Home > Clothing-Gear-Tools

Ritchey twists new MTB & drop bars, aero stem, Break-Away refresh & more!

15 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

Ritchey is synonymous with both high quality steel bike frames out of the mind of Tom Ritchey himself, and of reasonably priced performance alloy cockpit components. Both sides had new goodies on display in Taipei, from new curvy alloy bar shapes for upright mountain Kyote, to all-road dropbar Butano bikes, plus a new aero Chicane stem, new affordable Zeta wheels, and a refresh of the BreakAway, with all other bikes to get a more modern look in 2019 as well…

Ritchey performance alloy cockpit components

Kyote MTB bar

Ritchey Comp Kyote MTB bar, large sweep adventure mountain bike handlebarThe biggest departure from what they’ve made before is the Comp Kyote (pronounced Coyote) mountain bike riser bar. Obviously its distinguishing feature is a generous 27.5° of backsweep for comfortable control of anything from your single speed to adventure touring bike.Ritchey Comp Kyote MTB bar, large sweep adventure mountain bike handlebarBesides just adding a ton of sweep, the 35mm rise Kyote first sweeps the bar forward so when you replace a standard flat bar, your hands will end up in the same position front-to-back relative to the stem. The Kyote is a super wide bar too at 800mm, with Ritchey saying it leaves plenty of room to cut to fit for riders who want something a bit more narrow. The 31.8mm bar has a nice wide section at the clamp so you can attach accessories like a GPS, lights, or bag setup too.

Ritchey Comp Kyote MTB bar, large sweep adventure mountain bike handlebar

The Kyote will be available in a few weeks, and for now only comes in this $40/42€ Comp Kyote level bar made from 6061 alloy. Ritchey says the single 355g Comp bar is a bit of a test to see the demand for the new shape, but is open to making it in lighter, high-end materials too.

Butano dropbar

Ritchey Butano gravel bar, gentle flare gravel road bike dropbar drop handlebarThe Butano is Ritchey’s new gravel & adventure bike bar. Meant to go fast, it takes a compact drop (73mm reach, 118mm drop) and adds a gentle 12° outward flare from the hoods to the drops for stability & comfort off-road.

Ritchey Butano gravel bar, gentle flare gravel road bike dropbar drop handlebarThe Butano is available in 38-46cm widths, measured c-to-c at the hoods. By the time you get to the ends of the drops the bar adds four centimeters, then measuring 44-52cm outside. Up top the bar also gets a small 4° backsweep after coming away from the clamping area. Like the Kyote, the Butano has 100mm of 31.8 clamping area to fit the stem plus accessories for your dropbar adventure.

The bar does not feature internal routing, but is drilled for compatibility with Shimano’s newest Di2 bar end junction box.

Ritchey Butano gravel bar, gentle flare gravel road bike dropbar drop handlebar

The Butano bar will be available in two versions starting later this month. The 7050 alloy Butano WCS sells for $95/100€ with a weight of 275g for a 42cm bar. Or the 6061 Butano Comp which adds around twenty grams, but cuts the price down to $50/53€.

Baquiano dropbar

Ritchey Baquiano OEM-only gentle flare gravel road bike dropbar

Ritchey had another bar called the Baquiano on display in Taipei as well, showing it for other bike companies to check out. It’s essentially the same shape as the Butano without the little backsweep on the bar tops, meant to hit a slightly lower price point. The Baquiano is now OEM-only, so expect to see it pop up on complete gravel bikes next season, and maybe hit the consumer market after that.

Chicane aero stem

Ritchey WCS Chicane stem, sleek aero alloy road bike stemThe Chicane is Ritchey’s latest take on the hard-working forged aluminum road bike stem. Designed to chip away at the drag on the front end of your bike, the Chicane uses a hinged faceplate with rear-facing bolts and a more sleek overall profile.

