Ritchey WCS Road Logic

ritchey b Bikes
Ritchey WCS
Road Logic
Steel bikes are for old traditionalists who like
soft rides. Somebody forgot to tell Ritchey that
The spec
Model
Ritchey WCS Road Logic
Groupset
Campagnolo Super
Record RS
Deviations
None
Wheels
Ritchey WCS Apex Carbon
46mm clincher
Finishing kit
Ritchey WCS MonoLink
seatpost, Ritchey WCS
Vector Streem saddle,
Ritchey WCS C260 Carbon
Matrix stem, Ritchey WCS
Neo Classic handlebar
Price
£785 frame, approx £4,149
as tested
Contact
paligap.cc
158
cyclist
T
om Ritchey is the American cycling
industry personified. He wears a handlebar
moustache, an unwavering smile and has
a taste for every terrain a bike can hope to
challenge, often on a tandem with his wife Martha. The
Ritchey Road Logic is a longstanding staple of Ritchey’s
brand, and an embodiment of his straightforward
approach to performance. It was originally released in
1996 but, much like Ritchey himself, this new iteration
of the Logic is something of an old dog with new tricks.
The bike was relaunched in 2013 as the Logic 2.0. This
update is identical to the 2.0 save for a smaller pricetag.
Aesthetically, it’s difficult to distinguish from its oldschool predecessor. On closer inspection, however, it has
inherited many of the trappings of modern day design.
That includes an integrated headset, where the bearings
sit directly within the specially machined head tube. The
bike has also been TIG welded – using an atmosphere of
inert gas for a higher-quality bond.
seatpost
Ritchey uses an intriguing
method of securing the
seatpost, with a bolt through
the rear seatstays rather
than the seat collar. It harks
back to the original Logic
design and complements
its simple aesthetics.
Words Peter stuart
At the same time, the new Logic boasts all of the classic
subtleties of Ritchey’s original frame. The seatpost, for
instance, is tightened with a bolt through the seatstays
rather than the seat collar itself. Those innovations come
together for a light and stiff ride, with the Logic frame
weighing 1,769g – impressively light for steel.
With Ritchey’s mixture of classic knowhow peppered
with new technology, we thought it appropriate to
adorn the Logic frame with some up-to-date high-end
componentry. So this bike comes complete with Ritchey
wheels and finishing kit, along with Campagnolo’s midseason update on its Super Record groupset, to see how
traditional and modern design behave together.
A stiff revelation
One of the first assumptions many people make with
any steel bike is that it has an inherently forgiving ride
that irons out the road. In my experience of high-end
steel bikes this couldn’t be further from the truth, and P
ritchey b Bikes
P in the case of the Logic that’s a good thing. In material
physics, steel is actually much stiffer than aluminium
and not far off carbon. The more forgiving ride associated
with steel comes courtesy of the thin tube shapes on many
steel bikes. The Logic has stuck to thin tubes but, by using
its own form of triple-butting, Ritchey has achieved a
sturdy construction at a low weight. Shorter butts mean
the steel tubes thicken near the tube junctions to make it
stiffer and lighter than the machines of old. On the road,
it makes for a surprising experience.
The Logic is a very responsive frame, both in terms of
power transfer and feedback from the road. Where metal
frames often absorb energy from those first few heavy
rotations of the pedals, the Ritchey really seemed to
reward my efforts and surge into motion. It would make
a perfectly reasonable race steed, as it accelerates quickly
out of corners while leaving the rider fully informed of
the traction from the road surface.
The extra stiffness meant that on harsher roads I was a
little uncomfortable, but the frame was for the most part
able to filter out the lion’s share of road buzz. Equally, I
find a harsh ride often provides a reassuring feeling of
connection with the road, coupled with a sensation of
stiffness and speed from the frame.
