Also note that this bike only has two water bottle attachments. We’d suggest any loaded touring or bikepacking be done with a bike of the minimalist/light variety. Though we didn’t have an issue with frame stiffness, this is a break-apart steel frame i'ts not designed for heavy-duty loaded touring. With 29-inch wheels and a larger frame, things could get very snug. Our size medium test bike with 27.5-inch diameter, 2.1-inch wide knobby tires and flared drop bar was a tight fit in the case, and we didn’t even pack bottle cages, bags, or any other accessories. Some builds could be tough to pack into the Ascent BreakAway’s case. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play The 3T Exploro gravel-racing bike is another mashup that provides a totally unique ride. Teardown or assembly requires just four- and five-millimeter hex wrenches, and-with practice-it can be packed or built up in about 20 minutes. Ritchey’s BreakAway system is so minimalist that many riders we encountered didn’t notice it was a coupled bike until it was pointed out. Or maybe that's the magic-because it can be easy to forget that this is a coupled bike that breaks apart for travel and fits in an airline-legal case (packed, our bike came in under 50 pounds). There’s no real magic to this bike: It’s just Ritchey choosing a path of rugged versatility over hyper-focused specificity. It can do all this because it provides neutral-to-stable handling, with the compliant ride of a medium-diameter steel-tubed frame and fork it has decent mud clearance and its disc brakes provide great control. But I could throw off-road bikepacking into the list of things I’d do with this bike. I also strapped on some bikepacking bags and fantasized about riding into the hills, never to be heard from again, but my cats talked me out of that plan. Instead of grabbing different bikes for all the ways I ride, I just grabbed the same bike. I rode some of my favorite mountain bike trails on it did some commuting around town ground some gravel. You can also mash it up like this review bike, using 27.5-inch knobbies and a flared drop bar to achieve a “Whatcha got?” build. With 27.5-inch knobbys and a flat bar, it’s pretty much a mountain bike/medium-duty off-road bikepacking bike with 700c/29-inch wheels, skinnier tires, and a drop bar, the Ascent BreakAway can be a gravel bike, a medium-duty mixed-surface touring bike, a ‘cross bike, or even a commuter bike. The biggest tools for fine-tuning this bike exist in the wheels/tires combos, and handlebar styles. You don’t ask, “What is this bike for?” You ask, “What isn't this bike for?” (Answer: “Not much.”) “Adventurer” is probably the best description of the Ascent BreakAway’s ideal owner. (Document all your best adventures in the Bicycling Ride Journal, available in our online store!) It’s admirably capable at a variety of riding styles, and enables all kinds of escapades.
Naturally, our biggest concern about the Ascent BreakAway was that it would suffer from trying to be and do too much. Plus, it has a coupled frame: It can be taken down into four pieces-front triangle, rear triangle, and wheels-and packed into its airline-legal bike case. It's ready for hauling, with rear rack mounts, low-rider mounts on the fork, and fender mounts. Its geometry falls somewhere between a cyclocross bike and a hardtail mountain bike, making it friendly with both drop and flat bars. It's compatible with two wheel sizes-27.5 inch wheels (tires up to 2.1 inches wide), or 29-inch/700c wheels (tires up to 40c). Ritchey’s Ascent BreakAway is a mutt of a bike.
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