A big part of that is a new-for-Ritchey hidden internal wedge-style steerer tube clamp, which is then covered by a flush-mount, snap-on magnetic top cap.

Ritchey WCS Chicane stem, sleek aero alloy road bike stemThe result of the aero design is that all bolts seem to disappear for a clean look, but also the back of the stem gets rid of the bolts and point shaping most likely to come in contact with your knees. Ritchey claims the design is just as stiff as their other current non-aero designs.

Of course the proprietary top cap means you need to cut your steerer perfectly, and cannot install a spacer above the stem (as pretty much every stem & fork maker actually recommends for a secure clamp.)

Update: We talked more with Ritchey about the setup, and they said that the Chicane was specifically developed to not need an extra spacer on top. The stem’s steerer clamp stack height is increased over their core C220 stem to offer more secure clamping. And the internal wedge steerer clamp was also designed to provide smooth clamping over a larger area of the fork’s steerer tube, alleviating any concern regarding use on carbon steerers. Ritchey tested it extensively with carbon steerers, and assures us it won’t be an issue in regular installation.

They also sent over this small detail photo of the stem with its low-profile top cap. The cap works just like any conventional top cap to compress the slack in the headset, but sits flush down in the recess on top of the stem to be covered by the magnetic cover with the Ritchey crest logo on it above.

Ritchey WCS Chicane stem, sleek aero alloy road bike stem

Claimed weight is rather heavy at 175g (100mm) for this forged, but not machined 2014 alloy stem with steel bolts. That’s a good 50g over a WCS C220 stem of the same material, or 70g over the forged & machined 7050 alloy WCS C260.

The WCS Chicane aero stem will sell for $105/110€, and comes in 90-130mm lengths for 1.125″ steerers. It is pretty much exclusively targeted at road bike builds since it will only come in a -10° (80°) version and cannot be flipped.

Logic-E headset & integration solution

Ritchey Logic-E headset, integrated internal wiring solution

Also a part of that Chicane setup is Ritchey’s new Logic-E headset & integration solution. Designed to help cleanly integrate Di2 & STePS wiring, Ritchey has a new headset with an internal channel to get the wire inside the headtube even on frames that are not drilled for Di2. While this is again most important for OEMs looking to create an integrated solution (either external of the stem or together with special spacers), it could also be nice for cyclists looking to upgrade an older bike to Di2.

Comp Zeta wheels

Ritchey Comp Zeta budget tubeless-ready aluminum disc brake wheelsOn the rolling stock front, the new Comp Zeta wheels offer a ton of value for road, gravel, even some light XC riding. With a 19.5mm internal, the rims are hooked & tubeless-ready (requiring tape) with a shoulder bead-lock.

Ritchey Comp Zeta budget tubeless-ready aluminum disc brake wheels

The build uses Ritchey’s alloy Comp level hubs with standard j-bend flanges, 6-bolt disc interface, sealed cartridge bearings, 64-point engagement, and an alloy freehub body, plus  DT Swiss spokes & brass nipples.

Disc brake wheels have a claimed 1750g weight (795g front, 955g, rear) and will sell for approximately $380/420€ when they land mid summer 2019. A rim brake version is also coming at the same time for roughly $280/320€ offering even more value.

2019 Ritchey Logic Break-Away & other steel frames refreshed

Ritchey Logic Break-Away Road, all steel frames refreshed for 2019 with a new modern lookAs for the Ritchey frames, for 2019 it is going to be a simple refresh. The always popular Ritchey heat-treated, butted chromoly steel Break-Away Road frameset is the first to get the new look in black & tan.

Ritchey Logic Break-Away Road, all steel frames refreshed for 2019 with a new modern lookGone are the more traditional panels, in favor or a new single color look with just one main logo on the downtube.