The right platform
The wheelset, Ritchey’s Apex 46mm carbon clincher, is
a surprisingly apt complement to the frame. It may seem
unusual to mix deep section clinchers with a steel frame,
but the two work well together. The Apex wheelset is
fast yet forgiving, and holds speed as one would hope
from deep section wheels, but they lack many of the
drawbacks common with carbon clinchers. Specifically,
‘The Logic is very
responsive in terms
of power transfer
and feedback
from the road’
the brake track is surprisingly effective. The rims don’t
employ any specific brake track treatment, but in
conjunction with Reynolds’ heat-reducing Cryo Blue pads
the system works very well. That’s usually a testament to
an extremely accurate construction on the brake-track,
insuring a highly accurate parallel carbon rim wall.
Another clever feature of the wheelset is the curiously
named ‘Phantom Flange’, which conceals a ‘J-bend’
spoke that curves into the hub at its end. This, Ritchey
claims, is preferable in terms of reliability and strength,
while the appearance of a straight-pull design (entering
directly into the hub) is aesthetically more pleasing.
Ritchey also claims this offers some increase in rigidity,
as the hub is built up around the straight section of the
spoke. What’s more, at £1,175 these aren’t as expensive
as many similar carbon wheelsets.
Ritchey’s finishing kit also deserves praise – with
every component offering a tweak on convention, but
never for the sake of change, and never to its overall
detriment. Ritchey’s WCS C260 stem is something we’ve
commented on in the past – a carbon stem that encases
most of the handlebar at the clamp (260° to be precise).
The effect is that the bolts no longer play such a critical
role in the closure of the system – they secure the bar in P
head tube
The Logic uses a machined,
integrated head tube into
which the bearings are
placed directly, saving
significant weight
over the older-style
threaded headset.
cyclist
161
Bikes b ritchey
tube thickness
Ritchey has used a special
triple butting technique
with the Logic tubes so
that the butts are as short
as possible to optimise
strength with the minimum
of weight.
race-day scenarios, but the gentle and tactile roll over
tarmac makes for an appreciable feeling of lightness. On
a flat road, even with a weighty bike they give a sensation
of a much more feathery ride.
The Ritchey Logic is a rare convergence of classic
aesthetics and innovative design methods. This build very
much proves the capability of the frame, which holds
its ground amid similarly pitched carbon steeds. For my
part, I was slightly smitten with the bike, and found a
certain joy in the odd clash of a steel frame with glittering
carbon components. Perhaps it lacks some of the technical
wizardry of the state-of-the-art brands, but in a world
where marketing hype can cloud our judgement, Ritchey
is a brand that you can put your trust in. ]
P place rather than exerting all the pressure on the bar.
It’s an innovative idea that on paper makes for a more
rigid interface between the bar and stem. I can’t say I felt a
change in rigidity, but it does offer a little more confidence
that the bars won’t fall off in the event of a bolt failing.
The Super Record RS Groupset is a good match for
the build, as the aesthetics bridge the gap between
the traditional frameset and carbon components. The
shifting and general stiffness of the system is impressive,
even if it does require some fine-tuning.
Despite being one of the lesser concerns for most
riders, perhaps the most endearing aspect of this build
is the performance of the Challenge Open Tubular
clinchers. These hand-stitched tyres boast many of the
same rolling characteristics as tubulars but without the
nightmare puncture scenario. We’ve written about them
numerous times (see page 120), but having ridden them
for an extended period with the Logic they have certainly
proved how much difference can be made with a set of
top quality tyres. That said, they’re not an all-weather
tyre, and should probably be reserved for summer or
162
cyclist
The detail
One of the most visually jarring pieces
of Ritchey’s finishing kit is the Monolink
system. The Monolink seatpost offers
an easier, more direct interface between
seatpost and saddle. In turn, the compatible
Streem Vector saddle uses the single-rail
design to create a ‘wing’ that joins the rail to
the shell, giving it a mild flex and dampening
feeling. It offered some welcome softening
of the road, and avoided the tortuous
process of fine tuning the seat angle and
fore/aft position that causes frustration
with so many seatclamp systems.