1982-83 Ritchey Competition

[DrRumack80]

I purchased this bike in 1999 from an antiques dealer in Vermont. She was selling it on consignment for the original owner. This bike has a 21" frame with the faux Annapurna lugs and the biplane fork seen on the earlier Everest models. It was assembled and sold by Charlie Kelley and Gary Fisher @ MountainBikes. Huret Duopar rear derailleur, Suntour XC front, Suntour Power thumbies, Phil hubs, Ukai rims, and TA cranks on a Ritchey press-in bottom bracket. Pedals are Hutch BMX beartraps. Freewheel is a Suntour 7 speed. Brakes are Shimano XT M700 with Magura levers. Serial # 21C2. The bike is exactly as I got it in 1999, except for the addition of a longer seatpost and Avocet saddle. The original Ideale leather saddle was beyond saving and the alloy seat pillar was too short for me to ride the bike.

The quality of Ritchey's brazing work is unmatched, in my opinion. He is not simply a frame builder, but an artist.

 

[Mr. Monkeyarms]

Impeccable craftsmanship, nice parts group & paint color hideous enough to be cool. I love it!😍

 

[DrRumack80]

Hahaha!! Of all the Imron color choices available, this is what the original owner chose! It gives the bike more of a 70's vibe. 😁

 

[Major Taylor Archive]

Awesome rig ! I've never seen a TA crank with black arms, I wonder if Ritchey anodized them.

 

[DrRumack80]

Thanks! I don't think they are anodized. Probably painted, as much to my horror, just a bit of spray on bike polish removed some of the coloring. The 7 speed Suntour freewheel is a bit unusual for the era. It should have had a 6 speed. However, Suntour 7 speed is contemporary to the bike. I believe it's the ultra-narrow spacing.

It does not seem that many Ritcheys were made with the faux lugs, and probably even fewer had the bi-plane fork. According to the Ritchey Project website, the Competition was a 1 year-only model. There are only 9 Competition models listed on the site, including mine, with a mix of unicrown and bi-plane forks

Old Mountain Bikes

A database of Ritchey mountain bikes and historical information.

ritchey.vintagebicycledatabase.com

I keep hoping that the original owner will surface one day. The decal indicates he was a NORBA member. I'd love to know more about the bike's history, where it was raced, etc.

 

[New Mexico Brant]

Awesome rig ! I've never seen a TA crank with black arms, I wonder if Ritchey anodized them.

Great observation! That is a good theory Jim; Ritchey could be the one who had those done.

 

[New Mexico Brant]

Outstanding find! I love it.

 

[DrRumack80]

Thanks! Back in 1999, there seemed to be little interest in these bikes. I was the high bidder at $600 but did not meet reserve. The seller reached out with an offer after the auction. I then emailed Sheldon Brown with the details who told me to run, not walk, and buy the bike at that price. Somewhere, I have a printout of his email. Sheldon was a national treasure.

 

[DrRumack80]

Great observation! That is a good theory Jim; Ritchey could be the one who had those done.

Can bike polish take off anodizing? That is what lead me to believe they were painted.

 

[fat tire trader]

Awesome rig ! I've never seen a TA crank with black arms, I wonder if Ritchey anodized them.

I'm pretty sure that the cranks were sent out to be anodized by Kelly/Fisher Mountainbikes. I think they used a shop in Richmond to do the anodizing. They had the frames made for them by Tom and then they selected all of the parts and assembled the bikes.