Based off of your reviews, I bought a 22 roscoe-9 and it is amazing, I have zero regrets. It's amazing what the geometry and components have done for my riding confidence
I wish there was more flowy stuff around in general. I have an Ultra with 27.5x2.8 and it's a lot of fun. My last bike was a 26er gary fisher hardtail. I am working on setting the Ultra up for bike packing too.
Thanks I always try to select a trail that's appropriate for the bike I'm riding. So when I have a bike great for mellower stuff, I'll take it to a trail like this.
So, first thanks for another great review. Although I'm not very interested in this bike these videos always contain some bips and bops of useful information. Like what you mentioned about handlebar sweep and and grip position. I noticed that myself a couple of times and it's very helpful knowledge if you want to set up your bike properly after purchase. Btw, I got my Trek Roscoe 7 a couple of days ago and you were totally right about going with the L size instead of the M/L - reach on the L was just about right. My first 20km were actually almost completely spend with getting my hand position just right. Now I absolutely love how it rides - cornering is like telepathy - it just goes where I look even in tight corners coupled with an elevation. Very nice!
I've been riding more chilled out trails since my daughter was diagonsed with lukemia and I've come to love this type of trail. The Ritchey ultra is a perfect fit for them.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your daughter. My son had the same illness as a child and is now a happy and successful family man of 33 with 2 beautiful children.
Thanks for the Ritchey review. My son has the Ultra set up SS with a 120 fork. It doesn’t feel the least bit twitchy to me which probably means that it just comes down to what you are used to. I actually feel like it is very stable. It hits the sweet spot for most trails here in Central Oregon.
Flowy greens and blues this bike rocks at. Great north Florida bike. Yeah, I have a 35mm riser bar on my Ultra. It helps with the stack height for sure. Impressed with the Boyd Kanuga wheels I threw on mine as well. Never tried Ritchey branded wheels. Have a Stepcast 34 on mine as well. Think it pairs very nicely with this frame. Looks like a fun trail! Minus the storm rolling in!
It’s a great bike for what it is. I wanted a Ritchey for old-school nostalgia and I’m not going to be hitting big jumps and drops. Perfect for the northeast USA. It’s never going to be a hardcore hardtail, but you can fine tune it towards more general use. Size up if you can. I’m 6’1” and went with an XL frame, overforked to 140 mm, 30mm spacers, 35 mm riser bar, and a 50 mm length stem. The only thing holding me back is the rider at this point. 😅
I'm 5'11.5, on a large with 120mm Pikes, 65mm stem, relatively flat Thomson Ti bars... Love the sizing, it's perfect for casual XC riding, I don't find the stack too low at all.
This is just proof that there's a bike literally for every type of riding or rider. Not everyone is out to do Rampage, Double Blacks, A-line, Portal etc....and as my top cap on my Road bike says (still need to order another custom one for the mtb), "Enjoy the Ride" because that's what cycling should be, a joy
Looking forward to the upcoming video that you mentioned about ideal trails for hard tails. I recently purchased a FS and now I have the FS and the HT and sometimes it's hard to decide which bike to take to which trails!
Realy enjoyed the review, I remember the old Ritchy hardtails of the 90s. And its great to see that he is still building great bikes. I too had a GT Tequeste , great bike, my last fully ridged, I came to it straight off an ATX970, and enjoyed it just as much. These are just like the trails I have in south west England. I use a canondale trail sl 26er for these type of trails.
I think bikes have started getting too slack and too long. It's nice to see a company keep the balance of updating but not going too aggressive with the geometry. There are a lot of tighter twisty singletrack trails out there and a bike like this shines on those trails. I personally think the low stack height is okay. It gives riders the option to put different height bars on it. I would likely run 40mm rise bars on a bike like this because I like to be more upright and be able to jump and pop up the front wheel easier. But someone else might want that low XC feel and run 10mm rise bars. It gives riders more options on how to set up their bike. A quicker handling twitchier bike is actually really nice to ride vs a long slack bike that sucks to corner in tighter areas. I still ride a 20-inch BMX bike and if I can handle jumping, pump tracks, and riding skateparks with that I can certainly handle a quicker handling mountain bike. Riders just need to skill up and not expect that the bike should be all slacked out so they don't have to take control of the bike as much.
I agree that riders need to skill up, but in a different way. I feel like slacker bikes require more skill to ride well than steep bikes, but they also respond better to proper technique. The one disadvantage to running tall bars on a short stack bike is that it noticeably shortens the reach. Still, I'm glad this bike exists. And if most of your trails match the trail in this video, a slacker bike is not needed at all. However, I still believe slack bikes have their place on today's modern trails. It comes down to the types of trails being ridden, and how one likes to ride them. There are great hardtails for suited for all different kinds of riding.
It's definitely subjective. Personally I don't like twitchy turning. I like they carving it feeling, leaning the my body and bike. Also I feel safer on tge modern geo s
I haven't seen a Ritchey since the 80's. Follow cam is nice. We can see how you positioned on the bike and I get a visual of what you're talking about. Flagstaff would be cool to try out. Never biked in Arizona.
Built up mine as a pure XC bike, with a 10mm fork, geometry is just like a modern carbon XC bike from 2022, even tho it's a 2020, a frame I hope to keep for ever.