Ritchey Logic Break-Away Road, all steel frames refreshed for 2019 with a new modern lookThen the new design adds the logo contrast color on the inside of the accompanying fork blades with an inverted Ritchey logo. The new 2019 Break-Away Road frameset is already available in Ritchey’s revamped EU website, with direct to consumers sales in both the US & Europe for $1600/1700€

Ritchey Logic Break-Away Road, all steel frames refreshed for 2019 with a new modern look

The rest of the bike line is slated to roll out with the more modern look this year as well. We’ve seen new paint jobs for the Road Logic , Swiss Cross, and Ultra, with more on the way.

Oh, and if you want to buy one of those new black Break-Away Road framesets or anything else currently in stock, Ritchey is offering a one-time 15% off discount on your entire first new order at on their newly expanded/revamped consumer-direct e-commerce site. Check out the details here and order before April 30!

RitcheyLogic.com

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

15 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
john
john
4 years ago

Did they say anything about the wheels on that breakaway? They look new and they must have an XDR driver body, which I think would also be a new release for Ritchey.

Mark R
Mark R
4 years ago

Curious to hear from fork manufacturers about the clamp design on the Aero stem and whether it will play well with carbon steerers. I see it’s displayed on what looks like an alloy steerer.

JBikes
JBikes
4 years ago

Do people like backsweep on the tops of drop bars?
I understand it on a wide mtb bar, and thought I’d want it on a drop bar. But then when I just place my hands on the tops I realize they actually lie in a position that would benefit from forward sweep (like Vision’s Metron). And forward sweep makes sense as my tops are inboard of my should width. Never ridden a backswept road bar though.

Joe
Joe
4 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

I had a very similar shape from an OE supplier and I’d agree, would possibly be better with a fwd sweep of 4-6 deg. If you wanted the bar closer you’d just use a 10mm shorter stem.

The Breakaway is such a great product. As is that headset.

Antoine Martin
Antoine Martin
4 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

I have found a very compact wide bar from cube with backsweep and found it perfect on my cx. I also coupled it with a long frame and short stem. It gives almost MTB control quality to the drop bar bike. Hoods are brought too far away without the backsweep.

Cheshire Cat
Cheshire Cat
4 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

My Rondo Ruut comes with a slight back sweep on the bars, didn’t realise until I rode it that it was something I would get on with…surpringly comfortable when climbing long fire roads.

Morten Knudsen
Morten Knudsen
4 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

Backsweep on the Nitto Noodle (M177) is really sweet on my l’Eroica Koga-Miyata Full Pro Ltd.
It does limit the reach a few mm which is nice when youre fattiqued and after a long undulating 210km ride (with +4000m of steep climbs and 126km on strade bianchi roads).

OriginalMV
OriginalMV
4 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

never particularly liked backsweep, but the proportion of time I spend with my hands next to the stem is probably somewhat low compared to others. My road bars are either straight or slight sweep forward

mud
mud
4 years ago

So how does one cinch down the Chicane stem to eliminate headset play? With no star nut or wedge in the steerer you can only push down on the stem. There will still be some slop.

JBikes
JBikes
4 years ago
Reply to  mud

I think a headset top nut thingy is still used along with a start nut or expanding insert. The magnetic flush cap would just go on top of all of that. You can see the counter bore in the stem where it would sit but still have clearance to the fork steerer.
At least that is how I am seeing this.

Frank
Frank
4 years ago

Make the Butano in carbon and I will buy.

Morten Reippuert
Morten Reippuert
4 years ago

Ritchey: please an Outback Breakaway Steel for flat mount disc brakes – and please do not apply the odd geometry of the Outback Breakaway carbon whith its way too low stack, too long reach and stupid high BB drop….

Billy
Billy
4 years ago

Fingers crossed for that. Break-Away cross and Outback stocks seem to be very limited right now, so hopefully they are working on something more than a new paint scheme…

This, or an Outback that can take 650b wheels and flat mounts. The new Swiss Cross is too similar to the Outback right now.

Bmx
Bmx
4 years ago

Black and tan? Don’t go a touring in Ireland.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.