1997 Ritchey Swiss Cross
Part Diary, Part Technical Manual, Part Tips & Tricks

swisscross

I've been looking for a steel cyclocross bike for a long time. I was focusing my search on a Lemond Poprad, since that was a more common bike, but they were either too small, too large, too expensive, or too rough. I started to lose faith in my search, so I was actually very serious about buying another Bianchi Axis. But then I came across this Ritchey, a really rare bike with Prestige tubing and an ornate bi-plane fork. So I drove up to San Rafael to check out the bike. The frameset was in pretty good shape with a funky mix of components, but overall I could see this bike being setup really nice. So on November 22, 2015, I finally found a steel cyclocross bike.

12/13/2015 - The frameset is pretty nice, but the bike was assembled in a total mess. So without putting too much money yet, I tried to setup the bike closer to the way I would want it, then take it on a few rides before I decide what my plans are for this bike. I had to install new Kool Stop brake pads and totally readjust the cantilever brakes. I then swapped out the stem and handlebar to something closer to my style. I was hoping to use a substantial amount of parts that came with the bike, but the closer I look, the more likely this will be a complete rebuilt with all new components. I tired to put on some 700x35c CX tires, but they would rub the inside of the chain stays, so this is a pure CX race bike that'll take a 700x32c max tire.

12/19/2015 - Nearly a month after buying the bike, I finally got to take it out for a ride. On a mix of paved, dirt, and gravel, the bike was very light and comfortable. The 110mm stem was a tad long, but otherwise the frameset geometry fit me very well. The original gearing was way too low for road riding, I had to stay in the large chainring nearly the entire ride. I'm thinking a full SRAM WiFLi group with a Cinelli Sesamo stem would be perfect. A 100mm Sesamo would bring the reach back a bit, with a 90 degree angle the bar would be a tad higher. It is also a 1" threadless design and features a pass through for the cantilever brake cable.

3/6/2016 - Over this weekend, I finally cleaned and waxed the frameset. There are some small scratches and chips, but overall it cleaned up well and looks nice and shiny.

8/13/2016 - This feels like its been one of my slowest builds. I was debating whether to keep the frameset or sell it off. Once again, it was the components that came with the bike that was so frustrating; I wanted to use the Ritchey crankset, but it was a MTB version so I couldn't get the right chainring sizes for it. It was at the end of July that I finally decided to build up the bike with SRAM components, using the Rival crankset that I already had from the Mavic bike. After ordering a bunch of stuff online, I started assembling everything over the past few days. I forgot to order a couple things along the way, such as a front derailer adapter, a cassette, and a chain, so that delaying things a bit. I didn't use the XTR brakes because the Kool Stop pads were too deep and would over scrub the rim, so I ended up pulling the Avid brakes of the MT2000 to make it work. So after a few glitches along the way, I finished the bike today. It was cool that I had the geometry all dialed in while building it, so when I took it out for its maiden ride, the bike fit me perfectly.

5/13/2016 - Sold it to the nicest bike messenger in SF I've ever met.

Here are the specs:

Frame: 1997 Ritchey Swiss Cross, 56 cm. Serial Number: SC 0119. Ritchey Super Logic tubing (Tange Prestige) with Ritchey dropouts, 130mm spacing. ISO bottom bracket threading. Red and white fade.
Fork: 1997 Ritchey Swiss Cross, 1" threadless. Lugged bi-plane crown. Red.
Wheelset: Cane Creek Aerohead with titanium spokes, clinchers, black.
Tires: Ritchey Speedmax Pro, 700 x 32c, folding bead.
Cassette: SRAM PG-1070, 10spd, 11-32T. Date code: 2015 WK20
Cranks: SRAM Rival, 50x34, 172.5mm, 110 BCD. MY2008
Bottom Bracket: SRAM GXP Team BB. ISO threaded. Date code: 2016 WK14
Front Derailer: SRAM Rival, braze-on with Origin8 28.6 clamp-on adapter. Date code: 2016 WK14
Rear Derailer: SRAM Rival, medium cage. Date code: 2016 WK18
Shifters: SRAM Rival DoubleTap, 10spd. Date code: 2015 WK43
Headset: Ritchey 1" threadless.
Chain: SRAM PC-1051, 10spd.
Stem: ITM 1" threadless, aluminum, 110mm, 25.4mm clamp with Bianchi logo.
Handlebar: Deda Elementi Piega, 26.0mm, 42cm wide, double-butted 6061-T6 aluminum, black.
Brakes: Avid Shorty 6 cantilever, black.
Pedal: Dimension SPD, red, from the 512.
Seatpost: Ritchey Comp, 27.0mm, black.
Saddle: San Marco Regal, black with copper rivets from the Cougar.

Ratio
11
12
13
15
17
19
22
25
28
32
50
9.0
8.3
7.6
6.6
5.8
5.2
4.5
4.0
3.6
3.1
34
6.1
5.6
5.2
4.5
4.0
3.6
3.1
2.7
2.4

2.1

The original bike weighed 21 lbs 11 oz, the bike currently weighs 20 lbs 4 oz as shown.

The following are the parts that I am currently not using:

Wheelset: Ritchey Aero Road, 32h. Rear wheel features Off Center Rim Technology (OCR).
Tires:
Kenda Small Block Eight, 700 x 32c, folding bead.
Cassette: Shimano XTR CS-M953, 9spd, 12-34T.
Cranks: Ritchey WCS, 44x32x22, 172.5mm, 104mm and 64mm BCD. Serial Number: J0202.
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Octalink, 113mm spindle.
Front Derailer: Shimano Deore XT FD-M735, 28.6mm clamp-on.
Rear Derailer: Shimano Deore XT RD-M750.
Shifters: Shimano Ultegra Flight Deck.
Handlebar: Specialized BB-1, 25.4mm diameter now on Alpine Sport.
Brakes: Shimano XTR BR-M900 cantilever now on the MT2000.