Ritte frames

on-yer-bike

Any idea what kind of price these will be? Look nice…

Grill

You do realise that Ritte simply paint Hong Fu frames and then mark the price up to the moon? Save your money.

LegendLust

Grill wrote:

You do realise that Ritte simply paint Hong Fu frames and then mark the price up to the moon? Save your money.

Along with loads of others...

Grill

True, but most don't charge 4x the going price.

mattythemod

I too have beeen rather taken with there frames but will prolly go the Hong Fu route and get Argos to do a paint job etc etc suspect it will cost a fraction of the cost .

rc856

Had never heard of them but loving the paint jobs.

flasher

Grill wrote:

You do realise that Ritte simply paint Hong Fu frames and then mark the price up to the moon? Save your money.

I like the look of the Vlaanderen, maybe you could tell me which Hong Fu frame it is?

dwanes

LegendLust wrote:

Grill wrote:

You do realise that Ritte simply paint Hong Fu frames and then mark the price up to the moon? Save your money.

Along with loads of others...

Yeah, and dont buy those either.

Grill

Flasher wrote:

Grill wrote:

You do realise that Ritte simply paint Hong Fu frames and then mark the price up to the moon? Save your money.

I like the look of the Vlaanderen, maybe you could tell me which Hong Fu frame it is?

Hong Fu FM-015 ISP also known as the Pedalforce CG1.

I agree with dwanes on this subject.

on-yer-bike

This is what the man from Ritte wrote on Weight Wheenies
Hey everybody,
I'm Spencer from Ritte Cycles. Saw this conversation unfolding and thought I'd clear up the confusion. I believe there is too much smoke and mirrors in the carbon frame world, with most manufactures treating the origins of their bikes like shameful family secrets. Fact is almost everyone of you, no matter how proud you are of your BH or Colnago or Cervelo, are riding a frame made in one of a few Chinese factories. But that doesn't make them bad bikes, it actually makes them great bikes. China knows how to do carbon.

Pedal Force is a brand that buys large quantities of a factory's bare frames. Other brands have been similarly close to Pedal Force as well, a few years ago it was a Fondriest, though most people don't call Fondriests "generics." Fact is, the Bosberg is not a CG1 (just look at the chainstays), though they do share the same designer.

Our goal with Ritte is to supply racers and serious roadies the best possible bikes for a price that's just high enough that we can stay in business. One way we accomplished this was by partnering with a Taiwanese company that specializes in designing carbon frames. They have worked with some of the most coveted brands on the market, and we were lucky enough to work with them to develop the Bosberg. The design company holds the rights to the design and own the molds, and we don't have to pay for them, which means our customers don't have to pay for them. Of course, since we don't have exclusive rights, companies like PF can purchase frames made from the same mold. So maybe this year's Bosberg will indeed be next year's PF. It's either that, or the Bosberg ends up costing $3,200 instead of less than $1800.

Please feel free to visit the site and send us any other questions you may have.

Cheers.

Grill

I like how he fails to mention that moulds and layups are propriety to said big companies...

Pedalforce CG1 - $799
Ritte Vlaanderan - $2250

I know what paint costs and it ain't $1450...

LegendLust

Grill wrote:

I like how he fails to mention that moulds and layups are propriety to said big companies...

Pedalforce CG1 - $799
Ritte Vlaanderan - $2250

I know what paint costs and it ain't $1450...

Maybe the paint doesn't, but you're paying for someone's skill and expertise to paint it, someone's skill and expertise to design the paint finish etc etc

Grill

LegendLust wrote:

Grill wrote:

I like how he fails to mention that moulds and layups are propriety to said big companies...

Pedalforce CG1 - $799
Ritte Vlaanderan - $2250

I know what paint costs and it ain't $1450...

Maybe the paint doesn't, but you're paying for someone's skill and expertise to paint it, someone's skill and expertise to design the paint finish etc etc

Dude, my Wyndy is custom painted. I paid for everything from the design to the finishing. It's waaay more intricate than any Ritte frame and still not even close to that price. I would wager that they pay less than $200 (and that's being generous) per frame.

Iamnot Wiggins

Almost bought the Vlaanderen frame in the matte Belgian paint job t'other day. Didn't bother in the end as I couldn't justify the additional cost over buying direct from Hong Fu or whatever the frames actually are. The paint jobs do look amazing but, as Eric said, are they really worth that much? Our survey says.....EH URRRRRR.

pitchshifter

Well this is disappointing news. Had my eye on one of these.

chriscdesign

There are by all accounts huge differences between the Vlaanderen and the Pedalforce CG1 - internal cabling for one. Does this justify the apparent differences? From the outside, no it doesn't. But here's thing nobody on this forum actually knows the real difference between said frames. Nobody works in the factory. This is ALL based on supposition and what one person thinks, just because he's trawelled the internet. At the end of the day if you read the reviews it's a high quality frame produced for a very small company. The fact it doesn't say Giant, Cervelo etal seams to infer that's a inferior frame.

I would say the next big scandel in cycling would come out of how much it really costs the likes of Pinnerelo to produce a frame and then go sell them.

Grill

Dude, Ritte admit to using open mould frames. They don't use the best carbon, their layup process isn't nearly as advanced as the big fabs (Giant, Carbotec, Ten Tec) or even the small ones (Sarto, Legend), and the company makes money off people who just don't know any better. They're the Ed Hardy of cycling.

andrewthomas197

I think they look trick...

sloppyschleckonds

andrewthomas197 wrote:

I think they look trick...

whut?

rolf_f

chriscdesign wrote:

There are by all accounts huge differences between the Vlaanderen and the Pedalforce CG1 - internal cabling for one.

