Ritchey Forks: The Unsung Hero Of Bike Building

To the untrained eye, the fork is more than just the front end of the bike. For the craftspeople who design and build bikes, forks are a crucial ingredient in their bikes’ recipe for a top-quality ride experience.

Custom builders, like Ellis Cycles, Mariposa Bicycles, Royal H Cycles, and Sanitas Cycles, are some of Ritchey’s biggest fans because they can craft frames: that are tailored to their customers’ particular needs; that are aesthetically balanced; and which boast the same ride qualities Tom Ritchey sought to achieve when designing his own frames. A custom bike might be the last bike you’ll ever buy, which is why these framebuilders are faultless in their attention to detail regarding the bike they’ll build for you.

“Each Mariposa is custom and made in our workshop, so once we receive an order, we will consult with the customer to go over the type of bike they are interested in, the type of riding they do, and their budget,” said Michael Barry, owner of Mariposa Bicycles in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “The fork is considered in almost every aspect of the design. We choose forks based on the type of rider and type of bike. The fork is a crucial factor in which geometry the frame will have, as that will influence how the bicycle rides.”

“The most important thing I look for in a fork is how it will input forces into the frame,” explained Bryan Hollingsworth, founder/owner of Royal H Cycles in Medford, Mass. U.S.A. “The 1-⅛” carbon Ritchey adventure fork absorbs a lot of road chatter and isn’t so stiff that it will overwhelm the front end of a 36-millimeter head tube steel frame, allowing me to use the right tubes on a custom build to leverage the comfort and ride quality of steel. The tire clearance is also important, and having a fork that can clear a 48-millimeter tire is great, as that's the right tire size for a lugged steel bottom bracket shell.”

When Tom began building bikes, he knew the fork was as important as the frame itself. The ride quality of a bike begins with the fork, and more specifically how that fork is mated to its frame. He cites 1-inch forks as being the pinnacle for their ability to absorb this energy from the riding surface. By building his frames with longer headtubes, he could bookend contact points of the steerer to allow it to give as needed depending on terrain. Today we see Ritchey’s logic embodied in custom frames with straight 1-⅛” headtubes.

“One of the features that I really love about Ritchey's carbon forks is that Ritchey still offers straight steerer tube forks,” said Dave Wages owner/framebuilder of Ellis Cycles in Franklin, Wisconsin. U.S.A. “Since most of the flex in a fork happens just above the crown race, these forks still retain some flex which results in a better ride. They also allow me to build a ‘classic’ looking bike with lugs that can integrate a carbon fork up front. Again, I really love that Ritchey continues to offer a straight 1.125" steerer fork option for most of their carbon forks. This matches the aesthetic that I'm trying to produce on every Ellis Cycles frame.”

Tom seeks to have the shortest crown possible for both increased tire clearance and for maximizing headtube length corresponding to frame size. The combination of these elements means that Ritchey forks can absorb more feedback from the terrain without transferring it to your wrists and hands.

Builders pass these coveted features and characteristics on to customers who seek a bike that meets their demands for a high-quality customized ride.

“Our riders can choose every component specifically for their bike, à-la-carte style,” said Brad Swaim, founding partner and co-owner of Sanitas Cycles, based in Durango, Colo. U.S.A. “We would say two features are of high importance when it comes to a fork working well with a frame. 1.) Performance. Since we design a frame specifically around a fork, it must perform at just as high a level as our frames! 2.) Aesthetics: the fork needs to look just as good as it performs! A fork can have a slew of listed features, but if it doesn’t mesh with the flow of the bike, then we most likely won’t be recommending it to our riders.”

Ellis, Mariposa, Royal H, and Sanitas have all told us what they look for in a fork to complete their customers’ bikes. Now we wanted to show you how Ritchey forks fit beautifully with these custom builds.

For Bryan (Royal H), Ritchey forks check all the critical boxes (1 1/8" steerer, flat mount brake compatibility, and a 12mm thru axle) but there’s one more, which is price. “That last point is important for a small builder, as it helps me hit my margins on a build that is otherwise very labor intensive.”

Dave (Ellis Cycles) gives a reason for his fork choice, “I use the WCS Gravel fork quite a bit on my Strada Disc road bikes because it doesn't look overly wide but it still allows people to run 700x40mm tires or 650x48mm tires, which is huge.”

Mariposa Bicycles used the WCS Carbon Adventure Gravel fork to pull off this all-road showstopper. “The forks not only look aesthetically right on a steel frame due to Ritchey’s history in steel bike building but they are also comfortable to ride—the bike handles properly and they absorb the road/gravel vibrations as they aren’t overly stiff,” said Michael Barry. “We have been using the forks now for ten years and they have consistently performed well.”

Brad (Sanitas Cycles) recruits the WCS Carbon Adventure Gravel fork as 1 of 2 go-to Ritchey forks used on his Node Gravel model (the other is the WCS Carbon Gravel Cross fork).

“We like to take a holistic approach when it comes to designing and manufacturing a custom titanium frame. We want to get to know the rider as a person as well as their riding style. We also want to know how and where the bike will be used. Do they have desired goals or achievements that the bike will be used for? Every frame is designed specifically around the front fork and the fork's unique specifications. We don’t begin our frame design process until the fork model is confirmed!”