Release: Ritchey Beacon Super-Wide Ergonomic Handlebars

by Jeff Whitfield on | 2 Comments

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Ritchey Beacon handlebar on a gravel bike
Ritchey Beacon handlebar on a gravel bike

This week, Ritchey released a super-wide Beacon handlebar with 36-degrees of flare in the drops, complete with ergonomic tops. The Beacon is available in two grades of alloy: the Comp Beacon (double-butted 6061 alloy, $46.95) and the lighter WCS Beacon (triple-butted 7050 alloy, $99.95). The WCS appears to also have a less glossy power-coated finish to it. Each is available in four different widths: 400mm, 420mm, 440mm, and 460mm.

My first thought was to compare the specs of these to the Salsa Cowchipper I currently ride on. By comparison, the Beacon has a bit shorter reach (65mm vs 68mm), quite a bit shorter drop (80mm vs 116mm), significantly more flare (36 degrees vs 24 degrees), but with a bit less outsweep (6 degrees vs 12 degrees). Along with that, unlike the Cowchipper, the tops have an ergonomic shape and 4.5 degrees of backsweep. All this adds up to a bar that will have quite a different ride feel than the Cowchipper.

The main advantage of these specs is the short distance between the three main positions: the tops, hoods, and drops. As Ritchey points out in the description of these handlebars, the goal is to allow for changes in hand position with minimal disruptions to the handling of the bike. Plus, for longer rides, the ergonomic nature of the tops and drops should improve overall comfort.

As others have pointed out, the disappointment is in the minimal widths available. Calling them “super-wide” is a bit of a misnomer. As I’ve learned with my Salsa Cowchipper, adding flare to any road handlebar requires that the hoods be angled in. I initially was riding on a 44cm Cowchipper but quickly switched it out with a 46cm bar. I can’t see riding on anything less than 46cm even with the Beacon.

In a previous post, I talked about the effect that gravel handlebars have on a bike. With flared drops, one of the effects is a loss in width at the hoods. As such, you have to widen the bar a bit to make up for that loss in width. In my case with the Cowchipper, I noticed a 2cm loss in the middle of the hoods. So, going from a 44cm to a 46cm bar helped correct that problem. Beyond that, with flared handlebars, some riders simply like them to be wider. Salsa picked up on this and added 48, 50, and 52cm widths to the Cowchipper line.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case with the Beacon. With the Beacon’s 36 degrees of flare, I’m not so sure that the max 46cm wide bar will be enough to compensate for the extra flare. Since the hoods would need to be angled in a little more, my concern is that a wider bar would be required to compensate for a greater loss in the hood width. Otherwise, when in the hoods, your hands might end up being farther in than your elbows, which reduces leverage and puts even more stress on the shoulders. They really need to add wider bars to the mix. With a max width of 46cm, some riders might have a hard time finding a sweet spot for the width at the hoods. For me, a 48cm bar would likely be needed.

Aside from that, I do like what I see. The Beacon appears to include all the things that I feel are missing from the Cowchipper, namely a more ergonomic bar with shallower drops. I might pickup the cheaper Comp version in a 460mm width just to try out and see if I like it. Who knows...maybe 460mm is just right. Hopefully that’ll be the case. If not, my hope is that Ritchey learns from it and, like Salsa, adjusts accordingly.

Update

Ok...so I gave in and bought a set. Got the 46cm Comp Beacon to review. So far, so good. I'm liking it! Full review coming soon! :D

Ritchey Comp Beacon on my Nicasio
Ritchey Comp Beacon on my Nicasio


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Comments
on

Hi Jeff, What are your thoughts on switching to one of the 2 bars you talk about in this article if you use the bike for road and gravel? I have a Trek Checkpoint I switch out wheels for whatever ride I am doing but find the bars that came with it are sketchy for some of the descents Ive done with the obstacles you have to navigate at times and I find myself riding my brakes to prepare for whats coming up. With my elbows in near my body like in road cycling it doesnt have that great feel of my mtn bike with flat bars. I think I'll try one of these but the Ritchey certainly looks like a hand position that is more, even if a tiny bit, like you would hold a flat bar and get the comfort and stability I am looking for but wondered how that will affect road riding? I dont usually do super long rides, over 50 miles, usually around 30, but plan on building up some miles as the summer goes on so not sure what to do. Any thoughts?

on

Hey Jill! Thanks for reading! :)

I did a full review of the Richey Beacon not too long after this post. Still have this handlebar installed on my Surly gravel bike. After a good year riding on it, I think it's an exceptional handlebar and one that I think you might really like. It's a good compromise between the narrower handlebars that you don't like and the super wide ones that I don't like. Nice inbetweener really. :D