Just got my Ultra built up this past week and set up in 29er mode. Have ridden a few of my local trails here in Arkansas (very rocky) and the ride is fantastic. I do feel that a 27.5 x 2.8 tire would make it better suited for the steep bits. 29er for xc riding. 27.5 plus for aggressive trail riding
Thanks for the review. This bike is on my shortlist. I ride in Santa Cruz with my Ellsworth full suspension but if I get this Ritchie it would be my Fort Ord bike. Sounds perfect for the hard pack trails there.
Two epic places to ride. I use to ride fort ord and toro park. When he was talking about where this bike would be best at, fort ord popped right up in my head.
Love bikes similar to this. Just a good, genuine bike to have a solid trail day without breaking yourself or the bike. Relaxed rides seem to be somewhat underrated anymore.
Unfortunately the industry is a little too focused on shredding and this riding style is far too underrepresented, despite it being one of the most popular styles.
@@hardtailparty Fully agree with that. Pumped to see you bring Hardtails of all forms to us viewers. Not just everything modern, long, low & slack like current trends. New trail series sounds very intriguing!
I bought my first Ritchey last year - Outback and I love it the ride is superb, I also bought my first hardtail since my Kinesis XCPro 2006 - a Nukeproof Scout, which I like but wonder if the Ultra might be more me.. btw I love your channel and all your reviews Thankyou.
That’s my kind of trail, my kind of bike. You should take it back out with some Ritchey Kyote bars. I think it will ease your pain. That you’ve been riding since the 90’s is a benefit to us all. Thanks!
Great review, Steve! The Ultra would be perfect for my neck of the woods. 🙂 Your mention of hand and wrist issues would be a great topic to cover. Like another viewer mentioned, there are several ways to address those issues.
Hope you made it back safe, it gets pretty sparky up there this time of year! Love the reviews and your pragmatic approach to finding the right bike. Very wise to consider the skill level of the presenter (and the terrain they ride) before buying, especially with YT reviews.
I think a ritchey hardtail is a great weapon if you live in the city and like to ride to the trails/gravel. I used my ritchey like this for almost 3 years and it was great. Enough of a mountain bike for accessible trail systems(which tend to be less techy) but not too much to make urban riding a boring slog.
Hey man, if we could back half a century, I know I'd be way faster than you on a Sting-Ray! And I grin and say you are riding well, amigo, no problems with your speeds and lines on those trails, especially with your walking and talking at the same time, not easy to do effortlessly as you do. And thanks for saying good things about this Ritchey, truly great that we still have OG riders and builders like him still doing their thing like it is still the '70s and everyone is doing it in the dirt, to quote a saying of that era. And in pursuit of fun and adventure, we were all riding motorcycles and bicycles and cars and trucks off-road and one of my favorite riding areas in the San Francisco Bay Area was in Vallejo in '79 when I was a disc jockey at KNBA the Mighty 1190 there. It seemed to be a partially graded, yet abandoned, housing development on the side of a hill and I'd ride my CYC Stormer BMX bike there, usually alone in the afternoon yet sometimes with MX riders, too. And although I was big into both BMX and MX, I had no idea that production mountain bikes were being cooked up in nearby Marin County that year--or for that matter that the pioneers were doing their crazy downhill stuff half a decade earlier when I was a kid in Pacifica in '74 on my Sting-Ray. And Pacifica had great trails, too, right behind our elementary school, Fairmont. The days. 😀
I sold my Stanton Titanium switch9er, and went with the Ritchey Ultra at 6’3” I couldn’t turn the bars on the Stanton as it would hit my knees, I like the more flat back style of the ultra and it suits a longer stem it’s oldskool but modern, I can’t ride slack bikes no more there great at going down but for the most part and my riding style the Ultra is superior.
My last dedicated hard tail was a Yo Eddy, now I ride my 9zero7 fat bike with 29+ wheels in the summer and its a bit of a tank but I love the wheel/tire combo. I've always liked Ritchey when I've ridden them, they just feel fast but not interested in going back to the front wheel weighted kind of ride. Trails here are probably "blue" with some black climbs and chutes or washout rutted nasty mining trail/roads. Long climbs, some very flowy singletrack. Not sure if the Ultra is the one for me, looking like a more slack ride would be better.
I’ve had my Ultra for a few years and this review is spot on 🙌 - it’s a dream to pedal but feels twitchy pointing downhill. The geo is probably a reflection of it’s age - it was launched 2018 and the Sherpa (mk2) geo was similar at the time. If you’re reading Ritchey, how about an update soon with the same sweet tubes but a touch longer and slacker 🤞
Another GREAT video I have really been looking forward to! SPOT ON! (as usual). I do have a couple adders since I am one of the former riders of the Ultra: 1. For whatever reason I feel my 4130 Sherpa is more compliant, mostly on medium-bigger bumps/hits (in Colorado front range at least) 2. The low front end of both the Sherpa and the Ultra seems a bit misplaced, especially due to the very small audience looking to race XC on a steel rig these days. I think both companies could easily bump up that head tube length... and related - I do hate running spacers because it kills the sleek aesthetic of such sexy frames. 3. I am convinced that size specific chainstays on this bike would go a very long way, it feels to me like the chainstay length was perfect for a large, but too long for a medium (assuming that wouldn't be too much of a cost burden for a mass market frame). 4. HOLY COW I was scared for you during that lightning!!! Never fun. Thanks as always for serving as our favorite hardtail expert!
I have a flat bar and zero stack headset on my sherpa and the saddle is just barely a bit higher than the grips. On my gravelbike I shortened the headtube. So as a medium size person with with shortish legs, I wouldn't want them to be taller.
