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Its been sometime since Ritchey introduced a refresh of their Ascent frame, but behind closed doors they have been refining the design and specs of the legendary bike to be more versatile than ever.
Ensuring its at home on all kinds of terrain and more importantly adaptable for whatever setups you might choose the 2021 Ritchey Ascent is brimming with modern features that put it firmly in the category of a do-it-all adventure bike, so wether thats quiet tarmac lanes or dusty dirt roads the bike is going to handle well, remain responsive and stand upto anything else you might throw at it.
Starting out with materials the Frame is made using the infallible triple butted Ritchey Logic steel and is all tig-welded, with the same materials going into the the straight steerer Fork. Featuring plenty of mounts for anything you might feel needs to be bolted and attached on, including Rack and Fender mounts on both frame and fork there are also 3 multi purpose mounts on each fork blade and under the frames downtube.
Notably the Fork also has a threaded crown port for light attachments or alternative rack mount options.
The frame has post-mount brake compatibility and uses BOOST 148mm spacing, with a tyre clearance of 2.6″ in both 29 inch and 27.5 letting you run some pretty big rubber indeed, combine this mighty generous clearance with a geometry thats suited to either drop bars or some wide rise MTB bars and you are adventure ready indeed.
The Ascent is being released in four sizes S/M/L/XL with the weight of the Large coming in at 2400g minus the thru-axle and the fork weighs 1125g again without the Axle.
In short here are the specs again.
- Features the new Ritchey steel fork with an 1-1/8” straight steerer
- Fits 27.5” or 29” wheels and tires
- Frame: heat-treated, triple-butted Ritchey Logic steel tubing – TIG welded
- Ritchey steel fork with multi-purpose, rack, fender and dynamo lights mounts
- Rack and fender mounts
- Tyre Clearance 2.6″ for both 29″and 27.5″ Wheel sizes
- WCS headset included
- BOOST 148mm spacing (12mm alloy thru-axle included)
- Replaceable stainless-steel derailleur hanger
- 27.2mm seat tube with replaceable seat collar
- Bottom bracket: 73mm – English threaded
- Color: Sierra Red
The versatility of this new arrival from Ritchey is very exciting, not only due to its comfort in accommodating wheel sizes but also its ability to run 1 x or 2 x with minimal faff so we look forward to seeing how riders begin setting up theirs in the months to come as we are sure its going to be a popular number.
Last modified: 23rd August 2021
It’s a bit of a stretch to call it versatile when the 1 1/8″ steerer/headtube set up pretty much rules out the vast majority of modern suspension forks.
Hiya Chris, thats a valid point, but in recent years alot of riders are deciding to build up their bikes with the rigid forks and straight steerers, whilst not plentiful, there are still suspension forks which would suit this just maybe not as many to choose from.
While this is a very nice bike it is essentially a 90’s steel MTB with a 1x drivetrain and disc brakes. A very cursory browse on Ebay or FB marketplace will reveal many an old steel MTB in good nick for £30-50. Save yourself £2k, help the environment and go for the real thing!
Heya Ant,
While there maybe a line of similarities to some older 90’s mtbs there also alot of elements that make it more desirable too.
Option of running larger wheels for one, wider tyre clearances along with (as you stated) disc brakes.
I have myself picked up a rock lobster from ebay, just as you mention but there are some details on it that do leave me pining for something slightly more modern.
Bikes at the end of the day are very personal, and this may well be right up someones street, or not.
who knows.
Cheers