Ritchey Break-Away: A Bike of Two Halves

Our friends at Always Riding, a very cool rider-owned and -operated retailer in the United Kingdom, recently spent some quality time with the Ritchey Break-Away Carbon Road bike. The result is a detailed look at the benefits of having a bike that is easy to travel with.

You can read the full post over at the Always Riding web site, but here's a little taste.

Ever since we started selling Ritchey, we have always wanted to get a closer look at these slightly left-of-centre travel machines – so we did just that, borrowing a tricked out Break-Away Carbon Road from Ritchey themselves.

The Break-Away system allows you split your frame in half and pack your entire bike into a suitcase to travel with it. The principle of it sounds a bit space-age and almost gimmicky, but Ritchey have really thought about the design and practicalities of what is needed to make it work. The key parts for this are the frame itself, the downtube coupler, seatpost clamp, cable breaks, the travel case and padding – all of which is included when you purchase a frame.

Simplistically, the frame comes away in two parts, which are held together by a double bolt seat post clamp and a downtube coupler. After the wheels, pedals, seat post and handlebars have been removed, everything fits into the padded case that measures 22 cm x 68 cm x 79 cm with space for your shoes and spares too. At that size, most airlines take the case on as standard hold luggage, minimizing the chance of pesky oversized baggage and sports equipment fees.

Riding your bike in different places is a really enjoyable part of the sport, but anyone who has done it knows that it often isn’t as straight forward as you think. All of the Break-Away frames are meant to be your one road, cross or gravel bike – not just a bike for travel. The weight penalty is 100 grams, which is barely enough to sniff at.

All words and photos you see here are thanks to Pascal at Always Riding.