Yeah, my long, low and slack Paradox V3 was not a perfect choice for the Eastern Piedmont but I'm still loving it. It's not because the trails are smooth or flat thought. It's the tight trees and turns. The long 29er is a giant in the slalom turns. I just nipped the bars to 770 (from 780), should help prolly go further. This Richey would be good for a long ride on my extensive local XC terrain (with caution), but still would feel sketch at my town's mtb "bike park" trails, which can be rather rough. I'm strollin' the heavily forested stream valley networks on a daily basis on a rigid fat bike, right out my front door. Drive the BPV3 a few times a week to the mtb park. Ridin' every day is dope. Try it!
Old school kewl, but tbh it was that kind of geometry applied to 29er's that made me despise how they rode. I always felt their handling was like being up on a barstool after being overserved and they had no desire to let you play or get rowdy. The first bike that changed my mind about what a 29er could be was the original '12 Honzo and the geometry has become better for riding like a hooligan ever since. I'd love to see a review of a On-One Hello Dave/Wrekker which is what I'd consider to be the polar opposite of this.
Cool bike 👍. Oh man good ol thunder storm lol, I've been caught out in the desert by a few of those. I will say that thanks to this channel I decided to get a hardtail. I haven't been on a hardtail in well over 10+ years, but soon I'll be shredding the local trails one, if only for a little while since winter is coming and my lizard blood doesn't like anything under 70° 😆
Looked hard at this bike before deciding on the Sour Crumble. Still have a 26er Giant XTC which I'll ride ride anything green to black. Didn't like how 29ers felt when they first appeared & this looked too much like them with the long chain stays. Still love the look of the Ritchey.
Can you make a spreadsheet of your measurements from the geo-meter and have a link in the description of every video? That'll be a lot of work but it would be really nice to easily compare the bikes' geometry from what you have tested. The consistency of how you measure it will make it great resource so you won't accidently compare at-sag vs. resting without knowing.
I don't have the bandwidth, but I suppose one of my viewers could go through and do all that. Then they could go the extra mile and post the stated geo online to see how they compare. For now, if someone wants to know the actual geo on a bike I review, they can head to the first look vid to see the specs, but unfortunately that's a one-by-one look.
I'm surprised by your note about the Ritchey feeling *less* sketchy than the SIR 9. Based on your other comments during this video compared to your comments in the SIR 9 video, I'd guess that the SIR would fall a little bit more on the trail/modern side of things, while the Ritchey would be slightly more XC/classic. Am I backwards? I'm wanting to build up a steel hardtail for green trails, endurance rides, and bikepacking, and the Ultra & the SIR are at the top of my list - cheers!
Steve, from watching all of your videos I am beginning to compile a "Tao of HP" in my mind- a list of theses that you express in your videos and are different from the conventional MTB wisdom out there.
I'm not afraid to swim upstream. :) There are a lot of false ideas out there, being pushed and regurgitated over and over by the industry. I hope I'm able to provide a counterargument for a lot of the incorrect ones.
I think both you and I need a bike with a high stack height. I am built similarly to you. I am 6'4" tall with The legs of a 6' tall man and the body of someone 6'8". I am currently using 80mm rise handlebars on my S5-sized Kenevo SL and the bars still feel a little low.
While Ritchey may be a well known brand, I don't know if I'd say they are a "large manufacturer" although I also don't know how many frames they sell annually. Maybe they are more common out west, but here in the Mid-Atlantic east coast, Ritchey has always been a fairly niche brand and rare to see on the trails. I just got back from a large-ish camping festival and while there were a few hardtails being ridden, none were by Ritchey. And the club hosting the trip is based in DC, so frame costs are not really a factor. Regardless, the Ultra does sound like a fun bike. Sometimes I like being "under-biked" for the trails I ride.
They're not being hand built one by one by Tom anymore. They're built overseas and made in a factory. Compared to guys cranking out 10-20 frames a year, this a larger manufacturer. Don't forget Ritchey also makes stems, wheels, and a myriad of components. Compared to a one man show, it's a fairly large operation. That said, I agree that compared to s trek or specialized, Ritchey isn't large. Ritchey bikes have a surprisingly similar ride feel to a small hand built company, despite being manufactured in a factory. I attribute that to Tom's design and tubing selection.
I'd love to test a Jones sometime..I have about 15 frames in the queue. Once I work through those I'll reach out to Jones. Jones require a totally different riding position than what I ride, but it'll be a fun review.
You mentioned trying bars with more sweep if you are too far over the front. I've been riding the SQ Labs 12 degree bars and loving them. Could you review SQ Labs bars?
I kinda saw this review coming. It is, as you said, not a Sedona bike, but... for the kind of riding I do (mostly) it sounds perfect. I know you mentioned it,, but i would love to hear your take set up SS & rigid?! would
I've already sent it back. Unless I'm on pavement, I always prefer a suspension fork over rigid. The light weight and simplicity is nice, but it's just too jarring on my body to me. I could get by with riding this trail rigid and SS, but not day after day.
Dude! Don't hide under the tall trees! Find some scrub oak to shelter under , preferably away from any tall Ponderosa Pine. But besides that, thanks for reviewing a bike on the kind of trails that I love.
It was either hiding under a clump of medium ponderosa pines (other taller ones were a ways off), or standing in the field. Neither one is a great option.
@@hardtailparty Sometimes there are no good options! Last time that I was caught out in weather like that, when the lightning passed and I made a break for home, I got pelted by hail. What an adventure! It was great.
