7Speed’s 1993 Ritchey P-21 (TIG Welded Frame)

[7Speed]

This is my first build thread, trying to make good on my New Years commitment to post some of my bikes.

Some Disclaimers:

• I am a very average mechanic and so I have leaned on my LBS (Apex Velo in Newton, Boston USA and Kaptein Tweewhielers in Amsterdam) at times when I didn’t have the right tools for the job. I will get some things wrong; please correct me so I don’t send people down the wrong path.
• I like bikes you can ride, not wall hangers, so this build is not for perfectionists. Sometimes I don't even clean my bike that well after a ride...
• As I like to ride the bike, it is set up for me. Set-up is personal and will not suit everyone…apologies in advance for any offense caused.
• I will forget to thank someone at Retrobike at some point for the help and guidance they offered me during the build. Thank you to everyone who helped - you saved me a lot of time and money.

 

[7Speed]

Why a Ritchey P-21?

I am a decent club level rider but nothing special. We had a nice mountain bike group at my local cycling club and I had a lot of fun riding, training and racing with the team. As a junior I raced MTB, cyclocross, hill climbs and TT back in Essex where I grew up. The Southend and County Wheelers Winter Series gave a good opportunity to race with some riders that would eventually go on to win World Cup & World Championship Medals – Dave Hemming, Sam Humphrey & Paul Lazenby for example. Mostly I didn’t see them after the first lap, unless they were lapping me. They raced near me, not against me. I got better as I got older and ended up with a few top five positions as a junior in local races, but never getting on a podium.

This puts my big racing years firmly in the early 90s and at that time the winningest bike at the highest level was a Ritchey, specifically the P-23/P-22/P-21 under Don Myrah, Henrik Djernis, Thomas Frischknecht and Ruthie Matthis.

The P-21 in particular, was what I liked in a mountain bike – light, agile and reliable with no gimmicks. It suited me as a small climber of a rider. In darkest Essex and the SouthEast I remember seeing lots of Klein Attitudes, Cannondale’s, Fat Chances, Formula 1’s, Roberts, Rocky Mountain Ti-Bolts and other exotica – but never was a Ritchey seen at any of the races I attended as a rider - which just made it more desirable.

So – this was my dream bike – a Ritchey P-21 in the classic red, white and blue fade

 

[7Speed]

Ritchey Mountain Bikes

Others know the history of Ritchey bikes better than me, but a short history can be found here: Ritchey at 50 - a Timeline.

As many of you already know, Ritchey early 90s frames come in two flavours. Fillet Brazed Team frames made by the man himself in the US and TIG-welded frames made to specification in Japan and “finished” in the US. Having spoken to some people at Ritchey, the tell me the TIG-welded frames had final braze-ons and frame alignment completed by Tom in the US - so they still passed through his hands.

The most desirable (and expensive) P-series bikes are the Team fillet brazed version, but these are super rare, very expensive and people tend to hang on to them. There are a couple of really nice examples of Team frames on this site - @Dimas won BoTY with his P-21-Team.

If anyone has a P-Team bike in 18 or 19" they would consider selling - let me know!

 

[7Speed]

More tomorrow...

 

[7Speed]

A little busier this week than I expected!

I started searching for a P-21 in early 2023 while living in Boston in the US and not soon after one turned up. Ritchey themselves confirmed it was an early 90s TIG welded frame manufactured in Japan and shipped to California where it would have been finished (alignment and braze-ons) and then painted by Mike Stefani who did all the Ritchey frames back then. @Dimas was kind enough to take a look at it too and gave me some guidance on pricing which came in very useful. I also got some help from @Mr. Zero @racecarjohnny. Pictures from the original Ad below.

 

[7Speed]

 

[7Speed]

Sorry about the poor quality of the bike image. The essentials were all there - Ritchey WCS finishing kit, frame, forks etc. Wear parts had been replaced through time so it was now a bit of a Frankenstein build with new wheels and rear mech etc.

 

[7Speed]

I won the bidding for a fair bit more than @Dimas said it was probably worth, but I haven't seen another in my size since for similar money so I was happy. The weight limit sticker on the downtube was a bit intimidating given I have put on a bit of weight since my racing prime, but I figured an extra 5 or 6 lbs wasn't going to be the straw that broke the Ritchey's back.

 

[PanoIgano]

Looks really nice man!

Post some more pictures when you get the chance!