Ritchey Breakaway 58cm (XL) For Sale

*****************************SOLD**********************************

Selling This Bike - $1500 asking

Of the maybe 20 bikes I have built from a naked frame myself, this is without a doubt the one I am most proud of.  Somehow the anodized red parts match perfectly including with the paint job on the bike.  It rides nicely and does indeed come apart for travel exactly the way it is supposed to do.  

If you are interested, please comment below.  Comments are moderated, so you should including contact information (write your e-mail in a way to foil web-crawlers) - and I won't publish any comments with contact info.  I will also be listing this on Washington DC Craigslist.

Sales price does not include shipping.  If we go forward, I will charge you $200 to ship, then I will Paypal back to you the difference (assuming it is less than that).  Payment will be by Paypal unless you are local, in which case I can take cash also.

Or, here it is on eBay.

The two obvious uses are 

1. traveling and 
2. gravel riding.  

Plenty of blogs online from guys (and gals) who have raced these Ritchey breakaway cross bikes to victory in ultra-distance dirt road races.  Here is one racing this exact bike (though he is now on the same bike in the titanium version).

If course, I suppose it is literally a cross bike, so:

• if cyclocross is your thing, here's a bike made for it.

I reviewed the bike here.  But look to the many other reviews online also.  The fan base for this bike is rabid.  (I hope that proves out in this sales effort.)

I am selling because I'm just not riding it.  Somebody else - please - take this on an airplane and enjoy the fall riding season!

This is the Ritchey Breakaway Steel Cross.  

(Here is the frameset on Ritchey's website with more info about it.)

It is an XL 2012 frameset (pretty sure that's the case - the color scheme changes yearly, so easy to check me).

• That's a full Ultegra 6700 10-speed shifters and drivetrain with 
• compact crank (175 mm crank-arms), and
• 11-30 cassette. 
• TRP mini v-brakes.  
• Thomson Masterpiece (the lighter version of the classic) seatpost.  
• Thomson X4 stem.  
• 3T ergonova pro bars wrapped in white Lizard Skins tape.  
• John Neugent handmade wheelset with 28mm Vittoria Rubino Pro tires.  
• Matching egg-beater pedals, pump, and rear light included.

The Breakaway comes apart at the junction of the two triangles.  It is a more elegant technology than the common break-apart technology called "S&S couplers."  More pics. of this below.

The view from the saddle.  Those are 44mm 3T Ergonova Pro bars (the ones with the slightly flattened top for comfort).

The tall white spacer is actually reflective tape wrapped on the spacers.  Those are TRP CX-9 Mini-V brakes, near top-spec for the V-brake crowd.

That's a WTB Rocket V saddle.  I bought it because it matches.  Next to no use.

What's included?

Everything you see here, including the pump (Topeak with the hose for high pressure pumping) and rear light (Planet Bike).  

Also three packing bags shown below.

Yes, I will take anything off or keep anything that you don't want, but no, I'm not planning to lower the price for doing so.  (Maybe this is obvious, but I don't have much use for a bag to pack this in if I don't have the bike.  And things like the pump and lamp don't have much value on their own.)

Sizing

Here is the geometry specs for the XL, screen-shotted from the Ritchey website.  Some real-world data:

• I'm 6'2" exactly with 33.5" inseam and 34.5" shirt-sleeves.  This bike is perfect for me.  
• You can see the amount of extension on the seatpost - you could drop that a couple of inches and it would still be a good fit.  So I would posit this could fit a 5'11" cyclist comfortably.
• My brother is 6'4" with more like a 34.5" inseam.  This bike felt a little cramped for him, even with seatpost extended, but it wasn't ridiculous.  Maybe the max. ideal height for a rider is 6'3".
• As always, your experience may differ.

This is from Ritcheylogic.com, original at this link.

Breakapart and Packing Technology

The bike breaks at two points where the front and rear triangle meet.  My first instinct, and yours might be too, that those attachment points are areas of maximum flexion under hard pedaling.  Feel free to conduct your own online research, but I've heard of nobody who has experienced that in any way, and I can tell you I myself have not experienced it - even under full power on a 20 percent climb.  

Some good write-ups on this process.  Here is one at gravelist.com.

See pix for more detail:

 Upper connection.  It uses the seatpost as a connector, with a clamp above and below the break.

 Upper connection from the side.  That's a 5mm hex-head bolt.

Lower connection is a removable metal clamp.  There are lips on the down-tube and on the short tube emerging from the bottom bracket housing.  This one is the more delicate connection -- there is a strict 4nm tightening limit.  So its good I am including the torque wrench designed for this clamp.

And the packing materials:

 I bought this soft-sided case but never used it.  It has the advantage of backpack straps and the ability to fold it up for storage.

 Here is the quasi hard-sided case.  It measures 66" in total dimensions (L+W+H), which is literally larger than airlines allow without a charge, but close enough that nobody has ever measured it. (Again, research that online -- I have read dozens of reports of the same experience of never having been challenged.)

 Same case with lid down (but not zipped).  Case has two wheels making it easier to drag.

I will include this wheel bag.  You don't need the wheel bag.  But if I traveled with this again, I would pack the frame, padded out with my helmet, water bottles, and kit, in the case - and the wheels separately.  That's just because it is easier and I like easy.

It's a used bike

I make no claim to new bike perfection.  With this build, if it were new, I'd be asking $2500.  There are paint chips that you might expect from a bike that is taken apart and packed in a suitcase small enough to travel without paying a fee.  Also, there is reflective tape, which could be removed but would require a chemical like Goof-off, and there is a piece removed on the left brake hood.  

The paint chips are visible in various pictures here on the post.  I have not tried to photograph them directly.  For the other flaws, please see pictures.

 Reflective tape on rear triangle (here seat-stay underneath the TRP v-brake).

 Reflective tape, chain-stay.

Reflective tape on the fork.  Picture above shows the final piece wrapped around the headset spacers.

 Cut-out in the brake hood.

There's me gripping the brake hood.  Point of the picture is that the cut-out does not contact your hand in any conceivable riding position.

Some random shots showing components etc.

 Thomson X4 stem.  The gold standard in lifetime use componentry also looks good.

Vittoria Rubino Pro tires in 28mm.  This bike easily clears 38mm, but these were new so I'm including them.  Schwalbe tubes if you are a rubber geek.

I liked that rear lamp mount so I'm leaving it for you.  Don't need to, of course, but I don't see myself discounting for removing it.

Maybe it is just me, but I think I really did a good job matching the anodized red parts here.  Skewer, hub, and ferrule in this pic.

More anodized red - spoke nipples and ferrule.  They look good with the paint job.

Ultegra 6700 10-speed rear derailler in the better deep gray coloration.

Ultegra 6700 crankset, 50-34, 175mm arms.  Also I'm including the egg-beaters.  I don't need to but I won't discount for taking them off.

Rear cluster from the opposite side.

TRP v-brake matches the front hub, skewer, spoke nipples, frame paint, and rear hub visible in the back.

Interested?  Comment below, including contact information.  Please write your e-mail in a way to foil web crawlers.  Because comments are moderated, I won't publish any that have contact information.