I wonder if you've ridden the Banshee Paradox V2 and how the Ritchey Ultra compares to it. The geometry looks to be sort of similar or at least in that old school zone.
Sounds like a similar vibe. I use my old Banshee Paradox V2 for gravelly roads and buff singletrack with touches of techy bits here on Vancouver Island, and yeah, I'm almost 60 ! :)
thanks for being honest about your preferences but respect other people’s preferences as well! i love your review approach. I have a cannondale fsi that I love, but my heart yearns for a metal frame, so my plan next year is to port over my parts to a steel or ti hardtail. The low stack is actually a plus for me, as I ride a decent amount of gravel on my HT. But one aspect I love on my fsi is the uber snappy get-up-and-go power transfer. In your opinion is there a metal frame out there that has a bit more “GO” than the Ritchey Ultra?
I'd love to. I reached out to them a few times, but it's a big ask for a small builder to send one halfway across the world for a review. I'd love to ride one though.
Yea - a different breed of folks haha - wouldn’t be my first choice! I get where you’re coming from though, otherwise seems like a special bike for that arena. Glad you got out of that lightning, holy crap man!
@@ttendurance7528 very little. I'm not a competitive rider. I ride for fun and I try to focus on the enjoyment of riding on this channel more than KOMs and races. In fact, I try to encourage people to put away the Strava and reconnect with the joy of riding for themselves rather than for s fast time.
Why not set it up with a riser bar and get your balance right, then give it a proper ride on the trails you rode the Niner Sir 9 on? I'm disappointed you didn't get the bar height dialed before you tried to test it.
My biggest rise bar is 35mm. I'd need 50mm with this. with a taller bar the riding position would be more comfortable, but the head angle would still be steep, and the wheelbase would still be quite short
I notice in the video you have the heel of your hands on the bars trying to compensate for a too short stem. I bet if you'd have run say a 50 -60 mm stem, it would have calmed down the quick steering and transformed the ride completely. I have long arms for my height and needed to go to an 80 -90 mm stem with it flipped upwards to make it steer and ride like a dream for me. Running a 40, 50 even 60 mm stem made the bike steering feel a little too quick for me too.
Nope, it was designed as a geared bike. I just received a singleapeed version from the company. One of the employees sent his personal bike in so I could review it. It was set up singleapeed and rigid when i received it. The review still stands though.
Why don't you fit yourself before you ride the bike. You would get a more accurate idea of how it feels. Neutralizing the fits issues and just experiencing the ride characteristics. I feel like your entire ride was colored by issues that could have easily been addressed.
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Based off of your reviews, I bought a 22 roscoe-9 and it is amazing, I have zero regrets. It's amazing what the geometry and components have done for my riding confidence
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@@hardtailparty will do
I have an OG Ultra in my garage next to my P-21. Tom makes some great bikes
We need a singlespeed masterclass with Cody 👀
I wish there was more flowy stuff around in general. I have an Ultra with 27.5x2.8 and it's a lot of fun. My last bike was a 26er gary fisher hardtail. I am working on setting the Ultra up for bike packing too.
I hope you do more hardtail reviews on these kind of trails.
Thanks I always try to select a trail that's appropriate for the bike I'm riding. So when I have a bike great for mellower stuff, I'll take it to a trail like this.
So, first thanks for another great review. Although I'm not very interested in this bike these videos always contain some bips and bops of useful information. Like what you mentioned about handlebar sweep and and grip position. I noticed that myself a couple of times and it's very helpful knowledge if you want to set up your bike properly after purchase. Btw, I got my Trek Roscoe 7 a couple of days ago and you were totally right about going with the L size instead of the M/L - reach on the L was just about right. My first 20km were actually almost completely spend with getting my hand position just right. Now I absolutely love how it rides - cornering is like telepathy - it just goes where I look even in tight corners coupled with an elevation. Very nice!
I'm so glad to hear it! I try to always include some bit of educational info in each of my videos.
I've been riding more chilled out trails since my daughter was diagonsed with lukemia and I've come to love this type of trail. The Ritchey ultra is a perfect fit for them.
Sorry to hear about your daughter. Wishing you and your family the best.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your daughter. My son had the same illness as a child and is now a happy and successful family man of 33 with 2 beautiful children.
"Reminds me of some of my favorite bikes from the 90's just far less sketchy" Sounds perfect 👌
Really like the additional go pro on Cody, makes me appreciate the trail even more somehow.
It's hard to align out schedules, but it always helps to have him there
Steve…”I’m not a really good rider” as he does a nose pivot on the switch back. That’s the most humble statement of the year.
Thanks for the Ritchey review. My son has the Ultra set up SS with a 120 fork. It doesn’t feel the least bit twitchy to me which probably means that it just comes down to what you are used to. I actually feel like it is very stable. It hits the sweet spot for most trails here in Central Oregon.
I guess twitchy is subjective. For central Oregon, this could be a great bike.
What chain tensioner is your son using?
@@andryrakotoniaina7675 Surly
Flowy greens and blues this bike rocks at. Great north Florida bike.
Yeah, I have a 35mm riser bar on my Ultra. It helps with the stack height for sure. Impressed with the Boyd Kanuga wheels I threw on mine as well. Never tried Ritchey branded wheels. Have a Stepcast 34 on mine as well. Think it pairs very nicely with this frame.
Looks like a fun trail! Minus the storm rolling in!
