Ritchey Breakaway Cross & Outback
These are the Swiss Army Knives of bicycles. Versatile, comfortable and fast, these bikes can be used for nearly every cycling scenario you can dream up.
Breakaway Steel Cross and Outback models usually get built up as “Gravel” bikes with knobby tires, low gear ranges and upright positioning, making them ideal for off-road touring and foreign adventures. That said, they handle really well on the road too, so a set of slick tires will turn these models into great choices for touring or commuting. Wanna race? The framesets are super light, they sprint and climb well (even if you don’t) so try one of the Seattle Cyclocross events or the Whistler Gran Fondo on your Ritchey. Flat bars, drop bars, 42mm wide knobbies or 25mm slicks, the configurations are almost limitless.
These Ritcheys come with a suitcase, and the big feature with the bikes is that they disassemble and fit into this case so you can take them with you wherever you go. The frame coupling system is secure and really simple, and we can show you how to pack your bike up and travel with them. The travel case flies under the radar (so to speak) so you won’t get hit up for oversize baggage fees like you would when flying with a standard bike.
The coupling system is slick. The frame, which comes apart into two pieces, is joined at the top by the seatpost (and you can use a carbon fiber seatpost if you want, it’s plenty strong) and a small clamp on the downtube. It’s a simple design, and probably more secure than the bulky S & S coupling system used by most custom frame builders. The break-away feature adds less than 100 grams.
Ritchey Break-Away cross frames designed for cantilever-style brakes are made out of custom heat treated cromoly tubing and come a with carbon fork. The Outback model framesets are all carbon and are designed around disc brakes (mechanical or hydraulic). Both styles come in a wide range of sizes.
These bikes are semi-custom since they come to us as framesets. Here are a few of the builds we have done over the years (click on the thumbnail images to enlarge them).
Steel framesets run $1500 so complete bikes usually run between $2400 and $4500. The Outback frame is $3100, so a whole bike would usually run between $4000 and $5500. Have donor parts from an old bike or a dusty corner of your garage? Bring in what you have and we’ll sketch out a build list.
We believe in these bikes. Both Paul and Jaime ride their Ritchey Breakaways daily, and hope to travel some day with them…