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Ritchey WCS Ergomax, Streem alloy bars add comfort on road, gravel; plus new grips

new ergonomic alloy Ritchey WCS ergomax drop road bike handlebar for road and gravel bikes
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Two new Ritchey WCS alloy handlebars join the WCS Venturemax flare bar to round out their drop-bar offerings for road, gravel and adventure bikes. First up is the WCS Ergomax that gets a good amount of elongation in the flats for a more comfy perch, which sits upright with a 25mm rise, and their Ergo drops shape.

new ergonomic alloy Ritchey WCS ergomax drop road bike handlebar for road and gravel bikes new ergonomic alloy Ritchey WCS ergomax drop road bike handlebar for road and gravel bikes

The Ergomax’s drops flare at a 12º angle with a 3º flare sweep, with a Di2 plug port wire access point on the ends. The bar is made of 7050 alloy, has a 128mm drop, 73mm reach and comes in at a claimed 270g for the 42cm width, but also available in 40, 44 and 46cm widths.

new ergonomic alloy Ritchey WCS Streem drop road bike handlebar for road and gravel bikes new ergonomic alloy Ritchey WCS Streem drop road bike handlebar for road and gravel bikes

The WCS Steem gets elongated flats, too, and more Ergo drop. It has the same drop and reach measurements, but gets a more subtle 2º/2º flare/flare out on the drops. This one has triple-butted 7050 alloy for the material and comes in at a claimed 275g for the 42cm width. Other sizes are 38, 40, 44 and 46 cm.

Both bars come in the “Blatte” matte black finish that looks surprisingly like carbon, and both will retail for $94.99.

Ritchey Logic EGP lock-on grips with ergonomic palm paddle rest

If your endurance adventures tend to be on mountain bikes and flat bars, the new Ritchey EGP Locking Grip uses an ergo shape and dual density, gel-infused squishy rubber to improve comfort.

Ritchey Logic EGP lock-on grips with ergonomic palm paddle rest Ritchey Logic EGP lock-on grips with ergonomic palm paddle rest

Plenty of nubs, ribs and textures keep your grip secure on the outside. Inside, there’s a helix shaped construction so that as you twist them, the rubber grabs the handlebars tighter so they won’t slip or spin. They also have a locking collar for more traditional slip prevention. Outside diameter is 32mm, length is 133mm, and weight is 133g per pair. Available in black only, retail TBA.

2019 Ritchey Ultra detail photos

2019 Ritchey Ultra steel hardtail trail mountain bike for 29er and 275-plus tires and wheels

We covered the launch of the new Ritchey Ultra in detail in this post, but thought we’d take the chance to get a few detail closeups of the new steel trail hardtail mountain bike.

2019 Ritchey Ultra steel hardtail trail mountain bike for 29er and 275-plus tires and wheels

Ritchey’s been making steel road, cyclocross and mountain bikes for years, but has managed to keep things up to date where it mattered like with a slim tapered headtube that fits internal lower bearings.

2019 Ritchey Ultra steel hardtail trail mountain bike for 29er and 275-plus tires and wheels

Cables and hoses run externally across most of the frame, with a port to feed internal stealth dropper posts at the base of the seat tube. We’ve inquired about that rear brake hose routing (guides on the seat stay, but routed on the chainstay) and will update when we hear back.

RitcheyLogic.com

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AM
AM
6 years ago

When are the bars available?

Ritchey Design
6 years ago
Reply to  AM

They’ll be available in late October/Early November!

AM
AM
6 years ago
Reply to  Ritchey Design

Thanks!

Bmx
Bmx
6 years ago

Flattening a bar like that is not a good idea. It’s right in the point of high stress and making a flat section reduces the strength considerably. Had a flat alloy bar similar to this snap on a cross bike. It wasn’t crashed and only 5 months old. Carbon bars with this design is a different story.

Dgray1
Dgray1
6 years ago
Reply to  Bmx

Maybe TR should run his products by you before he markets them.

MaraudingWalrus
MaraudingWalrus
6 years ago
Reply to  Bmx

I’ll put my anecdotal evidence of the three sets of flat shaped Ritchey evocurve metal bars I currently own and ride (semi)often that haven’t exploded against your anecdotal evidence about the ones that did.

JBikes
JBikes
6 years ago
Reply to  Bmx

Seems gradually shaped…shouldn’t cause any issues.
Or they will all break after 6m use and Ritchey fully ignored this during testing.

Brad Comis (@BradComis)
Reply to  Bmx

That’s true it does reduce the strength significantly. I think most manufacturers use a thicker wall tube for these bars to make up for that. They still have to pass the same ISO tests as a round bar.

MaraudingWalrus
MaraudingWalrus
6 years ago

I dig the shape of Ritchey bars. I like my metal evocurve bars very much. Nice to see these with the pre-drilled Di2 compatibility. Hidden di2 wiring is the only reason I don’t have a set of Evocurves on my main bike, instead having some PRO bars (which are totally nice, just don’t have the Evocurve shape that I love)

Do these have a hole in the center of the stem clamp area for internal Di2 compatibility, also?

imdBeard
imdBeard
5 years ago

Wondering when those ergo grips will be available?

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