current mountain bike scene does not evolve around his existence. I put a lot of effort for four years to restore this bike back to to as close to it's original form as my pocketbook and abilities could make it. I share here with the few other geeks on this earth who really can appreciate it, and all the sudden this thread is all about some dude who has nothing to do with the bike or my efforts. What do you say we steer the conversation in a different direction and start a different thread on the influence App's had on the history of mountain biking.

The tires on this bike are first generation 26 inch 1.75 IRC X1's. A brand successfully marketed and available by the early 80's. Although X1 26 inch 2.125's were also available by 1983, the lower volume tires were used as this bike was made for XC racing, not downhill, or trials riding.

It is quite difficult to find tires still in decent shape from this era as the rubber deteriorates over time. I was blessed to come across these from my friend and fellow collector here on RBUK, EastCoastSteve. Every time I take a moment to admire the bike and notice the tires or some of the other specific components, I am reminded of the cool people I have met through this silly hobby of mine.

 

[legrandefromage]

And dont forget Mike Burrows!

This was a carbon/ glass fibre prototype in 1983 - road, yes but suddenly all 'traditional' diamond frames looked old hat - instantly banned by the UCI (Union Cycliste Impede)

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Re: Re:

Each of the above people played their role, and had they not, the chain of events would have been broken and 29er bikes would have not developed.

Strong statement....

Sorry for my imprecise use of words there. What I meant to say was: 'Each of the above people played their role, and had they not, the chain of events would have been broken and 29er bikes would have not developed' in the way that they did.

As we will never know if they could have also developed as a result of other people or events at a later time.

Ritchey had built and ridden big wheeled frames off road in 1977 not linked at all to the people mentioned above.

Apart from John Finlay-Scott,who Ritchey states in the video I posted earlier, "...had challenged him" to build an off-road 650b bike in the late 1970s.

Grahm, no offense but it seems, your main focus here on RBUK is to shout out about the accomplishments of Geoff Apps.

I only introduced Apps in relation to him providing the tires that led to the development of the original Ritchey 'Competition' bikes. (Though I freely admit that his Clelands are my favorite bikes and I know a good deal about them and their modest history, some of which I have posted on RBUK. However,my interests in cycling are wide ranging and varied and the stats saythat my largest number of posts on RBUK, is in a thread on the topic of cycle helmets.

I put a lot of effort for four years to restore this bike back to to as close to it's original form as my pocketbook and abilities could make it. I share here with the few other geeks on this earth who really can appreciate it, and all the sudden this thread is all about some dude who has nothing to do with the bike or my efforts.

Efforts that I really appreciate. Especially as I know how much commitment, time and money it can take to acquire and restore such a bike. You should be very proud. I just thought that you and some other Ritchey enthusiasts may like to hear about the unusual origins of the Ritchey 'Competition' model.