Even the classic brands are moving forward with the most modern of trends. Ritchey has two new headsets coming that accommodate full internal routing through the upper cup, with a road stem that hides them for an even cleaner look.
There’s also new colors for the Ascent and Breakaway frames, a new MTB stem, and its shallowest gravel adventure bar yet.
Ritchey Comp Corralitos Handlebar
Offering the shallowest drop Ritchey has ever done, the new Corralitos is a wide alloy riser drop handlebar with tons of flare. It’s designed for any adventure; whether that’s around town or around the world, there’s a lot of space for bags and gear between the drops.
Like the recent Skyline road bar, it’s starting at the Comp level with double-butted 6061 alloy. If they prove popular, then it’ll add WCS and carbon versions later.
Drop is just 67.5 mm, with a short 52mm reach. It has a round top to make accessory mounting easier but gets its ergonomic bend in the drops. Other measurements are:
- 24º drop flare
- 12º outward flare
- 5º backsweep
- Widths: 46/48/50 cm (center to center)
- Width at ends: 62/64/66 cm (at outside edge)
- 350 g (46 cm)
Pricing and availability are TBA.
Note the new sand/tan colorway for the Ascent gravel bike shown up top. That and this marine/cornflower blue with cream accents on the Breakaway travel road bike frame are new for 2023.
And yes, that 50th Anniversary Ultra hardtail that just came out was the last of the limited-edition bikes celebrating Tom’s half-century milestone. Turns out supplier issues and paint lead times helped stretch that celebration beyond the actual 50th year, but who doesn’t enjoy a good, long party?
Ritchey Integrated Stems & Headsets
The new Comp Switch Stem is a streamlined road stem that uses its C220 clamp (the body of the stem wraps around 220º of the bar for a more secure grip — most bars are 180º), but with a wider body for increased torsional stiffness compared to its round stems. Available in 80/90/100/110/120 mm lengths with -16º rise. Claimed weight is 180 g (100 mm).
The underside has a channel to make room for shift cables, wires, and brake hoses, which are then hidden by the upper transition spacer plate on the new Comp Logic-E Switch Headset. The nylon and glass-fiber spacers and plate conceal all of the cables and run them through the oversized 1.5″ bearing cups (fits standard tapered and 1-1/8″ steerers).
The Zero Stack headset uses sealed angular cartridge bearings for smooth operation. Its weight is 54 g (upper portion only, it works with any lower bottom bracket cup).
For mountain bikes and others without fully integrated cockpits, there’s a Comp Logic-E Universal Switch model that simply puts external ports on the upper headset spacer cover, making room to feed cables and hoses into the frame. Available in Semi-Integrated (IS) and Fully Integrated (ZS) versions, it works with any standard stem.
The new Comp Trail 35 mountain bike stem is 3D-forged 6061 alloy, fits 35mm handlebars, and uses an offset bar clamp. It can be run with the offset up or down, letting you raise or lower your cockpit by 5 mm from the center. Available in 35/45/55/65 mm lengths, the claimed weight is 135 g (35 mm).
All products are coming this spring — we got a sneak peek at Taipei Cycle Show — so pricing and ship dates for all are TBA.