It’s a great bike for what it is. I wanted a Ritchey for old-school nostalgia and I’m not going to be hitting big jumps and drops. Perfect for the northeast USA. It’s never going to be a hardcore hardtail, but you can fine tune it towards more general use. Size up if you can.
I’m 6’1” and went with an XL frame, overforked to 140 mm, 30mm spacers, 35 mm riser bar, and a 50 mm length stem. The only thing holding me back is the rider at this point. 😅
I'm 5'11.5, on a large with 120mm Pikes, 65mm stem, relatively flat Thomson Ti bars... Love the sizing, it's perfect for casual XC riding, I don't find the stack too low at all.
This is just proof that there's a bike literally for every type of riding or rider. Not everyone is out to do Rampage, Double Blacks, A-line, Portal etc....and as my top cap on my Road bike says (still need to order another custom one for the mtb), "Enjoy the Ride" because that's what cycling should be, a joy
Well said!
Did I just hear you say you're not a good rider? Hahaha that's very humble of you!
You stayed pretty calm there at the end, I'd for sure feel like I was about to die with how often that lightning was striking haha
We dodged a few bullets there. I'm not a fan of lightning strikes close by. Several were within a mile.
Looking forward to the upcoming video that you mentioned about ideal trails for hard tails. I recently purchased a FS and now I have the FS and the HT and sometimes it's hard to decide which bike to take to which trails!
The struggle is real!
I've been waiting for this one. Thank you!
Realy enjoyed the review, I remember the old Ritchy hardtails of the 90s. And its great to see that he is still building great bikes. I too had a GT Tequeste , great bike, my last fully ridged, I came to it straight off an ATX970, and enjoyed it just as much. These are just like the trails I have in south west England. I use a canondale trail sl 26er for these type of trails.
I think bikes have started getting too slack and too long. It's nice to see a company keep the balance of updating but not going too aggressive with the geometry. There are a lot of tighter twisty singletrack trails out there and a bike like this shines on those trails. I personally think the low stack height is okay. It gives riders the option to put different height bars on it. I would likely run 40mm rise bars on a bike like this because I like to be more upright and be able to jump and pop up the front wheel easier. But someone else might want that low XC feel and run 10mm rise bars. It gives riders more options on how to set up their bike.
A quicker handling twitchier bike is actually really nice to ride vs a long slack bike that sucks to corner in tighter areas. I still ride a 20-inch BMX bike and if I can handle jumping, pump tracks, and riding skateparks with that I can certainly handle a quicker handling mountain bike. Riders just need to skill up and not expect that the bike should be all slacked out so they don't have to take control of the bike as much.
I agree that riders need to skill up, but in a different way. I feel like slacker bikes require more skill to ride well than steep bikes, but they also respond better to proper technique.
The one disadvantage to running tall bars on a short stack bike is that it noticeably shortens the reach.
Still, I'm glad this bike exists. And if most of your trails match the trail in this video, a slacker bike is not needed at all. However, I still believe slack bikes have their place on today's modern trails. It comes down to the types of trails being ridden, and how one likes to ride them. There are great hardtails for suited for all different kinds of riding.
It's definitely subjective. Personally I don't like twitchy turning. I like they carving it feeling, leaning the my body and bike.
Also I feel safer on tge modern geo s
I remember owning a Ritchey back in the early 90's was a jealousy thing, every one I knew wanted one
Fantastic review as always HP. Those last few minutes, just trying to get home after a great ride is what it's all about!
I haven't seen a Ritchey since the 80's. Follow cam is nice. We can see how you positioned on the bike and I get a visual of what you're talking about. Flagstaff would be cool to try out. Never biked in Arizona.
Built up mine as a pure XC bike, with a 10mm fork, geometry is just like a modern carbon XC bike from 2022, even tho it's a 2020, a frame I hope to keep for ever.
Just got my Ultra built up this past week and set up in 29er mode. Have ridden a few of my local trails here in Arkansas (very rocky) and the ride is fantastic. I do feel that a 27.5 x 2.8 tire would make it better suited for the steep bits. 29er for xc riding. 27.5 plus for aggressive trail riding
27.5+ does typically add a bit more of an aggressive feel to a bike.
Hello what is yours weighing in at ? Thanks
Thanks for the review. This bike is on my shortlist. I ride in Santa Cruz with my Ellsworth full suspension but if I get this Ritchie it would be my Fort Ord bike. Sounds perfect for the hard pack trails there.
Two epic places to ride. I use to ride fort ord and toro park. When he was talking about where this bike would be best at, fort ord popped right up in my head.
Love bikes similar to this. Just a good, genuine bike to have a solid trail day without breaking yourself or the bike. Relaxed rides seem to be somewhat underrated anymore.
Unfortunately the industry is a little too focused on shredding and this riding style is far too underrepresented, despite it being one of the most popular styles.
@@hardtailparty Fully agree with that. Pumped to see you bring Hardtails of all forms to us viewers. Not just everything modern, long, low & slack like current trends. New trail series sounds very intriguing!
Great idea on that series about what trails are perfect for hard tails!!
Getting ready to put my 1984 Competition fillet brazed frame.
Wow, what beautiful scenery ! Great view.
I bought my first Ritchey last year - Outback and I love it the ride is superb, I also bought my first hardtail since my Kinesis XCPro 2006 - a Nukeproof Scout, which I like but wonder if the Ultra might be more me.. btw I love your channel and all your reviews Thankyou.
That’s my kind of trail, my kind of bike. You should take it back out with some Ritchey Kyote bars. I think it will ease your pain. That you’ve been riding since the 90’s is a benefit to us all. Thanks!
