Ritchey revealed a slew of new products at this year's Taipei Cycle Show, covering the gamut from all-purpose trail equipment to aero road gear with a dose of cyclocross in-between. The company isn't offering up the full scoop until a little later this year but here's a sneak preview of what's to come.
Hot new trail gear
Ritchey looks to be making a more concerted push into the general-purpose trail market this year. Highlights of the new gear are the upcoming WCS Trail V2 wheels, which sport generous 25mm internal width (29.6mm external) tubeless-compatible aluminium rims for use with high-volume tyres, convertible thru-axle front and rear hubs with cartridge bearings and CenterLock rotor interfaces, DT Swiss Competition butted stainless steel spokes, and alloy nipples.
The WCS Trail V2 wheels will be offered in 27.5in (650b) and 29in diameters (but not 26in) with either standard Shimano/SRAM or SRAM XD aluminium freehub bodies. Claimed weights are pretty impressive with the 27.5in version supposedly coming at just 1,640g for the pair.
Ritchey is also jumping on the 35mm-diameter cockpit bandwagon with two new riser bars and a matching stem, which are designed to boost front-end stiffness and handling precision. The WCS Carbon Trail 35 Rizer boasts a healthy 760mm width with 15mm of rise and nine degrees of backsweep. Despite the oversized proportions, claimed weight is still just 210g.
There will also be an alloy version – the WCS Trail 35 Low Rizer, which has the same rise and bend but an additional 20mm of width. Claimed weight is 290g.
Both bars are designed with short tapered centre sections, too, to provide more room for ancillary accessories, such as dropper post and suspension remotes.
The matching WCS Mountain Trail 35 stem is made of forged 2014 aluminium and will be available in 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90mm extensions, all with zero rise. In addition to being a humongous 35mm diameter, the handlebar interface is also quite wide for extra clamping area and wraps 220 degrees around the bar to reduce point stress. Claimed weight for a 70mm-long sample is 115g.
New aero road bar options
Coming on the road side is the new WCS Carbon Streem II drop bar with a semi-anatomic bend and UCI-legal, aero-profile tops that are also backswept by 4.7 degrees. Regardless of whatever aero claims Ritchey may end up making, the larger-diameter tops should be more comfortable for riders with bigger hands. Internal cable routing will keep the outer profile nice and clean, too.
Drop will vary 124 to 128mm depending on width but reach will remain a constant 70mm. Claimed weight is 235g.
While the WCS Carbon Streem II bar will work with Ritchey's C260 stems (with a little work), Ritchey has also now launched the WCS C220 stem with a less radical 220-degree handlebar clamp that will be easier to remove and install. Ritchey will offer the WCS C220 stems in carbon-wrapped (115g) and standard forged 2014 aluminium (130g) varieties, both with 60 to 130mm extension lengths.
Ritchey goes disc for 'cross
Finally, Ritchey previewed a new disc brake-compatible version of its venerable Swiss Cross steel cyclocross frame. The Swiss Cross Disc will use the same front triangle and driveside stays as the standard version but with reinforced non-driveside stays that now include post mount brake calliper tabs set inside the rear triangle.
Both the rear posts and the included WCS Cross Disc fork are sized for 140mm-diameter rotors but 160mm will also work (with adapters).
Ritchey will offer the Swiss Cross Disc in six sizes from 49 to 59cm.