Tom Ritchey

[marciero]

Maybe posted previously but searched and did not see. TR speaking at length on electric bikes, riding the Sierra Nevada with Jobst, Repak, steel forks, bike design, CAD, bikes as billboards, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-gG...eid=4d3d12bb17

[msl819]

Thanks for posting. Admittedly, I am a fan of Ritchey. I found his comments about the industry interesting. That said, not sure why it was thought a good idea for the interview to be given in full kit.

[clyde the point]

Thanks for posting. TR is awesome, and having a chance to interact with some of those early Ritchey riders was a gift and a privilege. Well worth watching, up until the end, and the wheel story is quite provocative.

[Hawker]

Thanks, enjoyed watching that. I've met Tom a couple of times, nice guy and brilliant.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by Hawker

Thanks, enjoyed watching that. I've met Tom a couple of times, nice guy and brilliant.

Same here, he really is good people.

[MikeD]

Darn, got me thinking about some of the wheels I own. There's something to be said about the repairability of a 32 spoke wheel with conventional spokes when you break a spoke out in the boonies.

[Joe Remi]

Originally Posted by msl819

Thanks for posting. Admittedly, I am a fan of Ritchey. I found his comments about the industry interesting. That said, not sure why it was thought a good idea for the interview to be given in full kit.

Yeah, that looks kinda bizarre. I presume they rode first, but dressing for a long video would have been a good idea.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Darn, got me thinking about some of the wheels I own. There's something to be said about the repairability of a 32 spoke wheel with conventional spokes when you break a spoke out in the boonies.

Reality, what a concept....

[Hindmost]

Originally Posted by msl819

...not sure why it was thought a good idea for the interview to be given in full kit...

He still has to ride to the airport, change, and catch his flight home.

[CSTRider]

I think TR is in kit because the entire group just returned from a local ride before his talk.

I admire TR on many levels - as a designer and builder, a former high level racer, and now as a life-long adventure seeker. He appears to have never lost his curiosity about how to make bikes a better tool for exploring the physical world. In a blog post tribute to Jobst Brandt, TR wrote about the epic rides Jobst used to lead that tested the limits of equipment and physical endurance. TR continues to do these kinds of rides so he can challenge the status quo and develop products that address real problems, not marketing hype.

[msl819]

Originally Posted by Hindmost

He still has to ride to the airport, change, and catch his flight home.

And take a dip in the river first... great story.

[msl819]

Originally Posted by CSTRider

I think TR is in kit because the entire group just returned from a local ride before his talk.

I admire TR on many levels - as a designer and builder, a former high level racer, and now as a life-long adventure seeker. He appears to have never lost his curiosity about how to make bikes a better tool for exploring the physical world. In a blog post tribute to Jobst Brandt, TR wrote about the epic rides Jobst used to lead that tested the limits of equipment and physical endurance. TR continues to do these kinds of rides so he can challenge the status quo and develop products that address real problems, not marketing hype.

I don’t know what TR’s age is but if that is what he looks like after he returns from a ride, all I can say is he pulls it off much better than I can. I would be a sweaty, haggered, mess!

[John H.]

Funny you mention that- A buddy of mine was just talking about Tom Ritchey.
Said he was at some bike related function that he rode to- Then sat around in his kit for many hours.

Originally Posted by Joe Remi

Yeah, that looks kinda bizarre. I presume they rode first, but dressing for a long video would have been a good idea.

[Repack Rider]

Sometimes I wonder where my life would have taken me if I had not met Tom in 1979.

40 years later, he now looks a week older than he did then.

[MikeD]

Funny that TR talks about how great steel forks and 1" steerers are, but his bikes don't have them. I don't think Ritchey even sells a steel fork anymore.