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All the Metal: Ritchey Brings Road Logic, Road Logic Disc & Break-Away Back to the Front!

Ritchey Road Logic frameset hero(Photo/Ritchey)
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Ritchey, long-time maker of quality bicycle parts, just brought back their iconic steel road framesets. The Road Logic, Road Logic Disc, and the Road Logic Break-Away frames are back after not being offered in the current line for a few years.

Combining over 50 years of Tom Ritchey’s design expertise, all of the new Road Logic frames combine classic aesthetics with modern performance. I thought I’d touch on the reasons why these frames are back, plus look at the actual logic behind the decision. In layman’s terms…

A. Steel is metal.
B. Metal rules!
C. The Ritchey Road Logic, Disc, and Break-Away are made of steel.
D. Therefore, the Ritchey Road Logic, Disc, and Break-Away rule!

It’s simple math really. Let’s check out what’s new on these new frames.

Ritchey Road Logic

Retail: $1599

Color: Sally’s Macarons (deep red with mauve branding)

The rim-brake version of the Ritchey Road Logic leaves all of the features that made it legendary untouched. Like all of the re-introduced Road Logic framesets, this version is made with a triple-butted, heat-treated Ritchey Logic tubeset. It features “aggressively short-butted” sections that have been optimized for tig welding to save weight and improve ride quality.

Both the frame and Ritchey Carbon fork have clearance to fit up to a 30mm tire. It weighs in at 1.77kg (3.9lbs) for a 55cm frame. The Ritchey proprietary forged-and-machined, integrated headtube uses standard drop-in bearings and shaves 80 grames off of a standard headtube design.

Geometry

Road Logic Tech Specs

Frame

  • Heat-treated, triple-butted Ritchey Logic steel tubing – TIG welded
  • ED coat treated for corrosion resistance
  • 27.2 seat tube with integrated seat collar
  • Crankset min/max: 46/30t to 53/39t
  • Standard quick-release front and rear
  • WCS headset included (upper IS42/28.6 – 16mm stack height | lower IS42/30)
  • Ultra-light forged and machined straight 1-1/8″ headtube
  • Seat tube clamp size: 28.6
  • Bottom bracket: 68mm – English thread
  • Bottle cage mounts: 2
  • External cable routing

Fork

  • Ritchey WCS Carbon
  • 1-1/8″ straight steerer with integrated 45-degree crown race 
  • Steerer length: 300mm
  • Max stack: 30mm spacers below the stem
  • Axle-crown: 371mm
  • Rake/offset: 46mm (sizes 49/51/53cm) – 43mm (sizes 55/57/59cm)

Tire Compatibility

  • Wheel and tire compatibility: 700x30c tire clearance (depending on tire manufacturer)
  • Frame spacing: 38mm
  • Fork max spacing: 40mm

Details

  • Sizes: 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59cm
  • Fork weight: 350g (uncut steerer)
  • Frame weight: 1750g (55cm)
  • Color: Sally’s Macarons

Ritchey Road Logic Disc

Retail: $1799

Color: Nigiri (green with white logos)

This new frameset is now sporting some notable new features since the last time we saw it. To start, it’s now compatible with Shimano’s newest Di2 semi-wireless groupsets.

It has a new drive-side dropout design that conceals the wire routing from the battery in the seat tube, through the bottom bracket, and into the chain stay. It then makes a sneaky exit to meet up with the rear derailleur.

The Road Logic Disc still retains its cable stops making it compatible with mechanical groupsets as well. Finally, the rear non-drive-side drop-out carries a new one-piece truss design for flat-mount disc brakes.

Ritchey says this design reduces chainstay weight while still providing as much stiffness and strength as the previous design.

Geometry

Road Logic Disc Tech Specs

Frame

  • Heat-treated, triple-butted Ritchey Logic steel tubing – TIG welded
  • ED coat treated for corrosion resistance
  • 27.2 seat tube with integrated seat collar
  • Crankset min/max: 46/30t to 53/39t
  • 142mm spacing (12mm alloy thru-axle included)
  • WCS headset included (upper IS42/28.6 – 16mm stack height | lower IS42/30)
  • Ultra-light forged and machined straight 1-1/8″ headtube
  • Seat tube clamp size: 28.6
  • Bottom bracket: 68mm – English thread
  • Bottle cage mounts: 2
  • External cable routing
  • Replaceable stainless-steel derailleur hanger

Fork

  • Ritchey WCS Carbon
  • 1-1/8″ straight steerer with integrated 45-degree crown race 
  • Steerer length: 300mm
  • Max stack: 30mm spacers below the stem
  • Axle-crown: 371mm
  • Rake/offset: 46mm
  • 100mm spacing (12mm alloy thru-axle included)

Tire Compatibility

  • Wheel and tire compatibility: 700x30c tire clearance (depending on tire manufacturer)
  • Frame spacing: 39mm
  • Fork max spacing: 40mm

Details

  • Sizes: 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59cm
  • Fork weight: 420g (uncut steerer)
  • Frame weight: 1940g (55cm)
  • Color: Nigiri

Ritchey Road Logic Break-Away

Retail; $2299

Color: Tule Fog (Silver-ish)

For those cyclists out there who travel frequently with their bicycles, the Road Logic Break-Away makes navigating airports and taxis a breeze.

