Eurobike / Markt: Established a little over seven years ago, the Californian manufacturer RITTE has already achieved a certain cult status among bicycle enthusiasts all over the world. We paid a visit to the small stand under the umbrella of the German distributor Sports Nut.
RITTE has never been known for an overflowing variety of products - unsurprisingly, this course will be continued in the coming season. There are some small updates, detail improvements and new colors. In essence, however, everything remains the same: here are beautiful, special bikes for bike lovers, from track to road to cross areas.
The performance-oriented top racing bike Ace, which was introduced last year, has received a few small optimizations. The Californians are in constant dialogue with dealers and customers alike and react to the requests made to them. For example, the cable routing has been improved and in 2016 the Ace comes with a conventional seat post to offer more setup options.
Otherwise, everything remains the same with the road flagship from RITTE. Light (from 900g), but stable and stiff full carbon frame, clear lines and a really successful design language. For 2016, the Ace comes in matte black, light blue and gloss white. In this country, the Ace is only available as a frame set – the RRP is €2.499. On request, Sports Nut can also put together build kits with drive groups from SRAM.
The RITTE Snob is much more classic: stainless steel is used as the frame material, which not only gives the frame a pleasantly calm and timeless look but is also intended to significantly improve comfort. In contrast to carbon or aluminium, stainless steel flexes much more, absorbs shocks better and does not pass them on to the driver as relentlessly as modern frame materials.
The geometry of the Snob Road is almost as sporty as that of the Ace and with the supplied tapered carbon fork and PF30 headset nothing stands in the way of a modern build here, especially because a model for disc brakes will also be available from next year. In terms of price, the Snob is even higher than the actual top model: the frame kit costs €2.899 (rim) or €2.999 (disc). As with the Ace, build kits with an SRAM group are available on request.
More information about RITTE, the bikes and purchasing options is available on the Sports-Nut website: