PhillB
GT Fan
I have always been a bit of a night owl and now that I work from home and no longer have a commute, I find myself often online at 2am, thinking I should go to bed 
anyway, a couple of weeks ago, at around 2am, I was idly putting some searches on eBay for my 'Holy Grail' bikes, not really expecting to see anything, when up popped a Ritchey Ultra, not only was it in the UK, but it was also my size, it also wasn't insanely priced.
After making sure, as far as I could tell, that it was a real one, I clicked buy it now. (seller's photo)
It looked in great condition and the seller contacted me to offer to deliver it himself, which was awesome. Turned out he was only selling it as it was too small for him. (Sometimes there are benefits to being a short-arse!!
)
It was clear that it had been reasonably well looked after and it was still set up nicely - brakes tuned, gear shifting great.
Most bikes I get are in really poor condition or at the least need some kind of restoration, so this one, which didn't really need much made, a nice change. I also meant that rather than fixing or sourcing parts or stripping it, I could immediately take it for a ride....so I did.
Nice to see someone had greased the seat tube - no stuck seat post
As most will know, Ritchey Ultras usually came in white or black, but in 1990's they advertised an a' la carte option, where you could have one custom painted in the Imron colour of your choice. The colours on this match Imron Purple and Yellow - so I guess it might have been one of these custom models.
Whilst I am not the biggest fan of yellow ( or filthy, disgusting, bananas
but that's another story) I love purple bikes and have to restrain myself from choosing purple every time I respray a frame.
I suspect this is original because it still has the original shop decals
The Elephant's Perch Outdoor shop still exists in Idaho.
Naturally I am going to keep the original colours and decals. I used Meguiars Ultimate Compound Paint restorer on the frame to bring back the original shine and colour.
I should say I am assuming it is a 1990, it could be an 1989,, but the serial puts it in-between two other 1990 Ritchey Ultra on the Ritchey Project. It has a strange mix of parts - brakes and shifters are XT M73* as is the front derailleur. The Rear derailleur is Shimano DX and the Hubs, rear M732 and the front Shimano 600... Rims are Ritchey Vantage Expert
anyway, a couple of weeks ago, at around 2am, I was idly putting some searches on eBay for my 'Holy Grail' bikes, not really expecting to see anything, when up popped a Ritchey Ultra, not only was it in the UK, but it was also my size, it also wasn't insanely priced.After making sure, as far as I could tell, that it was a real one, I clicked buy it now. (seller's photo)
It looked in great condition and the seller contacted me to offer to deliver it himself, which was awesome. Turned out he was only selling it as it was too small for him. (Sometimes there are benefits to being a short-arse!!
)It was clear that it had been reasonably well looked after and it was still set up nicely - brakes tuned, gear shifting great.
Most bikes I get are in really poor condition or at the least need some kind of restoration, so this one, which didn't really need much made, a nice change. I also meant that rather than fixing or sourcing parts or stripping it, I could immediately take it for a ride....so I did.
Nice to see someone had greased the seat tube - no stuck seat post
As most will know, Ritchey Ultras usually came in white or black, but in 1990's they advertised an a' la carte option, where you could have one custom painted in the Imron colour of your choice. The colours on this match Imron Purple and Yellow - so I guess it might have been one of these custom models.
Whilst I am not the biggest fan of yellow ( or filthy, disgusting, bananas
but that's another story) I love purple bikes and have to restrain myself from choosing purple every time I respray a frame.I suspect this is original because it still has the original shop decals
The Elephant's Perch Outdoor shop still exists in Idaho.
Naturally I am going to keep the original colours and decals. I used Meguiars Ultimate Compound Paint restorer on the frame to bring back the original shine and colour.
I should say I am assuming it is a 1990, it could be an 1989,, but the serial puts it in-between two other 1990 Ritchey Ultra on the Ritchey Project. It has a strange mix of parts - brakes and shifters are XT M73* as is the front derailleur. The Rear derailleur is Shimano DX and the Hubs, rear M732 and the front Shimano 600... Rims are Ritchey Vantage Expert
, I will email them at some point) There are a few chips here and there and a little chain suck, but nothing major. (I mentioned my my OCD earlier 
looks brand new
