Ritchey WCS C220 84D stem

Ritchey's WCS C220 is the lightest stem in its range, pipping even the top-end carbon models on the scales. It hasn't sacrificed stiffness either, so you can have a little bit of everything performance-wise.

• Pros: Lightweight, excellent quality and finish
• Cons: Erm... nothing really

Ritchey has based the C220 stem on its top-level C260 model but without the faff of having to navigate the handlebar through it. To explain, that number after the 'C' refers to how much of the bar (diameter) is wrapped by the stem itself, so 260 degrees in the case of the C260, which means there is only 100 degrees for the clamp to deal with. With the C260 this means that to get the centre of the handlebar to line up with the stem you have to kind of feed it through from the curve of the bar where the hoods of your shifters would sit – a bit of a faff.

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This C220 stem locates around 220 degrees of the bar, which allows you to get the bar into the clamp without issue; it's just a little bit more snug than using a standard stem, which splits the clamping diameter 180/180°.

It makes the bar easier to fit as it is kind of held in position while you locate the faceplate and bolts.

Ritchey says that by wrapping the main stem body more than 180 degrees around the bar, the bolt forces are aligned with the clamp so that the stem body 'embraces' the handlebar. This makes it less prone to damaging lightweight bars.

The C220 comes in a range of options not only in length but also angle. This 84D model has a +/-6 degree rise depending on which way up you fit it, and is available from 60mm to 130mm lengths in 10mm increments.

You can also get a 73D (+/-17°) and a 25D which offers a whopping +/-25 degrees of rise or fall.

Weight and build

Weight is pretty impressive at just 136g on the road.cc scales for this 100mm option, which makes it one of the lightest we've tested, even if that is 15g more than Ritchey claims for the 110mm stem.

Both the stem and faceplate are forged from 2014 aluminium alloy and are compatible with 31.8mm diameter handlebars and 1 1/8in fork steerer tubes.

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Performance-wise it's hard to gauge a stem's contribution in isolation, but I have ridden some that flex a bit when out of the saddle and the C220 certainly isn't one of those.

There is plenty of stiffness here, and swapping out a carbon fibre stem for this one I never noticed any difference to the ride quality, for better or worse.

Value and competition

When it comes to value, you can pick up a decent enough alloy stem for under 20 quid these days but what you are getting here for the C220's £85 price tag is the complete package.

It's part of Ritchey's WCS line-up, its top end World Championship Series, and it's quality throughout. The finish is impeccable, smart looking and hardwearing.

You've got that impressive weight, too, but Ritchey hasn't gone all-out to get it. I'm glad to see 4mm chromoly steel bolts being used throughout rather than going for something lighter like titanium. Yeah, you might save a couple of grams, but they can be a little fragile even when using a torque wrench.

As for competition, well, I've tested the PRO Vibe Di2 stem, which came in at 144g and £99.99, or if you want to go really light you could check out the Deda Supperleggero. Our 120mm version weighed in at 124g but it'll set you back £129.99.

On the whole, I think the WCS C220 does the job and looks the business, all at a decent price.

Verdict

A top-end, lightweight stem with plenty of stiffness for a good price