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Mavic and Ritte Partner on Auction for World Bicycle Relief

  • Ron 

Mavic and Ritte have cooperated to offer a limited edition Ritte Vlaanderen bike with Mavic Ksyrium 125 Anniversary wheel-tyre system and SRAM Red 22 components.

Hand-painted by Ritte founder Spencer Canon, the bike is truly one-of-a-kind. The Ritte x Mavic 125th Anniversary Vlaanderen is part of a collection of bikes designed and built to celebrate the 125th year of Mavic being a trusted partner in cycling. The bike is now on auction on eBay.

All proceeds from the auction will benefit World Bicycle Relief and their efforts to provide simple and sustainable bicycle transportation to entrepreneurs, healthcare workers and students across rural Africa through sustainable work-to-own and study-to-own programs. Until 12/31/14 all donations (including this auction and up to $1 million) will be matched thanks to generous gifts from a small group of anonymous donors. More information can be found at www.worldbicyclerelief.org. To learn more about the impact of WBR please watch their new video – https://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/power.

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Specifications:

  • Ritte Vlaanderen Carbon Road Frameset – http://rittecycles.com/carbon/vlaanderen-2013/
  • Mavic Ksyrium 125 Anniversary Wheelset/Tyres
  • SRAM Red 22 Groupset
  • Ritchey Superlogic Carbon C260 Stem
  • Ritchey Superlogic Evocurve Handlebar
  • Mavic Zxellium SLR Pedals
  • Selle Italia MAX SLR Gel Flow Saddle

Ritte founder and designer/builder Spencer Canon commented on his history and relationship with Mavic:

What is your favorite Mavic story from your years in cycling?
My first disc time trial wheel was an aluminum Mavic Challenger. The year was 1991 and I’d spent my early years pouring over pictures of, Mavic-equipped funny bikes and the mythical pros who rode them. My day had finally come and I too had my own bright yellow Mavic disc to race to glory. Of course, I rarely won, but I didn’t care. Because the sound it made, to this day, is the most inspiring and exhilarating sounds I have ever enjoyed. Imagine the hollow whoosh of each pedal stroke and dramatic thunk of gear changes of a carbon disc and multiply that by approximately a million. It was the kind of sound that would illicit utter fear and awe by riders as they passed me. I loved that disc with all my heart until the day it was blown off the roof of our team’s Vanagon and run over by a Sedan DeVille. 

What inspired the design of the bike you built for the anniversary?
I created a paint design for our Vlaanderen carbon frame that was unmistakably Mavic and unmistakably Ritte. So I used Mavic’s iconic yellow in our traditional Ritte color blocking with our more current “8-Bit” design language of multicolored squares. The red squares are Mavic’s official accent color and the gray-blue squares are both our accent color and the color from the Mavic disc on Greg LeMond’s Tour winning Bottecchia. I also loved the vertical Mavic fork decals on those 80’s bikes, so I painted them on the fork blades nostalgia’s sake. When it comes to our one-off paint designs, I often approach the project with only a rough idea and as I paint the frame I let the idea develop in real-time. My paint jobs are often a little sloppier than others, but I look at each custom frame as artwork and don’t mind seeing the brushstrokes

How has Mavic influenced you as a builder?
I grew up with Mavic’s aesthetic and witnessed Mavic’s continuing innovation over the last few decades, so Mavic has influenced me as a designer in ways I’m probably not even aware. Mavic is one of the few cycling brands that are so interwoven into the fabric of cycling culture that it almost feel like our sport would unravel without it.

Special thanks to Ritte, SRAM, Ritchey and The Pros Closet for making this bike and auction possible. All images provided by John Watson at ‘The Radavist’.

Tags: Africa, aluminum, bicycle, bicycles, builder, carbon, cycling, disc, Groupset, Italia, Look, Mavic, power, road, saddle, Sports equipment, SRAM, SRAM Corporation, SRAM Red, stem, time trial, video, wheel
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1 thought on “Mavic and Ritte Partner on Auction for World Bicycle Relief”

  1. Sam Lowe

    Although I’ve never ridden a Ritte, I’ve admired them both in images online and under a few local riders here in the midwest. The painter, illustrator, and designer in me just absolutely loves the bold simplicity of the graphics, and the elegant strength of the bike’s lines. Great story, great cause, beautiful bikes. Cheers!

    Sam

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