I'm glad to see Ritte has continued to evolve. I remember when they first started out putting aesthetically pleasing paint schemes on open mold frames. With this bike, I like their decision to keep the standard 27.2 seatpost. "Aero" seatposts are a great annoyance, to me, as the aerodynamic benefits are minimal for 90% of riders and they limit replacement and fitting options. If someone could come up with a quick disconnect system for integrated handlebars, that would be awesome. I find the Canyon system a little sketchy (sorry I've seen enough Canyon snafus to not completely trust the engineering anymore), but a SRAM wireless setup with hydraulic micro-quick disconnects would work for my travel needs.
Agreed on the hope that you will review the Ritte Phantom (or another high-quality modern steel bike like the Fairlight Strael). Great review, loved the closing segment.
I own a Ritte Phantom and love it! Reynolds steel frame, Enve carbon fork, mechanical Ultegra group set, Hunt aero disc wheels. It’s a rocket! Would love to see you test ride that one day.
Hey Ben great review. Seems a cool bike. However beating my fit drum🤦🏻 these integrated cockpits are a real headache. I grant you 80mm reach is sensible but most are 100mm which is a very costly swap out. So my take on these modern bikes is bike fit first purchase second. So many come into my studio with a bike bought and are then shocked at the cost of a change🤦🏻
Hey Ben, great review, thank you. What is your review on the handling of the Esprit? I’ve read some reviews that the handling can be a little too fast & a bit twitchy, especially downhill. TIA.
Depends on your preference, right? Geo is definitely full race, like a Tarmac or an Addict. 73degree head tube, short trail, low stack. I loved how it felt.
Ben, how would you compare or contrast the Ritte Esprit to the Ventum NS-1? I like the 35mm tire clearance and UDH hangar aspect - the Melee is out of my price range. Thanks in advance!
Nice bike but methinks most joes with money to blow will opt for the S-Works or Madones at north of $10k. As a tertiary player, Ritte should price it at 2-3k less to be competitive.
I had one of the original Ritte Bosberg frames. Loved the look of it, had a super light build on it. I’ve always liked the brand design & approach. But they’ve lost the plot at this price point. They don’t even have the fetching design like the old Bosberg had.
Great review, thanks! Nice bike for the US market but for Europeans like myself, with added transport cost, taxes and customs this bike becomes a hard nut to crack financially. Looks cool but better than Time? 🤔
@sneakerjoe23 I have a lot of bikes....custom Seven, Indifab, Pegoretti, Cervelo Soloist/P5, 4th gen Domane and owned many other bikes in the past. I bought a cheapo carbon Grizl because it was in stock and I wanted a gravel bike during the pandemic supply woes. It's a spectacular bike for the money and won't be my last Canyon.
Brand name prices I can understand people paying just because people have an attachment to the brand, but this? No way. What would drive someone to pay for this over the alternatives?
You made a deft review, and kept it positive yet raised many issues with this bike. How is this Ritte worth $5K more than a Canyon Ultimate SLX w/ powermeter and DT SWISS diecut wheels? Splotchy flat black Elves/Winspace catalog order frame and bars with stickers, generic wheels and without the service, cache or warranty of the big brands...but the same cost. Chinese factory direct has gotten more mainstream acceptance so western-washing the name isn't important anymore.
There will always be people that want as much American stuffs as possible and there have always been people that never cared...hence the long popularity of Giant along with Japanese road bikes in the 70s and 80s.
At this price point you might as well just go bespoke and get something truly unique and support smaller players! And they’d really appreciate your input and you walk away with a far better taste in your mouth. 12K bracket is scary, aimed at Ghost Riders…
Good vid Bro, but simple math tells me that any bike over $3k is way too expensive for us home boys really. Show us a bike for the $3k and then we’ll get excited 😊
A thumbs up from both Ben and James Huang, two of the best reviewers in the game, certainly gets my attention.
I'm glad to see Ritte has continued to evolve. I remember when they first started out putting aesthetically pleasing paint schemes on open mold frames. With this bike, I like their decision to keep the standard 27.2 seatpost. "Aero" seatposts are a great annoyance, to me, as the aerodynamic benefits are minimal for 90% of riders and they limit replacement and fitting options. If someone could come up with a quick disconnect system for integrated handlebars, that would be awesome. I find the Canyon system a little sketchy (sorry I've seen enough Canyon snafus to not completely trust the engineering anymore), but a SRAM wireless setup with hydraulic micro-quick disconnects would work for my travel needs.
Agreed on the hope that you will review the Ritte Phantom (or another high-quality modern steel bike like the Fairlight Strael). Great review, loved the closing segment.
Awesome. I have a new bike and still enjoyed this review. Keep the videos coming. Enjoy The Ride.