Love Ritchey bikes. Good to see you ride one.
Beautiful bike.
Do you think that the 9.8 Slacke-R 1.5 degree kit would address the concerns that you have with the twitchy steering?
Great review, Steve! The Ultra would be perfect for my neck of the woods. 🙂
Your mention of hand and wrist issues would be a great topic to cover. Like another viewer mentioned, there are several ways to address those issues.
Thanks for a great review. I ride my Ritchey Ultra with 40 mm stem and 25 mm riser bar and must agree with you that it feels the best on flowy trails.
Hope you made it back safe, it gets pretty sparky up there this time of year!
Love the reviews and your pragmatic approach to finding the right bike.
Very wise to consider the skill level of the presenter (and the terrain they ride) before buying, especially with YT reviews.
any chance you can share trail with a local?
I love my Ritchey Ultra. I ride and race it as a 29er.
Great review, very similar GEO to my Kona Unit X. The low stack hammered my hands and wrists, solved the problem with Ritch Kiyote riser bars.
I think a ritchey hardtail is a great weapon if you live in the city and like to ride to the trails/gravel. I used my ritchey like this for almost 3 years and it was great. Enough of a mountain bike for accessible trail systems(which tend to be less techy) but not too much to make urban riding a boring slog.
I think you hit the nail on the head. That is the perfect application for this bike.
This would be a great bike for my local trails
Another great review. I really want that colorway or that orange off the Ritchey Ascent it just looks so good.
Hey man, if we could back half a century, I know I'd be way faster than you on a Sting-Ray! And I grin and say you are riding well, amigo, no problems with your speeds and lines on those trails, especially with your walking and talking at the same time, not easy to do effortlessly as you do. And thanks for saying good things about this Ritchey, truly great that we still have OG riders and builders like him still doing their thing like it is still the '70s and everyone is doing it in the dirt, to quote a saying of that era. And in pursuit of fun and adventure, we were all riding motorcycles and bicycles and cars and trucks off-road and one of my favorite riding areas in the San Francisco Bay Area was in Vallejo in '79 when I was a disc jockey at KNBA the Mighty 1190 there. It seemed to be a partially graded, yet abandoned, housing development on the side of a hill and I'd ride my CYC Stormer BMX bike there, usually alone in the afternoon yet sometimes with MX riders, too. And although I was big into both BMX and MX, I had no idea that production mountain bikes were being cooked up in nearby Marin County that year--or for that matter that the pioneers were doing their crazy downhill stuff half a decade earlier when I was a kid in Pacifica in '74 on my Sting-Ray. And Pacifica had great trails, too, right behind our elementary school, Fairmont. The days. 😀
Amazing single track
I sold my Stanton Titanium switch9er, and went with the Ritchey Ultra at 6’3” I couldn’t turn the bars on the Stanton as it would hit my knees, I like the more flat back style of the ultra and it suits a longer stem it’s oldskool but modern, I can’t ride slack bikes no more there great at going down but for the most part and my riding style the Ultra is superior.
Great review and what an awesome ride 🤙🏾💯 that thunder and lightning was crazy...
My last dedicated hard tail was a Yo Eddy, now I ride my 9zero7 fat bike with 29+ wheels in the summer and its a bit of a tank but I love the wheel/tire combo. I've always liked Ritchey when I've ridden them, they just feel fast but not interested in going back to the front wheel weighted kind of ride. Trails here are probably "blue" with some black climbs and chutes or washout rutted nasty mining trail/roads. Long climbs, some very flowy singletrack. Not sure if the Ultra is the one for me, looking like a more slack ride would be better.
I’ve had my Ultra for a few years and this review is spot on 🙌 - it’s a dream to pedal but feels twitchy pointing downhill.
The geo is probably a reflection of it’s age - it was launched 2018 and the Sherpa (mk2) geo was similar at the time.
If you’re reading Ritchey, how about an update soon with the same sweet tubes but a touch longer and slacker 🤞
Another great video, love the follow cam. I keep thinking Arizona is just all desert and rock, Its high on my visit list.
Could mount the stem up side down so can you sit a little bit higher maybe rotate the handlebars somewhat so they can closer to you.
Another GREAT video I have really been looking forward to! SPOT ON! (as usual). I do have a couple adders since I am one of the former riders of the Ultra: 1. For whatever reason I feel my 4130 Sherpa is more compliant, mostly on medium-bigger bumps/hits (in Colorado front range at least) 2. The low front end of both the Sherpa and the Ultra seems a bit misplaced, especially due to the very small audience looking to race XC on a steel rig these days. I think both companies could easily bump up that head tube length... and related - I do hate running spacers because it kills the sleek aesthetic of such sexy frames. 3. I am convinced that size specific chainstays on this bike would go a very long way, it feels to me like the chainstay length was perfect for a large, but too long for a medium (assuming that wouldn't be too much of a cost burden for a mass market frame). 4. HOLY COW I was scared for you during that lightning!!! Never fun. Thanks as always for serving as our favorite hardtail expert!
I have a flat bar and zero stack headset on my sherpa and the saddle is just barely a bit higher than the grips. On my gravelbike I shortened the headtube. So as a medium size person with with shortish legs, I wouldn't want them to be taller.
@@samuli4738 Yeah it is not a one size fits all for sure. Sounds like you would be a good candidate for a custom geometry bike.
Rode that trail a couple of weeks ago :)
would you share the trail with a local?