Although the Road Logic Break-Away’s main feature is its innovative travel-friendly design, make no mistake, this version of the Road Logic frameset has the same spirit, spec, and ride quality as the standard Road Logic framesets.

This frameset quickly and easily disassembles to fit into its own sturdy travel case. this case is specifically designed to help the traveler avoid airline extra baggage fees. Once you arrive at your destination, the Road Logic Break-Away assembles just as quickly, to allow you to get out and ride sooner.

Geometry

Road Logic Break-Away Tech Specs

Frame

  • Heat-treated, triple-butted Ritchey Logic steel tubing – TIG welded
  • ED coat treated for corrosion resistance
  • 27.2 seat tube with integrated seat collar
  • Crankset min/max: 46/30t to 53/39t
  • Standard quick-release front and rear
  • WCS headset included (upper IS42/28.6 – 16mm stack height | lower IS42/30)
  • Ultra-light forged and machined straight 1-1/8″ headtube
  • Seat tube clamp size: 28.6
  • Bottom bracket: 68mm – English thread
  • Bottle cage mounts: 2
  • External cable routing
  • Patented Ritchey Break-Away design

Fork

  • Ritchey WCS Carbon
  • 1-1/8″ straight steerer with integrated 45-degree crown race 
  • Steerer length: 300mm
  • Max stack: 30mm spacers below the stem
  • Axle-crown: 371mm
  • Rake/offset: 46mm (sizes 49/51/53cm) – 43mm (sizes 55/57/59cm)

Tire Compatibility

  • Wheel and tire compatibility: 700x30c tire clearance (depending on tire manufacturer)
  • Frame spacing: 38mm
  • Fork max spacing: 40mm

Details

  • Sizes: 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59cm
  • Fork weight: 350g (uncut steerer)
  • Frame weight: 1950g (55cm)
  • Downtube Break-Away coupler torque: 5Nm (Do not lubricate clamp or clamping area)
  • Packs into included travel case (8.5” / 21.6cm W x 26.5” / 67.3cm H x 31” / 78.8cmL w/ wheels)
  • The Downtube hinge clamp, rear brake cable connector, and derailleur cable connectors included
  • Color: Tule Fog

Get over to the Ritchey website and ride metal!

RitcheyLogic.com

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29 Comments
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Jeff
Jeff
2 months ago

Very great, I like!

bennett
bennett
2 months ago

The disc frame is slick. I wish more companies would adopt the modular bolt-on downtube routing for mechanical, so if you go electric, the frame is cluttered with ghost machnical routing stops.

Ben
Ben
2 months ago
Reply to  bennett

Meant to say “isn’t cluttered”

Bryan Haas
Bryan Haas
2 months ago

Good luck finding build kits

Dinger
Dinger
2 months ago
Reply to  Bryan Haas

The used market is filled with them and all the major component makers still offers rim brakes at at most spec levels, even if they’re not front page news anymore.

Or just go with the disc model and the world is your oyster.

Alan
Alan
2 months ago

Like it. Maybe it’s just me, but somehow it feels so refreshing to look at and think about a nice, simple steel frame. And that’s coming from a guy that has a fleet of carbon bikes (though my daily driver is a 700c’d Bridgestone MB2 with vintage Schwinn moustache bars).

Dean-O
Dean-O
2 months ago

What short pull road rim brake clears a 30mm tire?

Ben
Ben
2 months ago
Reply to  Dean-O

Quite a few. But it’s more about where the caliper mount is located than the actual brake itself. For ex, on one of my rim brake bikes, the rear SRAM Force could easily clear a 35, just because of how the bridge is positioned on the seatstays.

It also depends on how wide the rim is. The wider the rim, the less height the tire has when mounted and inflated, and therefore the easier the caliper clearance becomes.

Generally, I’ve found SRAM and Cane Creek EE calipers will clear a 30c regardless of the variables above. Shimano, not so much.

