Technique
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Parent Category: Technique
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Category: Ritchey
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Published on Tuesday, 24 November 2009 07:22
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Written by Luca Salvatelli
With a nice aestetic is too heavy compared to aluminium seatpost
The company
Tom Ritchey fully embodies the hope of American "self made man ", after a career of cycling and respectable with a deep and genuine passion for cycling, decides to get in their starting to build components for bicycles. His passion for cycling to 360 degrees led him to be one of the discoverers of the mtb phenomenon. Always attentive to the quality and technology, its products are characterized by increasingly innovative features, quality materials, weight and performance to competition. For this soon becomes a reference point for fans. The success led him to expand slowly, to all sectors of the bike is in the aftermarket and in the original equipment. So today Ritchey has become one of the reference components for bicycles.
The range Ritchey
The range of components Ritchey is practically infinite both for mtb bike and road bike. Specials range is the huge gap in price of its products from the most simple and cost, to more sophisticated and evolved, the WCS series. This allows everyone to find a product not only suited to their technical requirements, but also in their own economic needs. The range of seat is wide and varied, ranging from the simplest light and a single screw attachment to the saddle to more sophisticated product in carbon.
The seat post we test: Ritchey Carbon Pro
The seat being tested is based on a structure of high carbon monocoque often and length, 400 millimeters, the model being tested by the diameter of 31.6 millimeters, but there are also measures 350 and 300 mm and it is also the diameter of 27.2 millimeters. The head is light and there are two screws for fastening the seat post that can be adjusted millimeter in its inclination. The screws are steel. The head is available in single anodization black, while the graphics are white and blue. Not missing a graduated line to facilitate the adjustment of the saddle. The house declares a burden, as shorter and smaller diameter of 235 grams.
The road test
The Carbon Pro seatpost is well done, but it is just a little heavy and excessive length. If you need to take a seatpost so long, then the extent of the chassis is patently wrong. Hence the reference points that should help put into place height are virtually unusable because placed too low. One might say that was always just used to how they were prepared, too distant for an another and without a true scale millimetered. The fastening seat is easy, but still does not convince the fastening system, including tightening up the screws, it is always noticeable some crunch, a sign that the attachment is never 100% perfect. Road consistent the thickness of the seat post prevents the carbon fiber to absorb the vibrations as able to make other products, with the result of bringing this seat more the behaviour of a product in aluminium to that of a carbon one. On the rigidity is a good part of the new system already mentioned fixing the saddle. For performance, however, does not discost other products, such as aluminium, which in fact are lighter, less rigid and comfortable.
Conclusions
The seatpost Carbon Pro has put on show a contradictory behaviour. It is hard, but not because of the rigid system of fixing the saddle, and with little propensity to absorb the blows of the land. An abnormal behaviour for a seat in carbon. In fact, for weight and performance you can find the best seat in aluminium. Its adoption on a bike should be sought under the aesthetic side more than technical.
The price
The price is around 87.00 Euros, not cheap, but is aligned to other products.
Is suitable for
Athlete: within the range Ritchey there are models by better performance.
Cycling-tourist: its purchase may be justified for aesthetic taste, to be carbon monocoque is too rigid on disconnections to meet a cycling.
Positive aspects
Aesthetics
Construction quality
Negative aspects
Little comfort on the disjointed
Weight
For further informations:
Ritchey International, Ltd.
Via Cantonale 2
Grancia-Lugano
CH-6916
fax: 41 91 960 5221
Web site: http://www.ritcheylogic.com
E-mail:
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