Yeah, my long, low and slack Paradox V3 was not a perfect choice for the Eastern Piedmont but I'm still loving it. It's not because the trails are smooth or flat thought. It's the tight trees and turns. The long 29er is a giant in the slalom turns. I just nipped the bars to 770 (from 780), should help prolly go further. This Richey would be good for a long ride on my extensive local XC terrain (with caution), but still would feel sketch at my town's mtb "bike park" trails, which can be rather rough. I'm strollin' the heavily forested stream valley networks on a daily basis on a rigid fat bike, right out my front door. Drive the BPV3 a few times a week to the mtb park. Ridin' every day is dope. Try it!
See fluidride's videos on how to corner a 29er. Hopefully it'll unlock the potential of that bike.
Old school kewl, but tbh it was that kind of geometry applied to 29er's that made me despise how they rode. I always felt their handling was like being up on a barstool after being overserved and they had no desire to let you play or get rowdy. The first bike that changed my mind about what a 29er could be was the original '12 Honzo and the geometry has become better for riding like a hooligan ever since. I'd love to see a review of a On-One Hello Dave/Wrekker which is what I'd consider to be the polar opposite of this.
Your body description 5’6 with short legs described me perfectly! Could you please tell what frame size is this Ritchey?
Cool bike 👍.
Oh man good ol thunder storm lol, I've been caught out in the desert by a few of those. I will say that thanks to this channel I decided to get a hardtail. I haven't been on a hardtail in well over 10+ years, but soon I'll be shredding the local trails one, if only for a little while since winter is coming and my lizard blood doesn't like anything under 70° 😆
Looked hard at this bike before deciding on the Sour Crumble. Still have a 26er Giant XTC which I'll ride ride anything green to black. Didn't like how 29ers felt when they first appeared & this looked too much like them with the long chain stays. Still love the look of the Ritchey.
Scam, 40 people have had this posted and if you click on the logo next to the message you can see this isn't Steve
Can you make a spreadsheet of your measurements from the geo-meter and have a link in the description of every video? That'll be a lot of work but it would be really nice to easily compare the bikes' geometry from what you have tested. The consistency of how you measure it will make it great resource so you won't accidently compare at-sag vs. resting without knowing.
I don't have the bandwidth, but I suppose one of my viewers could go through and do all that. Then they could go the extra mile and post the stated geo online to see how they compare. For now, if someone wants to know the actual geo on a bike I review, they can head to the first look vid to see the specs, but unfortunately that's a one-by-one look.
I prefer higher stacks. My bikes are almost comfort hybrid set ups lol
I'm surprised by your note about the Ritchey feeling *less* sketchy than the SIR 9. Based on your other comments during this video compared to your comments in the SIR 9 video, I'd guess that the SIR would fall a little bit more on the trail/modern side of things, while the Ritchey would be slightly more XC/classic. Am I backwards? I'm wanting to build up a steel hardtail for green trails, endurance rides, and bikepacking, and the Ultra & the SIR are at the top of my list - cheers!
Kinda curious about that myself? Was he confused when he said that?
Love that thunder!
Steve, from watching all of your videos I am beginning to compile a "Tao of HP" in my mind- a list of theses that you express in your videos and are different from the conventional MTB wisdom out there.
I'm not afraid to swim upstream. :) There are a lot of false ideas out there, being pushed and regurgitated over and over by the industry. I hope I'm able to provide a counterargument for a lot of the incorrect ones.
Could a person put on a riser bar and a longer travel for to even things out a bit?
I think both you and I need a bike with a high stack height. I am built similarly to you. I am 6'4" tall with The legs of a 6' tall man and the body of someone 6'8". I am currently using 80mm rise handlebars on my S5-sized Kenevo SL and the bars still feel a little low.
While Ritchey may be a well known brand, I don't know if I'd say they are a "large manufacturer" although I also don't know how many frames they sell annually. Maybe they are more common out west, but here in the Mid-Atlantic east coast, Ritchey has always been a fairly niche brand and rare to see on the trails. I just got back from a large-ish camping festival and while there were a few hardtails being ridden, none were by Ritchey. And the club hosting the trip is based in DC, so frame costs are not really a factor.
Regardless, the Ultra does sound like a fun bike. Sometimes I like being "under-biked" for the trails I ride.
They're not being hand built one by one by Tom anymore. They're built overseas and made in a factory. Compared to guys cranking out 10-20 frames a year, this a larger manufacturer. Don't forget Ritchey also makes stems, wheels, and a myriad of components. Compared to a one man show, it's a fairly large operation.
That said, I agree that compared to s trek or specialized, Ritchey isn't large. Ritchey bikes have a surprisingly similar ride feel to a small hand built company, despite being manufactured in a factory. I attribute that to Tom's design and tubing selection.
The “zen ride” bike I keep,looking at is the Jones. You’ll probably never get to test one but I would love to hear you opinion.
I'd love to test a Jones sometime..I have about 15 frames in the queue. Once I work through those I'll reach out to Jones. Jones require a totally different riding position than what I ride, but it'll be a fun review.
How does the 34 step cast compare to the new SID Ultimate 120mm?
You mentioned trying bars with more sweep if you are too far over the front. I've been riding the SQ Labs 12 degree bars and loving them. Could you review SQ Labs bars?
I've been trying to get some in for review for quite a while. No luck yet...
I wonder if this is Round the Peaks Trail. I’ve been wanting to do that trail for a while.
It's not, but that's a great trail. I have a video of that trail on a singlespeed.
