Ritchey had a few new off-road toys waiting for an adventure at the Eurobike Demo. We were immediately drawn in by the bright orange Timberwolf, a steel trail hardtail designed for a 140mm fork. But there was also an all new touring bike that can be setup with 700c wheels or 650b tires making it a pretty versatile bike for exploring any kind of terrain. In addition to the two new bikes, there were two new trail tires, a new on/off-road drop bar, and two new WCS pedals.
Hop past the break for pics and details, and a teaser of what else we might expect to find when the show goes inside….
The Timberwolf brings back a name from Tom Ritchey’s early days, and updates it into an aggressive all-mountain trail hardtail built around a 140mm fork. It gets a new version of Ritchey’s forged and machined tapered headtube that yields great stiffness in a light and nice looking shape.
The medium sized complete bike weighed 12.31kg with the new trail pedals (below.) The frame gets Convertible dropouts for either a 142×12 thru-axle or a standard QR, and clears up to a 2.4” tire. It also gets a 30.9mm seat post for dropper post compatibility, with internal routing options. Retail is said to be $1200/1300€ for the frame only.
The new Timber wolves had a couple of new tires on them. The first, the Trail Bite, comes in a 650b or 29″ x 2.25″ and is designed as either a front or rear tire. The WCS version gets a tubeless ready bead and a soft rubber compound.
The Trail Drive is a rear-specific tread. It comes in the same sizes, and both will be available in the 120tpi WCS or 30tpi Comp versions. WCS pricing for either tread will be $75/81€ for the 650b and $80/86€ for the 29er.
The Ascent is all about flexibility to take to from commuting to adventures off the beaten path. It comes with a full setup of fender, rack, and bottle braze-ons to support any kind of exploring. It has built-in wheel choice flexibility, and fits up to a 700c x 40mm cross tire or a 650b x 2.1” mountain tire.
It gets the Ritchey forged and machined, straight 1 1/8” headtube and a Ritchey CroMo fork with lowrider mounts. It will retail for $1900/1300€ including the frame, fork, and headset. We, along with you readers, were pretty taken back by the pricing difference between the Timberwolf and Ascent that was given to us at the start of Eurobike. We did get a chance to talk to Ritchey in some more depth today, and they did confirm that the actual price for the Ascent will be $1200/1300€, and will include the frame, fork, and headset.
The first of the new bars we got to try, the EvoMax is designed for gravel road riding and cyclocross, or just long days adventuring. It has flared drops to add forearm clearance in the drops for better leverage and control, especially in rough terrain.
By spreading out 12° in the drops, the bar gets more comfortable hand positions and is said to alleviate tension and soreness in the wrists after long days on the bike. It also gets a compact shape, with a short reach and drop, and has 4° of sweep on the tops. The WCS triple butted 7050 bar will be available in 40, 42, 44, and 46cm widths (measured at the hoods) and will retail for $100/108€. A Comp version will also be available.
Ritchey’s WCS XC pedals get a complete design overhaul and add a new Trail friend. The big change is that the front claw of the engagement system is fixed on the pedal (only the rear claw moves) which was a direct response to their top pro Nino Schurter, who wanted a more solid entry and release. The axle system gets updated too, with an even lower axle-to-cleat height, and a wider pedal body. The 298g XC pedals will sell for $150/162€, and the 347g Trail pedals will be $170/184€.
Besides all this, it looks like Ritchey has a few new road wheelsets to show us this week, as well as a new integrated road bar/stem, and some 700c tires. Keep an eye out for a whirlwind of more new products from Eurobike for the next couple of weeks.
