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Ritchey WCS 2x9 Chainrings |
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Written by Wally Wallace
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Monday, 23 March 2009 |
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In 1997 Ritchey introduced the first production 2 x 9-speed mountain bike gearing conversion kits. The idea was simple and sound, unfortunately the execution was not as effortless. Ritchey marketed the product as a light weight, reliable option for mountain bike racers. Beyond the reduction in weight the system would also eliminate the occurrence of chain suck.
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While the idea sounds great, and in later years I set up plenty of bikes with Shimano 2 x 9-speed configurations, to get the Ritchey 2 x 9 kit installed was a bit more labor intensive. The entire 2 x 9 kit include the two chainring seen here, a 33-tooth titanium Shimano compatible cassette cog and a set of Sachs (gripshift style) 2 x 9 shifters. Because you would need to install the new cassette cog on the hub, Ritchey also recommended using one of their OCR (Off Center Rims) rims. This would allow you to dish the wheel correctly and maintain the strength of the rear wheel.  | | click to enlarge |
Wow... Sounds like an expensive trip to the bike shop. Bikeman recently unearthed this NOS Ritchey 2 x 9 chainring set and has added it to his museum. The compact 58/94mm bcd chainrings where available in 29-T or 30-T steel inner and 42-T or 44-T aluminum outer rings. Bikeman has the cooler, in his opinion, 29 x 42-tooth configuration. Even with a compact 58mm bcd, Ritchey was barely able to cut the 29-tooth ring. (you can see that the bolt holes are very close to the outer edge of the ring)  | | click to enlarge |
The Sachs shifter where also not our favorites. The action was very stiff compared to the popular GripShift, and proved to be more prone to cable drag. We aren't bashing Ritchey, we love Tom and all of his great products and inspiring ideas. This great idea that may have been about 2 years too early. As 9-speed cassettes became the norm, 2x9 mountain bike drivetrains are also were, and still are, very popular with the racer crowd. Now you can by off the shelf parts and setup your own 2x9.
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