The Outback Break-Away takes Ritchey's steel gravel platform and slices the front triangle into two pieces that pack into an airline-friendly travel case, then bolts back together for a ride that's geometrically and materially identical to the standard Outback. Triple-butted chromoly 'Logic' tubing has been in the brand's repertoire since the 1980s, and continues to be the foundation of each of Ritchey's steel framesets to this day , and it's the same tubeset doing the work here — heat-treated, TIG-welded, and joined by Ritchey's patented coupler system at the top tube and down tube.

The numbers lean toward stability rather than agility. The chainstay is the biggest outlier in the geometry of the Outback — a full 16 mm longer than the already long previous version — and it gives a pretty big clue about the bike's demeanour. In the size large there's a head tube angle of 71º, a fork rake of 50 mm, a 569.8 mm effective top tube, and a 68 mm bottom bracket drop. The long chainstays contribute to a wheelbase that's a couple of centimetres longer than most others in the category — 1069.6 mm in this size. That translates to a planted, confidence-inspiring feel on loose surfaces and loaded bikepacking days, with enough composure to soak up corrugated dirt roads without feeling nervous.

Tire clearance opens the door to multiple wheel-and-rubber strategies. Triple-butted 'Logic' chromoly tubing, full carbon fork, generous tyre clearance (700c x 48 or 650b x 2.0"), rack and fender mounts — the same envelope as the standard Outback. The Break-Away version does come with one critical compatibility constraint worth knowing before you build it: both the standard and Break-Away versions of the Outback are designed around mechanical drivetrains, while the regular Outback accepts hydraulic disc brakes routed externally. The Break-Away version of the frame is optimised for mechanical disc brakes, and supplied with cable splitters for when you pack it down. Plan the build around mechanical shifting and cable-actuated disc brakes.... Read More