I like it, nice direct no 'bs' ethos. this bike would be on my shortlist if I was in the market. bet this build here is fun on climbs.
I own a Ritte Phantom and love it! Reynolds steel frame, Enve carbon fork, mechanical Ultegra group set, Hunt aero disc wheels. It’s a rocket! Would love to see you test ride that one day.
Ritte bikes are just gorgeous
Yes, it's fast! I remember you attacking away on Olde Stage! :)
Hey Ben great review. Seems a cool bike. However beating my fit drum🤦🏻 these integrated cockpits are a real headache. I grant you 80mm reach is sensible but most are 100mm which is a very costly swap out. So my take on these modern bikes is bike fit first purchase second. So many come into my studio with a bike bought and are then shocked at the cost of a change🤦🏻
"bike fit first, bike purchase second"
No argument here!
My memory of Ritte is that they made KVA stainless road bike which was really nice.
SL8 Killer👍
Hey Ben, great review, thank you. What is your review on the handling of the Esprit? I’ve read some reviews that the handling can be a little too fast & a bit twitchy, especially downhill. TIA.
Depends on your preference, right? Geo is definitely full race, like a Tarmac or an Addict. 73degree head tube, short trail, low stack. I loved how it felt.
TY!
“Moving like a ghost in the wind”. You should trade mark this!
Just ordered mine the other day.
Ben, how would you compare or contrast the Ritte Esprit to the Ventum NS-1? I like the 35mm tire clearance and UDH hangar aspect - the Melee is out of my price range. Thanks in advance!
Both are good, but I really appreciated how light and snappy the Espirit felt.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney thanks so much, Ben. Love your channel !
How in the heck were you able to get an uninterrupted descent on Flagstaff?!?
Timing, grasshopper.
Ben would recommend this bike for the heavy weights?
Nice bike but methinks most joes with money to blow will opt for the S-Works or Madones at north of $10k. As a tertiary player, Ritte should price it at 2-3k less to be competitive.
I had one of the original Ritte Bosberg frames. Loved the look of it, had a super light build on it. I’ve always liked the brand design & approach.
But they’ve lost the plot at this price point. They don’t even have the fetching design like the old Bosberg had.
It would be really easy to add an "R" to the logo and make it my favorite chocolate brand 😋
AWESOME BIKE! 😎💯👍
Great review, thanks!
Nice bike for the US market but for Europeans like myself, with added transport cost, taxes and customs this bike becomes a hard nut to crack financially.
Looks cool but better than Time? 🤔
No mention of Tom Kellogg!?!?! I own a Phantom and it is my go-to bike for big stupid rides.
Not bad… hard to justify extra 5k over Canyon
Never ridden a Canyon I liked. Road or MTB. Really don’t understand the hype.
@sneakerjoe23 I have a lot of bikes....custom Seven, Indifab, Pegoretti, Cervelo Soloist/P5, 4th gen Domane and owned many other bikes in the past. I bought a cheapo carbon Grizl because it was in stock and I wanted a gravel bike during the pandemic supply woes. It's a spectacular bike for the money and won't be my last Canyon.
Especially when it comes with 15 buck Aliexpress seatpost. I have the exact same one on my city beater and so far noone tried to steal it😅
Brand name prices I can understand people paying just because people have an attachment to the brand, but this? No way. What would drive someone to pay for this over the alternatives?
Another model T bike. You can have any color you want, as long as its black.
outrageous!!
Nothing a squirt of sealant won't fix
You made a deft review, and kept it positive yet raised many issues with this bike.
How is this Ritte worth $5K more than a Canyon Ultimate SLX w/ powermeter and DT SWISS diecut wheels?
Splotchy flat black Elves/Winspace catalog order frame and bars with stickers, generic wheels and without the service, cache or warranty of the big brands...but the same cost.
Chinese factory direct has gotten more mainstream acceptance so western-washing the name isn't important anymore.
There will always be people that want as much American stuffs as possible and there have always been people that never cared...hence the long popularity of Giant along with Japanese road bikes in the 70s and 80s.
For that price they can keep it. Canyon’s got that space on lock.
Sorry but from Day one I saw this bike (years ago) It's always gonna be pronounced Ritt-EE to me
At this price point you might as well just go bespoke and get something truly unique and support smaller players! And they’d really appreciate your input and you walk away with a far better taste in your mouth. 12K bracket is scary, aimed at Ghost Riders…
Good vid Bro, but simple math tells me that any bike over $3k is way too expensive for us home boys really. Show us a bike for the $3k and then we’ll get excited 😊
Canyon all the way vs this if going DTC.
"Framesets starting at $3,950", NOT!