I kinda saw this review coming. It is, as you said, not a Sedona bike, but... for the kind of riding I do (mostly) it sounds perfect. I know you mentioned it,, but i would love to hear your take set up SS & rigid?! would
I've already sent it back. Unless I'm on pavement, I always prefer a suspension fork over rigid. The light weight and simplicity is nice, but it's just too jarring on my body to me. I could get by with riding this trail rigid and SS, but not day after day.
Dude! Don't hide under the tall trees! Find some scrub oak to shelter under , preferably away from any tall Ponderosa Pine. But besides that, thanks for reviewing a bike on the kind of trails that I love.
It was either hiding under a clump of medium ponderosa pines (other taller ones were a ways off), or standing in the field. Neither one is a great option.
@@hardtailparty Sometimes there are no good options! Last time that I was caught out in weather like that, when the lightning passed and I made a break for home, I got pelted by hail. What an adventure! It was great.
Theres a thunderstorm in the woods, and you are invited..
Wishing the review was as Ritchey sent it to you.
It wouldn't change the outcome of the review, other than it would be bumpier.
@@hardtailparty It's hard to find good Rigid Single Speed content here on RUclips.
I wonder if you've ridden the Banshee Paradox V2 and how the Ritchey Ultra compares to it. The geometry looks to be sort of similar or at least in that old school zone.
I've only ridden the paradox v3, not the v2
Sounds like a similar vibe. I use my old Banshee Paradox V2 for gravelly roads and buff singletrack with touches of techy bits here on Vancouver Island, and yeah, I'm almost 60 ! :)
Excelente Review 👍🏽
Could you review a giant xtc 1 slr many thanks 😮
Could I ask with all the hurt going on in the world and your trying to scam people ya want be ashamed
Review the Surly Karate Monkey
thanks for being honest about your preferences but respect other people’s preferences as well! i love your review approach.
I have a cannondale fsi that I love, but my heart yearns for a metal frame, so my plan next year is to port over my parts to a steel or ti hardtail. The low stack is actually a plus for me, as I ride a decent amount of gravel on my HT. But one aspect I love on my fsi is the uber snappy get-up-and-go power transfer. In your opinion is there a metal frame out there that has a bit more “GO” than the Ritchey Ultra?
i guess i should become a patron for a full recommendation. 😝
I know what handlebars you needed today... :)
Yay for mud 😊
In a similar category, have you sought out the Surly Krampus to review?
Yes, several times. No luck.
think youll ever review a stooge ?. seem like wonderful bikes
I'd love to. I reached out to them a few times, but it's a big ask for a small builder to send one halfway across the world for a review. I'd love to ride one though.
It’s funny to hear that you think it’s an all day marathon bike yet the whole time your wrists were in pain. You’re saying with the right bar setup?
Great point. Some people do extremely well with a low stack, particularly those from a road gravel, or xc race background.
Yea - a different breed of folks haha - wouldn’t be my first choice! I get where you’re coming from though, otherwise seems like a special bike for that arena. Glad you got out of that lightning, holy crap man!
What travel was the Fox fork?
120
@@hardtailparty how much xc racing experience do you have?
@@ttendurance7528 very little. I'm not a competitive rider. I ride for fun and I try to focus on the enjoyment of riding on this channel more than KOMs and races. In fact, I try to encourage people to put away the Strava and reconnect with the joy of riding for themselves rather than for s fast time.
Why not set it up with a riser bar and get your balance right, then give it a proper ride on the trails you rode the Niner Sir 9 on? I'm disappointed you didn't get the bar height dialed before you tried to test it.
My biggest rise bar is 35mm. I'd need 50mm with this. with a taller bar the riding position would be more comfortable, but the head angle would still be steep, and the wheelbase would still be quite short
I notice in the video you have the heel of your hands on the bars trying to compensate for a too short stem. I bet if you'd have run say a 50 -60 mm stem, it would have calmed down the quick steering and transformed the ride completely. I have long arms for my height and needed to go to an 80 -90 mm stem with it flipped upwards to make it steer and ride like a dream for me. Running a 40, 50 even 60 mm stem made the bike steering feel a little too quick for me too.
@@billgibson4232 this was a 60mm stem. I put my palms on the grip to change up my hand position
@@hardtailparty all good, Steve. I LOVE my Ultra here in N.E. Ohio singletrack. Keep riding and have fun!
Classic!
Can this one do a blue trail? Im close to southmountain
It can do desert classic, but I wouldn't want it on Mormon or national.
You have a gravel bike ?!
Indeed. You might be able to say I have a "plethora" of bikes. I'll do a video of all my non-hardtail bikes one day.
Gravelbike Party!
@@tobymcnicol922 there's very little partying going on when I ride a gravel bike. I'm still struggling to unlock the fun on it. :)
@@hardtailparty I would love to see a video on the fs bikes you ride.
@@hardtailparty Yes, less partying on a gravel bike but more quiet, introspective conversations with the landscape ... :)
What no single speed? I thought that was how the frame was originally designed!!
Nope, it was designed as a geared bike. I just received a singleapeed version from the company. One of the employees sent his personal bike in so I could review it. It was set up singleapeed and rigid when i received it. The review still stands though.
Why don't you fit yourself before you ride the bike. You would get a more accurate idea of how it feels. Neutralizing the fits issues and just experiencing the ride characteristics. I feel like your entire ride was colored by issues that could have easily been addressed.
😍😍😍
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друг , а какой у тебя рост?