Ritchey WCS Chicane Stem

Ritchey's WCS Chicane stem is aimed purely at the road market, focusing on stiffness and a smooth finish, as we all know how important those marginal gains are, right? It does the job, looks cool and for the level of quality, I'd say it's fairly priced too.

• Pros: Clean looks, excellent stiffness levels
• Cons: You can't adjust your bar height by adding spacers above the stem

While not as aggressive looking as some of the stems you tend to see in the pro peloton, the Chicane is very close with its 10-degree angle giving you a slightly less upright position than most stems on the market.

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You don't necessarily need to have the front end slammed like a pro, but you are going to have to cut your steerer tube to your upper limit because the magnetic cap design means there isn't any room for spacers on top. Most of us don't fettle with our position too much, so it shouldn't be an issue.

The main thing you'll notice is the lack of visible bolts on the Chicane. The stem is clamped onto the steerer by way of an expanding wedge which is tightened from the inside, working alongside the specially designed headset adjustment plate. Both fit together seamlessly and keep everything secure; once fitted I had no need to touch the setup.

The top cap has a strong magnet fitted to its base and you have no need to worry about it jettisoning off, even when riding on rough country lanes.

At the front the face plate is hinged and clamps around the handlebar, fastened in place with two rear-facing bolts. It's a bit more of a faff to fit compared with a front loader but, again, once you've set it up there should be no need to move things.

The whole thing is made from 2014 grade aluminium alloy, and Ritchey says that it is the second stiffest in its line-up, sitting just below the £250 Superlogic C260. It's stiffer than the Ritchey WCS C220 that it replaced on my bike apparently, but I can't say that I noticed.

The Chicane is about 65g heavier, too, but unless you are a weight weenie it doesn't really matter.

Stems are probably the one component that have the least bearing on a how a bike rides or feels, so there is little to say really about the overall performance of the Chicane other than it is stiff enough for even the most full-on of sprints, and it holds both the handlebar and steerer without issue.

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Is it worth its £97 suggested retail price?

Well, comparing it to other similar stems on the market it's not bad value, plus I love the way it looks. The quality of the paint is top notch and pretty scuff-resistant so it'll stay looking good.

The Pro Vibe stem has similar wind-cheating properties to its face plate and that'll set you back a similar £99.99.

ITM's X-One uses similar thinking but in carbon for £129, but it requires the matching bar and you have to feed the bar through the stem like an old-school quill model.

Overall, I like the way the Ritchey WCS Chicane looks and works, and while you can get a decent alloy stem for around half the price, the Ritchey shows some clever design and thinking.

Verdict

A great design and plenty stiff enough for the racers among you