50 Years of Ritchey Design and Innovation!

Tom Ritchey was only a teenager when he started designing, innovating, and building bicycles and components more than 50 years ago.

After spending a few years repairing tubular tires and fixing broken bike frames in his family’s garage in Northern California, Tom Ritchey ultimately designed and welded his first bicycle frame when he was only 16 years old. In the 50 years since Tom went on to build one of the most influential and innovative bicycle companies in the world.

For more information visit ritcheylogic.com

Tom’s 50 years in the bicycle world go beyond having merely forged new paths with great bicycles and pioneering components – his creations have won countless championships and he continues to inspire generations of cyclists to experience great rides while also influencing legions within the bicycle industry.

Despite having innovated many of the products we all ride today, or as a testament to them, Tom’s vision of the bicycle remains as incredibly unpretentious as it was 50 years ago: “The bicycle’s true function is as a great equalizer that offers the simple pleasure found in the freedom that is riding. Whether it’s a wooden bike or a Tour de France winner, people all over the world still smile when they see and connect with another person on a bicycle! It’s a freedom tool and a smile machine!”

In honor of this remarkable milestone, Ritchey has unveiled special logos that recall the brand’s roots and Tom’s journey to becoming a pillar of bicycle and component design. The Ritchey wordmark logo retains the blue and gold of the original logo while including “Palo Alto, California” – where Tom got his start fixing frames so many years ago and which is an important influence on Tom’s professionality, attitude, and beliefs.

To further celebrate Ritchey’s heritage, the company will present special, limited-edition colorways for key framesets. All will feature the 50th Anniversary Palo Alto Ritchey wordmark on the downtube and will be released in the coming months.

Additionally, Ritchey will release commemorative accessories and soft goods throughout the year. This promotion has kicked off with a special long sleeve t-shirt and will include several other exciting items that Ritchey fans can look forward to throughout the year – such as winter wool cycling caps, drinkware, and much more.

• 1972
  • Tom Ritchey builds his first bicycle frame – at age 16
• 1974
  • Tom begins building frames for Palo Alto Bikes – up to 200 bikes per year
  • Tom develops and utilizes twin-plated crown forks
  • Ritchey Design, Inc. established
• 1978
  • Tom builds his first mountain bike
• 1979
  • Ritchey MountainBikes formed as an informal partnership between Ritchey, Gary Fisher, and Charlie Kelly
  • MountainBikes becomes the first business to sell mountain bikes exclusively

• 1980
  • Tom creates 130mm mountain bike specific rear hub
  • Tom develops 120mm bottom bracket spindle to account for wider chainstays that accommodate a wider rear tire
  • Tom invents the Bullmoose integrated mountain bike specific handlebar and stem
• 1981
  • First Ritchey employee hired
  • 400+ frames built
• 1982
  • Built 700 frames
  • Road & Track automobile magazine names MountainBike the Best off-road vehicle
• 1983
  • Ritchey MountainBikes dissolves
  • Team Ritchey MTB established
  • Ritchey begins using standard unicrown tapered fork
• 1984
  • Logic butted tubing is invented for usage with TIG and fillet brazed frames
  • Developed new MTB-specific tread design with IRC-Japan that applied road tire technology to MTB tires – introducing a folding bead and 120tpi
  • Tom partners with Palo Alto Bikes to fulfill orders for his bicycles
• 1985
  • The first welded mountain bike specific rim, the Ritchey Vantage, is produced by Ukai – a wider, 25mm rim developed to better accommodate a wider knobby tire
• 1988
  • Ritchey introduces Vector Force Analysis (VFA) tread designs for mountain bike tires featuring front- and rear-specific and rotation direction treads
  • Tom Ritchey is inducted into the inaugural class of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
  • The tig-welded Ritchey Ultra mountain bike makes its debut
• 1989
  • Logic Condensed double-butted spokes produced by DT Swiss
  • Don Myrah wins Amateur MTB World Championship in Mammoth

• 1990
  • Team Ritchey professional MTB team forms, signing a young Thomas Frischknecht as a member
  • Ritchey opens an office in Italy, its first expansion outside the United States in 1991
  • Ruthie Matthes wins MTB World Championships in Ciocco, riding for Team Ritchey
  • WCS component level introduced, featuring handlebars
  • Road Logic road bike released
  • Tom designed the first Z-Max VFA tire
• 1992
  • Off-Center Rim Technology (OCR) made possible a balanced spoke tension in rear wheels and off-center disc-specific front and rear wheels
  • Riding for Team Ritchey, Henrik Djernis wins MTB World Championships in Bromont
  • Matthes and Frischknecht, of Team Ritchey, crowned World Cup champions
• 1993
  • Frischknecht is again World Cup champion
• 1994
  • Ritchey unveils the SwissCross, named in honor of Thomas Frischknecht
  • Ritchey International is officially incorporated in Switzerland to support and expand Ritchey’s growing global business
• 1995
  • Ritchey creates its first clipless MTB pedal
• 1996
  • Thomas Frischknecht wins the Silver Medal for mountain biking, atop a Ritchey P20, at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta
  • The innovative SpeedMax tire tread is introduced for, and raced at, the Olympics
• 1997
  • Vector Wing saddle technology was introduced, which increases comfort by dissipating pressure
  • Ritchey offers a 2×9 speed drivetrain for mountain bikes as a faster alternative to triple chainrings in racing
• 1999
  • Ritchey Asia is established in Taiwan to embolden growth in the Asian market and support product development operations
  • Ritchey creates the first disc-only OCR rim
  • Ritchey develops alloy 3D Net-Shape forging for stems that led way to a new generation of lighter, stiffer and stronger stems without welding
  • Ritchey creates its iconic flip-flop logo

• 2001
  • Tom creates the unique Break-Away system that allows a full-size bicycle frame to be split apart to fit into its own special travel case
• 2004
  • After years of taking a scientific approach to design and carefully researching material stress points to ensure maximum durability, safety, and performance, Ritchey releases its first carbon fiber component – the WCS Carbon Road Bar
• 2005
  • Tom visits Rwanda and soon designs the Coffee-Bike to help Rwandan coffee farmers transport their crops more efficiently to washing stations

• 2006
  • The WCS 4-Axis stem is released – designed specifically for lightweight carbon and alloy bars
• 2008
  • Ritchey creates the 1-Bolt seatpost clamp for quick, secure adjustment and reducing stress on lightweight saddle rails
• 2009
  • Ritchey launches the SuperLogic line, a collection of the highest-end carbon fiber components engineered from the most modern, cutting-edge materials
  • Nino Schurter wins his first of several UCI XCO Championships, riding a Ritchey cockpit
• 2012
  • Tom is inducted into the United States Bicycle Hall of Fame in Davis, California
  • “Tom Ritchey’s 40-Year Ride” documentary film is released, chronicling and celebrating Tom’s first 40 years of innovation in the bike industry
  • Ritchey releases the revolutionary and patented C260 stem, which more evenly distributes clamping stress through the handlebar, faceplate, hardware and stem body
• 2014
  • Phantom Flange hubs are introduced to adopt the efficiency and aesthetics of straight-pull spokes with the use of strong and reliable j-bend spokes
• 2015
  • The C220 stem is introduced, wrapping 220-degrees around the handlebar and allowing for a lighter faceplate and stem body with no sacrifice in strength or stiffness
• 2016
  • The Ritchey WCS VentureMax handlebar is unveiled, offering riders a wide 24-degree drop flare, perfect for the emerging gravel market
  • Riding Ritchey WCS bars, stem, post, and pedals, Jenny Rissveds and Nino Schurter both won gold medals in mountain biking at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
• 2017
  • Ritchey Outback relaunched as a modern gravel bike
• 2020
  • Building upon the success of the VentureMax gravel bar, Ritchey doubles down on the flare with the WCS Beacon handlebar, featuring a 36-degree drop flare
  • Ritchey is the first company to offer compression caps with its legendary stems
• 2022
  • Ritchey celebrates the 50th anniversary of Tom welding his first bicycle frame and starting a cycling revolution