That's not really a huge difference though is it. I've never actually been on a ride and enjoyed it less because my cables aren't concealed!

g00se

I've just bought a second hand 2011 Kyklos Featherweight Plus. The frame looks identical to a current Ritte Vlaanderen. It's different from the Pedalforce CG1 and quite different from the Hong Fu FM-015 ISP - though there are clues that they come from the same designer/firm (BB-design, seatpost toppers, mech hanger etc).

There are similarities with different versions. The PF CG1's more modern stablemate, the QS3 looks like the Kyklos Feather from 2011 and the Ritte Bosberg from the same year.

(The current Bosberg looks the same as the current Kyklos FW-Plus).

So, I would say the current Kyklos and Ritte are a higher spec and more modern design than the other frames mentioned - but whether the full price difference, who knows... For example, the CG1 has alloy dropouts, T700/800 fibres and weighs a few hundred grams more than the 2011 Kyklos Featherweight Limited which is all carbon and uses T800 and T1000 fibres. I guess the current Vlaanderen is the same.

By the way, there are some older Kyklos frames going cheap on their website if you're a non-standard size.

Whether the Vlaanderen/Featherweight is the same or not as the Pedalforce and Hong Fu, the reviews are good: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -11-44563/

Maybe hold out for a discounted frame or a used one?

FastSpecialized

chriscdesign wrote:

. At the end of the day if you read the reviews it's a high quality frame produced for a very small company. The fact it doesn't say Giant, Cervelo etal seams to infer that's a inferior frame.

I would say the next big scandel in cycling would come out of how much it really costs the likes of Pinnerelo to produce a frame and then go sell them.

Hi Chris, can you post a link to the reviews. I'm struggling to find any. I think I saw a Vlaandaren on the commute last week and it looked smart but can't find a full review anywhere.

FS

FastSpecialized

Still can't find any reviews on these. Anyone got a link?

FS

g00se

The Vlaanderen frame is the same as the Kyklos Fetherweight frame in this review:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -11-44563/

g00se

http://www.ridemedia.com.au/round-table ... sberg-3-0/

FastSpecialized

Thanks for those links.

Is the Ritte Van Vlaanderen 2014 frame really the same as a 2011 Kyklos Fetherweight frame? The second link appears to be a Bosberg 3.0 rather than the Vlaanderen.

FS

g00se

I can't say, but they appear to be from the same frame mould.

metronome

More on this topic here:

http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/07/11/mav ... and-seven/

And a new supposed Vlaanderen:

http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/07/15/spo ... road-bike/

Excerpt:

Hi everybody, I’m Spencer. Designer for Ritte Bicycles. There is some misinformation floating around that has given many of you a negative impression of which I don’t think we entirely deserving. Frankly, it’s our fault for not really doing any PR or outreach to the the media to show what goes on at Ritte. It is hard to read hurtful comments and so I often ignore them instead of addressing them head on. So if your only experience of our company is some four year old forum comments and our goofy marketing, then I really can’t blame you for thinking we’re a bunch of a**holes trying to pull one over on people with flashy paint jobs. Now we may or may not be a bunch of a**holes, but we’re anything but cynical and our latest frames (like the Vlaanderen we used for the Mavic 125) certainly don’t deserve to be trashed. I actually really understand the spirit of your comments, which is why I think if you got the chance to know more about us, it would change your opinion.

Back in 2008 we started with a beautiful frameset that we didn’t design. It was the example frame used to attract new business to a new, very good factory. It wasn’t something that could be bought on a website or something… one needed a connection to the factory. And there were a few other companies that got them, though we spent extra on a higher-quality carbon layup. It really wasn’t our intention at that point to be in the spotlight. We were building our brand and trying to get all our ducks in a row and had followed the same path that many, many other very reputable bike companies take. We however stuck to a policy of transparency and were very open about the source of our frames and even directed people to the direct-sale brand were you could get a similar frame for cheaper. To this day we have been severely punished for that honesty, but given a chance to go back, we still wouldn’t lie about it. In fact, often our critic’s very own bikes are more guilty of the transgressions that are pinned on us.

Fast forward almost six years and we are very far away from that original frame. We use the same factory, which is now also responsible for several very expensive bikes from other brands and we have an in-house designed frame that is of the same quality of frames sold for much more. We have also spent years building custom frames from stainless and standard steel, and we built up a small business painting our own frames, and the frames of many other custom builders. I know it sounds like bullshit, but we really are committed to making frames that ride wonderfully and charging only what we have to for them. In most cases, our competitors (who have a dealer-sales model as well) pay less for the production of their frames and charge more. But I think the greatest character witness we have is that we’re well-respected by the rest of the Industry (evidence of this is in the Mavic inclusion)… because you can’t bullshit the Industry. The guys and girls who are actually in the trenches, designing, manufacturing, marketing and selling bike stuff know who does what how, and most of them would not agree with your comments.

If any of you are ever in the LA area, our door is open to you. Please come by and give us a chance to change your mind. If you have any questions, accusations or whatever, you can ask me anything and I will answer openly (except in the few cases where I’m bound by some other company’s confidentiality agreement.) My email is spencer@ritteracing.com

BenderRodriguez

Our goal with Ritte is to supply racers and serious roadies the best possible bikes for a price that's just high enough that we can stay in business.

I know it sounds like bullshit, but we really are committed to making frames that ride wonderfully and charging only what we have to for them.

Yup, total BS! Business today, especially the 'American' business model, has gone way beyond the ethos of 'Charge as much as the market will bear, ruthlessly cut your costs and outsource everything possible' and now reached a place where no profit level is ever high enough, let alone 'too high'...