Ritte Ace launches in the UK

Saw some Rittes today and I think one of them was the Ace. Might try it along with some others. First saw them in the autumn somewhere else and the paint jobs were stunning!

Nice post Spencer, there are always such interesting comments on this site I am glad you took the time to put things straight. The Ritte bikes look properly smart and a great addition to any bike fleet. Several of our early US customers bought our mounts for use on their Team Ritte bikes and i was honoured to supply them.

Martyn
Raceware

Yes good to see the manufacturer responding here - a quick search on alibaba will normally expose any open mould frame sets. I almost parted cash with a Starley AO after seeing it at the bike show only to find my mates pointing out the same frameset was available all over the place...

Chapeau Spencer. Thanks for the honest post.

The Ace looks awesome.

Chapeau Spencer. Thanks for the honest post.

The Ace looks awesome.

Chapeau Spencer. Thanks for the honest post.

The Ace looks awesome.

We sell Ritte and they are very definitely not an open mould. Great post by Spencer above and a great company.

Hi All,
Spencer Canon here. Designer of the Ace. Rumors are a bit like whac-a-mole, and the open mold assumption is something that began many many years ago on a few forums and since maintained by a vocal few. Fact is, no Ritte frames are open mold. The closest we came was in the very beginning, 6 years ago, with the original Bosberg. Technically even that wasn't "open," as we bought the molds after they'd already been used to produce some frames for Pedal Force (unbeknownst to us)... those good intentions but bad luck on our part has led to radically disproportionate amount of vitriol regarding the source of all our frames since. Now, there's nothing at all unique about buying a previous company's molds (or in this case, a new factory's proof of quality frame design), but nine out of ten bike brands in our position simply just lie about it. We chose to be honest... a decision that I stand behind, but a decision that certainly lacked business savvy. Well, at least I can sleep at night.

Since the original Bosberg, the Vlaanderen, Ace and all our other frames are designed by and unique to us (including the customs we made here in California and the other quality steel and alloy frames we make in Taiwan).

As for the Ace, it's been in development for several years now. I began the design by first carving the frame out of clay. We're very proud of the Ace and I'm sure any of you who get a chance to see and ride it in person, we'll see why we feel that way.

I think the square on one side, rounded on the other seat -tube would mess with my OCD.
Still, yes please!

It costs approx quarter of a million pounds, per size for one mould. Is it that big a company already?

There's a post somewhere on weightweenies in which Spencer the owner categorically states that Ritte frames are not open mould.

I've seen a Vlaandern in the flesh: oh my!

I thought I'd read somewhere a couple of years ago that their first carbon frames were going to be open mould, but they'd have their own a bit later. Dunno which this would be, but it does look nice!

Whilst Ritte frames do look great, is this just another open mould frame with a decent carbon lay up & high price tag?