Baby's First Ritchey - Build/shoe suggestions?

[majorcsharp]

Hey y'all,

Longtime lurker, first time poster. Picked up this 90s Ritchey Road Logic complete for a decent deal off of Craigslist and wanted to poll the crowd. I don't have much experience with conventional road bikes of any kind but I just moved to a place where the road riding is pretty great so I want to get into it. For reference about where I'm coming from style wise/bike interest-wise, my other two bikes are a Soma Grand Randonneur that I use as a lock up bike and a Rivendell Sam Hillborne that I use on slower, comfy rides/fire trails and light singletrack.

Anyone have any build suggestions for the Ritchey? Currently planning on modernizing the shifting and drivetrain (thinking newish 105 5800 in silver if I can track it down) with a more contemporary, complete groupset, but looking for suggestions about bars, tape, colors, etc.

Also, anyone have shoe/pedal combos they love for the beginner who appreciates quality? Obviously the pink nylon pedals are temporary. Not trying to spend a fortune but don't want no garbage either. A friend was recommending XT pedals with Giro Privateers, but interested in hearing other opinions as well.

Photo:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z1gJM9che-mFQwqHHbNNp2WHYonkg_Kx/view?usp=sharing

Current build:
Chris King 2Nut headset
White Industries T11 hubs laced to H Plus Son TB14 rims
Ultegra 6750 double 46/34
Tiagra 12-30 10sp cassette
Ultegra 6700 FD & RD
Dura Ace 7900 downtube shifters
Ultegra 6500 brakes
Dura Ace
Sram brake levers
Cinelli Giro D'Italia Bars
Nitto S-65 post
Nitto Pearl stem 10cm
Beater Arione saddle
Beater nylon pedals

[Tickdoc]

great looking bike and congrats on non-lurking status.

Lake shoes are my recommendation. They are really well made and will last forever.

[pobrien]

Hi,

Nice bike!
I have been very pleased with Sidi shoes but lots of good shoes out there.
I have Look Keo pedals on all my bikes. Lots of other good options out there.

Patrick

[FlashUNC]

Tough to go wrong with XTs and Privateers. My only recommendation might be Time ATACs instead.

[Matthew]

Nice bike and welcome to the forum as a poster! I like Sidi shoes and run Speedplay X-2 pedals. But it's a pricey combo so you may want to look at something else. Otherwise Shimano pedals are very nice. Matthew

[hokoman]

I would agree on the XT pedals - and I would personally just find some 5700, 6700 or 7900 brifters and call it a day....

[d_douglas]

The pedal combo that your buddy suggested is ideal - I would say yes to that!!

[AngryScientist]

first off: i'm a huge fan of Ritchey steel. i think you scored an excellent frame there which will provide thousands of miles of enjoyment. excellent!

i'm also quite fond of the simplicity and tactile feel of downtube shifters, if that frame were mine, i would leave the shifty bits just as is. you also have a solid wheelset there. i would absolutely swap out those gatorskins for a nice set of veloflex or vittoria tires and good to go.

with regard to pedals, almost anything shimano makes is very good, even the lower level stuff. road pedals and shoes take a little getting used to, but for a road bike, they are most comfortable for me.

consider a set of 105 level pedals and a budget set of shoes. as you ride more, you will get a better idea of what you are looking for out of a set of shoes and can decide if road pedals are right for you and your riding.

welcome to the forum. please do stick around!

[Malinois]

That’s a nice Logic! I hope you have better luck than I’ve had in finding a silver Shimano 11 Speed groupset, they’re a lot more scarce than I expected.

[majorcsharp]

Thanks everyone for the compliments! It's only been 24 hours and this may be just the honeymoon period, but I have a warm fuzzy feeling that this bike will be with me for a while.

Looking at some of the pedal/shoe suggestions, I might be a bit more budget conscious than I thought haha -- but thanks for starting me off with a place to look.

@AngryScientist I get where you're coming from in re downtube shifters. Part of my thinking in getting this bike was that I would try out more modern shifting just to see if I like it or not but (see budget comment above) maybe I'll stop worrying and learn to love the index...

[Red Tornado]

+1 for the Look Keo pedals. I have two sets on two different bikes and absolutely love them.
A 105 drivetrain would be a good choice for bringing it up to current level without breaking the bank.
Regarding components/cockpit, Ritchey has some pretty nice stuff that would look good on one of his frames. I believe some of his bars/stems/seatposts can be had in chrome finish which would look nice with that frame.

[adampaiva]

I'm a Ritchey Road Logic fanboy. Here's mine. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/adampaiva/48076843993/in/photolist-2gfooKk-2gfoHMH-2gfobxx-2gfobeB-2gcdVJN-2dQnLi4-247u7bk-26Sks1q-28wTsUU-26J85eg-26J82K8-282hgaU-23uHP8c-22xWXTQ-215pi1W-217xP2f-21anSVt-217xNs9-215pd9w-GdGk1c-AqQvPb-yTHQNv-zNhR57-zy1jps-zNhSiu-z6TU8m-z6TV4u-znsgvQ-z6ZURH-yru2kY-yrChhz-z6TTsy-zovCt2-yShZwG-yBXKNd-xXww93-x91jhR-tB8gtL-tTQLRM-sWGf4U-saVY7A-sQtKkX-saCKoo-sQkNMG-t7Gau1-t7G8JN-t7G6eC-shNEw9-rG4Den-pgcqHj)

Yours looks great and that's a pretty nice build as it sits. I have mine set up kind of mildly modern and in sort of sensible roadie mode versus my other builds which lean more gravel / ibob / rando bike.
-I love downtube shifters but for my roadiest bike I appreciate the sti's. Matter of preference though. I think your drivetrain looks pretty good and I'd ride it as is rather than spending money there. I have 6700 on it and it works great. I don't miss the 11 speed drivetrains I have on my other two bikes when riding the Ritchey.
-I think a 50/34 works out perfect for a roadie if you're doing some real climbs. I have a 46/30 on my other bike and appreciate it but I do spin out especially when unloaded and trying to go fast.
-The RL's have a lovely ride, the sort that people rave about with steel bikes. One upgrade that I found really made a noticeable improvement in ride quality and lets you feel that lovely steel feel is nice supple tires. My RL fits up to a 30 mm tire. Challenge Paris Roubaix which stretched out to 30mm are the best riding tires I've had on the bike. Currently sitting on Vittoria Corsa G 28 mm which are also excellent.
-Ritchey has some great compact drop options for bars. I find those way comfier than a deep drop. If they don't have a non oversize clamp option look at the Nitto options.

[phoenix]

Really nice bike! I’ve always loved the Road Logic framesets. I also echo what @adampaiva said above.

Also, if you can squeeze into a size 46 shoe (right around a mens size 12), I will give you the pair of Giro road shoes, just pay shipping and they're yours!

Here is the link to the shoes. (https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=242603) Just message me if you think you want to try them.

[joosttx]

Nice bike. If I were to do it. I go with Campy 11 Record pluse brakes with Bora Ultra II 35 tubulars. And keep the rest of the bike as is. Unless you can find a level to the ground quill stem.

Very nice bike

[efixler]

Congrats! Honestly, this build is very similar to my Six13 and, in that case at least, it holds up pretty well. If you want to switch to brifters, the 5700s are pretty solid and still available if around the internet last I checked.

Invest in your contact points and wheels. I recently switched from SPD to Time Xpresso for my road bike and I love them.

[adamhell]

i wouldnt be offended by a black group on this tbh. it would probably be easier to find inexpensive black post and stem to match than finding silver 5800.

[majorcsharp]

Just took it on a lil 15 mile ride after work today...and I love it! The first steel I've ridden where the bike feels like an organic extension of my body -- when I want it to go fast it does, and when I tire out, it does. Definitely want to go the STI route I think, if only because I suck at road riding and would like the comfort of shifting at closer to where my hands are, especially on descents when I've forgotten to shift up heading in.

@adampaiva: First of all, love that Ritchey build/color scheme and dig your bike aesthetic in general! I was looking at that Land Shark you had up recently before I picked this guy up instead. Really, really pretty. Those all sound like really solid suggestions -- I'll finish the build with them in mind.

@phoenix: I appreciate the generosity! Not sure if those shoes though are quite my vibe though they do fit my clown feet. I was thinking about going MTB standards just for comfort walking around and to eventually experiment on a friend's bike on some trails. Is there a good argument for doing otherwise, considering I'm a noob?

@adamhell: I have a sweet deal on the 105 on CL, but the black 1" stems on the bay either have ugly welds or are expensive, IMHO. Plus it's just more money, more money, more money...