The new Ritchey Septimer Frameset is Tom Ritchey’s latest All-Road bike design, brought to life following a “40-year journey to the ultimate bike”… some big claims, then!
The Septimer features Ritchey’s innovative Break-Away system, that allows the frame to separated into two pieces for easier travelling, particularly when using its bespoke travel case. Both the frame and fork are made using carbon fibre, rather than the steel that Ritchey is famous for. With room for up to 48mm wide tyres and using the flat-mount brake standard, the Septimer should be able to cross difficult terrain with ease.
In 1987 Tom Ritchey visited Europe, and was searching for places to ride that were “unspoiled by motorised vehicles”. He found a network of stone roads in the Swiss Alps, previously used by the Roman army to control the area, and they still remain largely unchanged from that time. One of these roads, called the Septimer Pass, gives its name to this bike as the inspiration for its creation.
The frameset has been designed to be strong enough to mount bags, cope with weight but also to be versatile enough for the rider to set the bike up as they want, as well as having enough clearance for wider tyres.
It’s compatible with 1x and 2x cranksets, and has external cable routing to make disassembling and travelling with the bike less of a hassle. Modern electronic groupsets make this job even easier, although the Shimano Di2 battery would still need to be unplugged.
The frame has two sets of bottle mounts, top tube bag mounts, three fork luggage mounts, and rear rack mounts. For 1x setups, the front derailleur mount is removable should you wish.
The frameset is available in four sizes from small to XL, and only comes in a black colourway, with white logos. The size large frame weighs 1,360 grams, and the Ritchey WCS Gravel fork, with uncut steerer, weighs 440 grams.
142/100mm 12mm thru-axles are included, and while stops and guides for mechanical groupsets are available, they cost extra. The rear gear hanger is also available as a spare.
The frameset costs £2,958, and comes with Break-Away bike travel bag included. If you wanted to buy the bag separately, it’s £330.90.
The Ritchey Break-Away Carbon frameset tested by our tech editor Mat Brett in 2017 had rim brakes and room for 28mm tyres, so the move to disc brakes and allowances for wider tyres make for a more versatile bike, when ‘pedaling [sic] toward a distant destination or climbing an ancient pass’ according to Mr Ritchey himself.
18 thoughts on “Tom Ritchey spent 40 years “thinking about how to make the ultimate bike”, and claims all new Septimer Break-Away is the result”
My first reaction to this was
My first reaction to this was what a great idea, not having come across it before, but having looked on the Ritchey website the bag is only about 25 cm in height and length smaller than a soft bag for standard bikes and about equal in width. The disassembly process is inevitably much more complex than that required for a standard bike, doesn’t really seem worth all that extra engineering, money and complexity for a pretty minimal size saving.
The point is that the smaller
The point is that the smaller dimensions bring it into the airline standard allowed suitcase sizes. Bit of a mixed blessing with a semi-soft case if you ask me but potentially the cost savings would add up.
Fair point, although I
Fair point, although I thought the standard checked baggage size was 62 linear inches (height plus width plus depth) and the Ritchey bag just exceeds that at 65 inches but I suppose it would have to be a very jobsworth check-in employee who enforced it. As you imply though, I would sooner pay the extra for oversize and use a hard case, suprised Ritchey doesn’t at least offer a hard case as an option.
Rendel Harris wrote:
How sweet, you think airlines have a “standard”.
A good comparison would be something like the Post Carry Transfer Case, which measures 92 x 72 x 23cm for the 135L version or 97 x 77 x 23cm for the 150L version. It would appear that of the airlines mentioned, BA is the only one for which either version would be considered oversize.
(I have no idea why there isn’t a standard – you would think that size limits for checked luggage are dictated by the airport’s baggage handling facilities that are shared across all airlines, so no good reason why it should be different from one airline to another…)
OnYerBike wrote:
“The wonderful thing about standards is there are so many to choose from” (someone else)
quiff wrote:
Always good to roll this one out… have we reached ‘peak bottom bracket standards’ yet?
I’ve been riding and flying
I’ve been riding and flying with a Breakaway Outback for a few years now and the bike itself is fantastic, but the travel experience is super hit-or-miss. Even the same airline will give you completely different treatment on different legs of your journey. I would say 90% of the time you pass through with no trouble, but the other 10% can get a bit hairy. I’ve had overworked airport staff losing their marbles at me for not reporting the bag as oversized/as a bike, nearly missed some flights, and had to pay surprise extra fees. Rules and regulations aside, your fate ultimately comes down to the temperament of whoever is checking you in.
You also have to accept that your bike is going to get a bit of travel patina no matter how carefully you pack it. And the packing… oh man. I usually have to do two bikes because my partner also has a Break-Away frame, so every trip is bookended by some heavy Bike Tetris dread. That said, travelling with your partner and two bikes is maybe the best use case for a breakaway — you can easily fit two of them in their cases in the back of a regular cab. When I’m travelling alone it’s not as bad. Maybe 45 minutes of packing/unpacking at each end.
In spite of all that bellyaching, this rig looks awesome and… I want one.
I agree they treat it quite
I agree they treat it quite badly. However, at the end of the day, the worst I have experienced was that I had to get a new disc rotor (which the local bike shop luckily had). So yes, if you can I also strongly suggest to pack as much of your clothes in top and bottom of the case (I have been able to pack the bike, tools, pump, helmet, shoes and a couple of sets of clothing in the bag).
So just to share my
So just to share my experience, I have traveled many times with the similar breakaway outback carbon – often together with my friends with normal bike bags. Believe me, the size and dimensions with this case makes the difference between paying bike tax for flights and just normal suitcase fees.
No cage mount on the bottom
No cage mount on the bottom of the downtube? Huge bummer. I fell in love with this solution on my last big trip, I kept a “service bottle” there (albeit with the use of SKS Anycage) and I’m never coming back!
Not a big deal with bolts on
Not a big deal with bolts on the forks and rack mount on the back. Plus you can get strap on versions.
The steel Outback has them.
The steel Outback has them.
Travel case is included…
Travel case is included…
Has Richey come up with a
Has Richey come up with a smart hydraulic quick release joint so you can disconnect hydro brake lines ?
It’s not clear from their website and shocking this article isn’t curious about that….
Although it says on the
Although it says on the website that it is compatible with hydraulic disc brakes it also says consult manufacturer specifications, so it looks like pretty much work it out for yourself if you want them. The frame has housing stops for mechanical brake couplings so I think you can assume that mechanicals are recommended. You could always use hybrid mech/hydro brakes if you really wanted a hydraulic feel?
I think this is an
I think this is an application where rim brakes have an advantage other than weight and that is that there is no disc to get bent in transit. Not an option with this frame though.
No but ZENO has.
No but ZENO has.
Yeah – but the problem with
Yeah – but the problem with that is, no matter how fast you do it, it never actually disconnects.