Cyclocross Frames

The road goes on forever and the party never ends. When the Stigmata was resurrected in 2015, we fused a number of MTB standards and design features to create our spin on the modern CX bike. Something must have clicked, because, within months of launch, it raced to victory at the legendary Three Peaks and has continued to contend at elite cyclocross races around the world. Nowadays, the internally routed disc brakes, generous tire clearance, and thru-axle approach that made the Stigmata famous have become more of a norm, so we took a fresh look at which standards the riders of tomorrow wanted access to today. Threaded bottom brackets remain a perennial favorite across our entire line thanks to their proven robust, cost-effective, and compatible design. "If it ain't broke…" ...and it never is. Fender mounts add a bit of CYA and highlight the Stigmata's ever-widening scope of purpose. We added to that with three bottle cage mounts so that the frame can still hold at least one normal bottle even when running a front triangle bag. Deeper adventures and bigger tires, perhaps? The frame now clears up to a 45mm 700c or a 2.1" 650B tire. Marry the latter to our Force/X01 AXS mashup kit, and you've got yourself the kind of drop-bar singletrack and gravel rallycat we can all get onboard with. And, when it comes to good old-fashioned off-road etiquette, the Stigmata's had some coaching at the Highball school of stiffness, handling, and offroad feel. The carbon layup borrows knowledge gained from not just the Highball, but also Danny MacAskill's trials bike, to produce a ride so law-abiding you'd think HR had sent it on a compliance training course. Geometry plays a big part here, too, so we've made tweaks to improve handling for smaller riders and reduce toe overlap. The reworking of the 52/54cm frames means the Stigmata now comfortably suits riders from 5'3" and up. Meanwhile, different fork offsets (50mm for the 52-54cm sizes, and 45mm for the 56-61cm sizes) help ensure your little piggies don't go to market on the front wheel. Topped off with tidy details like 12mm front axle, flat mount brakes, and build-specific Reserve wheel packages, the Stigmata is designed to let you decide whatever the heck you want this category to be.

Possibly the most iconic frame associated with Ritchey, the Swiss Cross draws its name from early factory rider, cyclocross and mountain bike legend Thomas Frischknecht. The first iteration of the Swiss Cross in 1994 was a no-holds-barred race machine designed for one thing: ripping through dirt like no other. Captained to numerous victories under Frischi, the Swiss Cross went on to become one of the most revered frames of the Ritchey offering – proving itself a winning combination of Tom’s framebuilding mastery and Frischi’s dominance in racing. As a true ‘cross ripper or a fast gravel racer, the Swiss Cross remains lightweight and compliant, and offers the winning combination of confident responsiveness and razor-sharp handling. Its race-ready geometry will ignite the competitive spirit, while clearance for 40mm tires will appeal to those who’s pursuits reach beyond the course tape. The Swiss Cross is painstakingly TIG-welded with proprietary triple-butted Ritchey Logic steel tubing that now sports an updated one-piece truss design for flat mount brakes - providing as much stiffness and strength of previous mounts while reducing chainstay weight significantly. Whether it's ticking off the grueling miles of a gravel race or leading the charge on bell lap, the new Swiss Cross is more than capable of tackling it all. Go fast. Get dirty.

A World Cup-winning design ridden to multiple Elite level wins by pro rider Gosse van der Meer. Mix it with the very best on our top-flight racer. Built around an aggressive carbon chassis, its weight is kept to an absolute minimum to deliver you to the bell lap with enough energy left to boss the finishing sprint.