In preparation for my upcoming trip, I decided to take the new Ritchey Breakaway Road bike for a spin today. First, let me start by telling you what went into the build. I stole the drivetrain, brakes and wheelset from my Kona Honky Tonk. If you read my other blog, ridingmilford.com, you know that I love the Tonk and will have it built back up before summer.

I’ve always appreciated a new bike, but really take pride in building up a frame with my chosen parts spec. I built up the chromoly steel frame and full carbon fork in my garage with the following:
SRAM Force 11 Speed Rear Derailleur, Front Derailleur & Crankset. SRAM Red Shifters, SRAM GXP Bottom Bracket, Ritchey WCS Headset, Velo Orange Grand Cru Brakeset, Bontrager Race Lite Wheelset, Bontrager R3 TLR 700X26 tires, Velo Orange Nouveau Randonneur Handlebar, Velo Orange Grand Cru Seatpost, Thomson Elite Stem, Speedplay Zero Pedals and for now, a WTB Pure saddle. The bike came in at just over 18lbs without pedals.

Now for the ride. I did a 26 mile loop from Milford, PA through Northern Sussex County, NJ and back into town. I hit a couple climbs, scampered across the Delaware River on 2 different bridges and got a really good projection of how this bike is going to handle while pedaling through new territory. Well, the ride quality is very good. It climbed like a 15 pound carbon race bike and descended just as well. More miles will ultimately provide for better feedback. I can’t wait to travel with this steed.

Next, we will pack and unpack the bike into it’s own suitcase. Let’s see how much gear we can stuff in without bringing it over the airlines 50lb weight limit for normal size bags.