Tom Ritchey is a bicycle industry icon, mountain bike pioneer, product designer, and master frame builder. Tom’s been a driving force in the bike biz since welding his first mountain bike frame almost fifty years ago. Now, under the name Moutain Bikes by Tom, he is bringing back his coveted Bullmoose Bars and Bi-Plane Forks. The intent is that existing owners of original Ritchey frames that don’t have the correct fork and bars will be able to buy the correct parts as made by the OG himself.
Tom will be launching this limited run at this year’s MADE Show in Portland and “accepting orders from existing Ritchey Owners.” Does that mean you have to already own a Ritchey to buy a fork and bar? We’re not sure, but we’ll be there to cover it!
“I’ve been witnessing this for years — where people don’t have the fork or bar that was designed to go with their Ritchey frame, and they’re scrounging around for them. I started seeing replacement parts for my frames that were missing details. They were made by others, and they weren’t doing them right. Now, after all these years I’m helping these fans do it right.” – Tom Ritchey
Added Bonus!
Besides getting to see some handmade bars and forks by a master of the craft, Tom will also be offering a brazing seminar. As well as a brief lecture on comprehensive design, and why custom-built framesets matter.
MADE Show attendees can watch the master in action as Tom wields the torch at the Ritchey booth #358. This will take place on Saturday, August 24th at noon.
Some Tom History
Not just about designing another double-triangle frame, Tom wanted to make a “purpose-built” bicycle. That meant a bicycle that included forks that had a specific rake and flex to handle off-road riding with confidence. It was also about task-specific, assertive cock pits that didn’t slip or give while riding new terrain. While he was producing the first mountain bike frames he had already thought of a comprehensive solution. He knew what was needed for these new off-road machines.
Enter the Bullmoose Bar and Bi-plane forks. These signature bars and forks were sold as original equipment on the early Mountain Bikes by Ritchey. As it turned out, demand for these bikes rose faster than Tom could keep up with. So a different solution was reached.
“Buried in the legend of the “Chicken Coop” bike and other frames of that era were a few hundred frames were sold without their intended forks and thus began their lives somewhat incomplete.”
Came to MADE and Meet Tom
Visit Ritchey at MADE, booth #358, August 23-25, during the following hours:
Friday, August 23, 12:00-6:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 24, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 25, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
