Ritchey WCS Carbon Trail Flat +/-5mm bar review
Ritchey’s WCS Carbon Trail Flat +/-5mm bar is a great upgrade for XC and trail bikes, offering light weight and 740mm width.
Lowdown: Ritchey WCS Carbon Trail Flat +/-5mm Bar
Ritchey’s WCS Carbon Trail Flat bar offers light weight and a good width for XC and trail riders. Learn more in our full review below.
| Weight: 183 grams | Price: $170 | Options: 5mm rise/drop, 9-degree sweep |
Rating:  4 Chilis-out-of-5 |
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Review: Ritchey WCS Carbon Trail Flat +/-5mm Bar
Slacker head tube angles, longer top tubes, wider tires, wider bars, and shorter stems. These are all the rage in the mountain biking world. Modern trail bikes are more confidence inspiring than ever thanks to modern geometry measure and the latest suspension technology. But if a new bike isn’t in the cards, or if you’re looking to experiment with your existing bike, going with a wider bar and shorter stem is a great place to start.
The WCS Carbon Trail Flat bar has two sets of low-key graphics so that they are readable whether the bar is in the rise or drop position.
Ritchey’s WCS Carbon Trail Flat bar is one of many good options for those in search of a semi-wide carbon bar. With widths for enduro and downhill bikes now exceeding 800mm, a 740mm bar doesn’t seem like a huge upgrade. But first consider your current bar’s width. On the new Niner XC dual suspension bike that I’m riding, the stock bar was 710mm. Installing Ritchey’s wider bar and a stem with a bit more rise put me in a slightly more upright position that I like for climbing and descending.
The only caveat is for those who live and ride in tight, wooded areas. During a race in Arkansas earlier this year, I was thankful for the narrower 710mm bars that came on the Niner. But back home in Colorado, the 740mm wide Ritchey bar has only been an improvement.
Continue to page 2 for more of our Ritchey WCS Carbon Trail Flat +/-5mm bar review »
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