Ritchey breakaway vs Surly Travellers Check
GyatsoLa
Posts: 667
Ok, some help and advice needed here to select my new frame.
I've been looking for some time for a bike made for easy of travelling - for flights, buses and trains (I don't have a car, so I often use the bus to get to bike events).
What I want (apart from the ability to break the frame up) is a bike suitable for long distance riding (cyclesportifs) and light and fast credit card touring on the Continent. Something light and comfortable enough for a 200 km mountain event, but also can be rigged up with light racks for about 10 kg of kit, 25mm tyres (and rigged with mudguards too, if possible). My budget for the frame/fork is about a grand. I was looking at custom, but the cost of S&S couplings have rocketed lately, so a decent custom frame looks like it would be much more than that.
I've narrowed it down to two on the market, the Ritchey Breakaway Pro Steel and the Surly Travellers Check.
http://www.ritcheylogic.com/dyn_prodfamily.php?k=114346
http://www.surlybikes.com/travelerscheck.html
The Ritchey got a good review in C+ here:
http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/gear ... -away-9092
I don't like the paint scheme on the Ritchey, so if I get it, I intend to get it resprayed, so I'd have rack eyelets welded on at the same time. I would probably also get an additional steel fork, with eyelets for front racks, as an option for touring (I like to balance weight front and back, even when touring light). But as the Surly looks quite heavy, I'd probably also buy a carbon fork if I got that, to make it a bit racier. So both options involve a bit of extra expenditure.
My inclination is for the Breakaway, but my LBS (who can order either, for more or less the same price) have advised that they think the Surly is a much more robust bike and rides better.
Looking at them objectively, the F+F for the Ritchey comes out as a fairly respectable 5lbs or so (2.2 kg), while the Surly is a bit of a beefy 7 lbs or a little more (its not clear from the website). That leads me to think that the Surly is a bit heavy for cyclesportif, even if I bought a carbon fork. I'd be hoping for a bike that is well under 20lbs, I suspect it would be very difficult (and expensive) to achieve that with the Surly. (I have an mtb tourer, so I don't need the option to be able to carry heavy kit with the bike).
On the other side, the Ritchey comes with a standard case, which while very neat, comes out with a combined (L x W x H) dimension of 65 inches, which is fractionally above the standard baggage maximum for most airlines (62 inches), which may lead to additional charges. There is a range of very nice (and pricy) cases available for the Surly, all of which are 62 inches or below.
So, anyone with advice, opinions, sarcasm?
I've been looking for some time for a bike made for easy of travelling - for flights, buses and trains (I don't have a car, so I often use the bus to get to bike events).
What I want (apart from the ability to break the frame up) is a bike suitable for long distance riding (cyclesportifs) and light and fast credit card touring on the Continent. Something light and comfortable enough for a 200 km mountain event, but also can be rigged up with light racks for about 10 kg of kit, 25mm tyres (and rigged with mudguards too, if possible). My budget for the frame/fork is about a grand. I was looking at custom, but the cost of S&S couplings have rocketed lately, so a decent custom frame looks like it would be much more than that.
I've narrowed it down to two on the market, the Ritchey Breakaway Pro Steel and the Surly Travellers Check.
http://www.ritcheylogic.com/dyn_prodfamily.php?k=114346
http://www.surlybikes.com/travelerscheck.html
The Ritchey got a good review in C+ here:
http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/gear ... -away-9092
I don't like the paint scheme on the Ritchey, so if I get it, I intend to get it resprayed, so I'd have rack eyelets welded on at the same time. I would probably also get an additional steel fork, with eyelets for front racks, as an option for touring (I like to balance weight front and back, even when touring light). But as the Surly looks quite heavy, I'd probably also buy a carbon fork if I got that, to make it a bit racier. So both options involve a bit of extra expenditure.
My inclination is for the Breakaway, but my LBS (who can order either, for more or less the same price) have advised that they think the Surly is a much more robust bike and rides better.
Looking at them objectively, the F+F for the Ritchey comes out as a fairly respectable 5lbs or so (2.2 kg), while the Surly is a bit of a beefy 7 lbs or a little more (its not clear from the website). That leads me to think that the Surly is a bit heavy for cyclesportif, even if I bought a carbon fork. I'd be hoping for a bike that is well under 20lbs, I suspect it would be very difficult (and expensive) to achieve that with the Surly. (I have an mtb tourer, so I don't need the option to be able to carry heavy kit with the bike).
On the other side, the Ritchey comes with a standard case, which while very neat, comes out with a combined (L x W x H) dimension of 65 inches, which is fractionally above the standard baggage maximum for most airlines (62 inches), which may lead to additional charges. There is a range of very nice (and pricy) cases available for the Surly, all of which are 62 inches or below.
So, anyone with advice, opinions, sarcasm?
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Comments
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How about buying a half decent, off the peg, steel frame and getting the S&S couplers fitted? Kinetics in Glasgow do it for £400. http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/retrofitting.shtml
You'd then have up to £600 to spend on a frame you like, plenty of choice for that money.0 -
The Breakaway is an extremely neat bespoke system designed to be as unobtrusive as possible.
The SAS couplings are a lttle more obvious but also very good and are designed to be fitted or retro fitted to a wide variety of steel frame - try Bob Jackson for a price / spec - very good review in a recent CW.0 -
I doubt the Surly rides better than the Breakaway - I'd quite happily race on my Ritchey but I don't ever see myself racing on a Surly. The Surly will weigh considerably more too - depends on whether you want it for touring or for fast riding. The Breakaway price also includes a decent travel case. Finally, you could always get Xi'an Titanium in China to build you a custom frame in ti complete with couplings for about $800 - before the £/$ went haywire and Wiggle discounted the Ritchey by 20% that was my plan.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
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Thanks for all the comments, especially Monty (very helpful as usual).
The problem as I see it with S&S retrofits is that the price just keeps escalating the more you look into it - those quoted prices are usually just basic prices - add in a repaint job, delivery fees, etc., it ends up costing as much as a good frame.
Monty, you remind me that a year or so ago I was very interested in an xacd frame. but I can't see anything about coupling on their website - do they have it as an option?0
