SFP
Retro Newbie
As an old guy (Gen X, aka 1970) rider... I grew up very aware of who Tom Ritchey is and the impact he had on cycling.
When I started working in shops in the late 80's, you might be lucky to see one, maybe two Ritchey's a year come in for service. Only the best/top mechanic got to work on them. By 1990 I had worked my way up the mechanic food chain and my first was an Ultra. That same year I became friends with a retro-grouch who had a custom made fully brazed 1986 Ritchey. Fast forward to 1992 and I got a chance to spend a few weeks riding/racing a Ritchey P-21 and I knew then, that one day I would own a Ritchey.
A few weeks back this '89 Ascent Comp showed up locally for a fair price. It's been a pavement princess it's entire life, single owner since day one and maintained religiously.
Non-OG parts include:
- saddle
- seatpost
- stem
- 1991 XT shifters/brake levers
- stem
- tires
- grips
- chain, cassette and rings (changed every three years since day one)
- cables changed every year
OG parts:
- Deore DX rear derailleur
- Deore front derailleur
- Deore cranks
- Deore brakes
- Deore DX hubs
- Ritchey double-butted spokes
- Ritchey Vantage rims
- Ritcthey handlebar (cut)
- Ritchey Logic headset
- Ritchey Logic bottom bracket
So, she is a step back in time with it's old Deore cantilever brakes, DX rear derailleur and geometry.
I wanted to get a few good photos as it came to me before I start changing things. Yesterday I took her out for a casual ride in Victoria, BC, Canada.
She is fast & responsive which I totally expected. Those Schawable tires are the smoothest rolling slick-types I have ever ridden on, on a mountain bike. The bars have been cut a tad narrow for my taste, so yeah those will be replaced ASAP - make it feel like a twitchy road bike from the early '90s. She rides oh oh so so smooth.... the smile was there on my face moments after I got up into the saddle and was riding.
It's old school Ritchey steel... if you know, you know as they say.
Planned changes:
- Deore 7/8 speed Thumbshifters
- Ritchey Logic Brake Levers
- XTR mid-cage rear derailleur
- Sun CR-18 Polished Rims
- new handlebar - TBD - ideally a flat silver Force Comp if I can find one for a good price
- Suntour Superbe Pro pedals with toe clips
- Suntour XC Pro cranks and rings (NOS basically)
- Bar ends
- new grips
- Control Tech stem (currently on my old Stumpjumper)
- Ritchey Classic seatpost in silver
- Seat (although it came with basically a new one, and high end at that, I hate it)
- Kool Stop brake pads
- and I am thinking of silver Dia Compe 987 front & rear brakes
The plan is this ride will become my city-commuter-daily ride and I can leave the Rocky Mountain Hammer-Race for strictly off pavement.
So, I will be swapping out the used black rack for a silver one, adding silver full wrap fenders front & rear, lights, reflective diamond tape to the frame and fork.
With that, here are a few quick pics I grabbed with my Nikon while I was out on its first ride.
When I started working in shops in the late 80's, you might be lucky to see one, maybe two Ritchey's a year come in for service. Only the best/top mechanic got to work on them. By 1990 I had worked my way up the mechanic food chain and my first was an Ultra. That same year I became friends with a retro-grouch who had a custom made fully brazed 1986 Ritchey. Fast forward to 1992 and I got a chance to spend a few weeks riding/racing a Ritchey P-21 and I knew then, that one day I would own a Ritchey.
A few weeks back this '89 Ascent Comp showed up locally for a fair price. It's been a pavement princess it's entire life, single owner since day one and maintained religiously.
Non-OG parts include:
- saddle
- seatpost
- stem
- 1991 XT shifters/brake levers
- stem
- tires
- grips
- chain, cassette and rings (changed every three years since day one)
- cables changed every year
OG parts:
- Deore DX rear derailleur
- Deore front derailleur
- Deore cranks
- Deore brakes
- Deore DX hubs
- Ritchey double-butted spokes
- Ritchey Vantage rims
- Ritcthey handlebar (cut)
- Ritchey Logic headset
- Ritchey Logic bottom bracket
So, she is a step back in time with it's old Deore cantilever brakes, DX rear derailleur and geometry.
I wanted to get a few good photos as it came to me before I start changing things. Yesterday I took her out for a casual ride in Victoria, BC, Canada.
She is fast & responsive which I totally expected. Those Schawable tires are the smoothest rolling slick-types I have ever ridden on, on a mountain bike. The bars have been cut a tad narrow for my taste, so yeah those will be replaced ASAP - make it feel like a twitchy road bike from the early '90s. She rides oh oh so so smooth.... the smile was there on my face moments after I got up into the saddle and was riding.
It's old school Ritchey steel... if you know, you know as they say.
Planned changes:
- Deore 7/8 speed Thumbshifters
- Ritchey Logic Brake Levers
- XTR mid-cage rear derailleur
- Sun CR-18 Polished Rims
- new handlebar - TBD - ideally a flat silver Force Comp if I can find one for a good price
- Suntour Superbe Pro pedals with toe clips
- Suntour XC Pro cranks and rings (NOS basically)
- Bar ends
- new grips
- Control Tech stem (currently on my old Stumpjumper)
- Ritchey Classic seatpost in silver
- Seat (although it came with basically a new one, and high end at that, I hate it)
- Kool Stop brake pads
- and I am thinking of silver Dia Compe 987 front & rear brakes
The plan is this ride will become my city-commuter-daily ride and I can leave the Rocky Mountain Hammer-Race for strictly off pavement.
So, I will be swapping out the used black rack for a silver one, adding silver full wrap fenders front & rear, lights, reflective diamond tape to the frame and fork.
With that, here are a few quick pics I grabbed with my Nikon while I was out on its first ride.