Andrew
Andrew
2 months ago
Reply to  Dean-O

Yeah, on my (15 year old) Ritchey Breakaway I recently upgraded the fork to a model that clears 30’s, and I was surprised to find that the existing Ultegra 6800 brake caliper cleared fine in the front. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky out back where the Ultegra Caliper’s pivots were contacting the sides of the tire due to wheel flex. I swapped to a force Caliper out back and now there are no issues!

Dee
Dee
2 months ago
Reply to  Dean-O

Velo Orange Grand Cru

Balderdash
Balderdash
2 months ago

I considered buying a Road Logic Disc, but there is no excuse for limiting tire clearance to 30mm on a disc road bike in this day and age. Ended up buying a Synapse Carbon instead, it easily clears 35’s.

syborg
syborg
2 months ago
Reply to  Balderdash

I agree. I lost interest when I read that there’s only 30mm tire clearance.

Hamjam
Hamjam
2 months ago
Reply to  Balderdash

I would go for the Soma Pescadero if I wanted a steel rim brake bike. It fits 38s and you save enough money to get some Paul brakes for max tire clearance.

Balderdash
Balderdash
2 months ago
Reply to  Hamjam

The Ritchey Road Logic and Soma Pescadero aren’t in the same league, doubt many people cross shop those bikes. It’d be a hard sell to get me back on rim brakes though, anyway.

Hamjam
Hamjam
2 months ago
Reply to  Balderdash

I think it’s more likely that weirdos that like Crust and Rivendell would cross shop this bike versus those who want a Specialized. I am certainly one of these dummies.

TheKaiser
2 months ago
Reply to  Hamjam

Which Paul brakes are you thinking of? I was kind of intrigued by the seemingly good clearance of their center pull models, but they’d require using a separate cable stop. Wasn’t sure how power compares either.

Hamjam
Hamjam
2 months ago
Reply to  TheKaiser

They list the recommended brakes at Soma’s website. It’s the regular Racer. All but the XS bikes have the cable stop.

C Malt
C Malt
1 month ago
Reply to  Hamjam

Did Soma start making that again!? Awesome bike and value. Too bad more companies are not making long reach caliper brakes though.

Dinger
Dinger
2 months ago
Reply to  Balderdash

Clearing that much tire is harder than it sounds with true road-length + conventional tubular chain stays. It’s nice to have the option but anything bigger than 30’s starts getting slow on the road anyway and a well designed steel frame should be comfortable enough anyway.

Warren
Warren
2 months ago
Reply to  Balderdash

I ride my Ritchey Swiss Cross disc as my endurance bike and all round explorer bike for any surface. I have Panaracer Gravelking SS 700x38c. It’s a fantastic capable bike.

Steveh
Steveh
2 months ago
Reply to  Balderdash

Looks fine to me, I don’t like the look of massive frame clearance when you are running narrow road tyres on a gravel bike, can’t imagine needing anything bigger than 30s on a road bike.

Very Happy with rim brakes
Very Happy with rim brakes
2 months ago

I have a number of road bikes with hydraulic disc brakes. I prefer rim brakes, they worked, swapping wheels was easy, adjusting was easy, and never felt like they lacked power or modulation even in hard road racing. The only benefit to discs has been less maintenance since bleeding is easier than swapping cables and being able to run 32s. Hated having to get rid of all my old wheels I accumulated and buy new ones because of this new “improvement”. Perhaps that was the goal.

Tim
Tim
2 months ago

Yeah, the only use case I see where disc brakes are clearly better on road bikes is riding in wet weather.

Ashok Captain
Ashok Captain
2 months ago

Y.A.Y! Congratulations and thank you Tom Ritchey for the rim brake version and the rim brake break-away version from a retrogrouch. The Tule fog and Nigiri (Nilgiri?) look super, not too enthused by the “Sally’s Macarons” color. But then there’s no pleasing everyone! Gotta say those forks and unshrouded short rear drop outs certainly look the biz . Cheers.

threeringcircus
threeringcircus
2 months ago

Lovely bicycles.

mud
mud
2 months ago

I respect Ritchey’s commitment to steel. They are all the only brand I’m aware of that reveals honest weights. I have an Outback and the actual weight is exactly what they say on their website.

jon
jon
2 months ago

is it just me or the road logic breakaway has a totally different geometry compared to the standard rim logic? in between sizes, it seems.

spence
spence
2 months ago
Reply to  jon

it’s not just you @jon … i ride a 57 road logic and i seem to be inbetween a L and a XL … so it’s not matching up at all.

Warren
Warren
2 months ago
Reply to  jon

It does have a different geo, different geo for the rim and the disc versions which I found to be the weirdest. I’d have thought they’d be the same but there must be some reason for it all… shrug…

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