Hello. I’m Ishikawa from Circles Tokyo.
In Nagoya, everyone called me Issy, but here in Tokyo people usually call me Ishikawa, so I’m already starting to miss being called Issy.
Today, I’d like to introduce the bike I ride while working at Circles Tokyo.
…But first, let me introduce the man behind it.
Tom Ritchey.
Founder of the bicycle brand RITCHEY, former road racer, and framebuilder.
Alongside Joe Breeze and Gary Fisher, he is considered one of the founders of mountain biking.
If you experienced the MTB boom, you’ve probably heard of him at least once.
I ride a bike made by the legend Tom Ritchey: the RITCHEY SWISS CROSS.
The SWISS CROSS is a storied model favored by Swiss cyclocross rider Thomas Frischknecht.
Why I chose the SWISS CROSS
I don’t race cyclocross, so why did I choose this frame?
When I was stationed at Circles Nagoya, I often climbed the mountain passes around Seto and went gravel riding. I chose it because I felt it was the perfect bike for making those routes as fun as possible, and because I’d always wanted to ride a bike by the legendary Tom Ritchey someday.
It also meant a lot to be able to see the face of the person who made it and learn about his character through articles from the past.
(There’s also a secret reason: after I couldn’t keep up with the Nagoya staff on a ride and felt frustrated, I gave myself a bike upgrade as a little “doping.”)
One of the frame’s standout features is its classic design, while still accommodating the latest standards.
Disc brakes, front and rear thru-axles, flat mount…
To keep the disc brakes from adding too much weight to the bike, the tube stiffness and geometry have been updated, preserving its light weight and the distinctive ride quality that RITCHEY is known for.
It uses a triple-butted Original Ritchey Logic tubing set, pushing weight reduction to the limit while maintaining stiffness.
Compared with previous SWISS CROSS geometry, the chainstays are just a little longer.
The BB drop is set at 63 mm, preserving the SWISS CROSS’s signature responsiveness and quick acceleration when you put power to the pedals.
You can see how thoughtfully the details have been updated.
It can fit tires up to 40 mm wide, making it a bike you can fully enjoy as a gravel bike, too.
At first, I went with WTB Riddlers (37C), versatile tires that could handle gravel even if I made a last-minute change to my route.
These days, I’m running SIMWORKS Volummy Tires (32C) and enjoying rides where I can really feel the speed.
Being able to change how you ride simply by switching tires is one of the bike’s charms.
When I’m choosing bike parts, I usually like to leave a little room for something unexpected—some breathing space. I’m not really a fan of building a bike with nothing but top-spec parts.
But for this frame, I wanted to build it with components that would let me experience its strengths directly, so this time I went with a set of dependable parts that are “not very me.”
I chose SRAM RIVAL eTap for the drivetrain.
This was my first time using electronic shifting, and I’m amazed by its responsiveness and how much less stressful it is.
I wanted a front single setup to minimize mechanical issues, so I chose a cassette from the XPLR series, designed specifically for 1x gravel bikes.
With its wide 10–44T range, it covers a lot of ground even with a 1x setup.
It’s helped me out on plenty of tough climbs, and it still lets me have a blast on gravel.
I matched the crankset and rims from EASTON.
The crankset is an EASTON EA90 Aluminum.
It has a 30 mm spindle, providing the stiffness to handle hard pedaling.
The rims are Easton R90 SL.
They’re 24 mm wide, offering a comfortable ride and excellent lateral stiffness.
They work great for road, gravel, and CX!
For the bottom bracket and hubs, I went straight for CHRIS KING.
I was able to fit CHRIS KING R45D hubs thanks to RITCHEY updating the frame.
I deliberately kept the colors simple and stuck to a single color scheme.
To wrap up
The SWISS CROSS delivers on both sides of my greedy wish list: a comfortable ride on pavement and plenty of fun on gravel.
It’s been a star on all kinds of rides, even since I moved back to Tokyo.
With a specific goal in mind—I wanted to ride this route comfortably—I built it as a fast gravel bike rather than as a pure CX racer.
Some of you may not have settled on what you want to use your bike for, and find it hard to choose.
In that case, just tell us your rough ideas!
Maybe you’d like to try gravel… or ride longer distances… and so on.
We can make suggestions based on what you have in mind—and dream up possibilities together.
Cycling is a wonderful pursuit with an endless chain of fun: dreaming up your build before you buy, enjoying the ride after taking delivery, and upgrading parts to suit the way you ride.
I hope I can help you choose a bike as we dream up the possibilities together!