Ritchey Comp Venturemax XL handlebar

The Ritchey Comp Venturemax XL is a fabulously wide, ergonomic bar that's brilliantly suited to long days, rough trails and wide luggage. At a great price and with the most comfortable drops I've ever ridden, it's a winner on all fronts.

As is the case with tyres, when it comes to handlebars for cycling fast on rough surfaces, wider is better. And at 615mm at the drops, the Ritchey Comp Venturemax XL is one of the widest drop bars around. I remember racing national-level downhill courses in full Dainese body armour with triple-clamp forks using narrower bars – this sucker is wider than Del Boy trying to shift a container of genuine-only-one-user PPE.

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Stu really liked the top-spec WCS version of the Venturemax XL. The €99.95 WCS is triple-butted 7050 alloy and weighs 325g compared with the €54.95 Comp's double-butted 6061 alloy and 350g. So in going for the WCS-spec bar you're paying €45 to save 25g. That's €1.80 per gram.

The Comp Venturemax XL comes in the one 'XL' size of 52cm, as measured at the hoods. But never mind the width, feel the flare – that's a whopping 24 degrees of drops angle there, meaning it's very comfortable to sit in the drops, no need to bend your wrists around the tops to get a grip. Then there's an extra six degrees of flare out at the bottom of the drops, all adding up to that stupendous 615mm centre-to-centre width at the bar ends. There's also a 4.6-degree backward flare on the tops, to aid reaching the hoods and better-aligning with the natural angle of your wrists.

The tops are also aero profile, with tape measuring 42mm front to back – plenty of real estate to rest your paws on.

Back to the drops... At just over 10cm they're pretty shallow and therefore easy to get into or out of – important for long days in the saddle. The ergonomic upward curve of the drops fits perfectly into the palm of your hand, and for me with my large hands means I could have a single index finger at the bottom of each brake lever, pulled slightly back to take up the free stroke. Thus I was afforded pretty much effortless braking ability and control from a very wide, comfortable drops position – perfect for hardcore descending over surfaces where a dropper post wasn't a luxury, it was the only way to get down with the bike the right way up.

A benefit of being this wide is there's a huge 46cm free inside the hoods to carry luggage, specifically drybags, tents or other wide stuff. The backwards sweep helps a bit here too, giving a smidge more room for fingers.

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Across the centre of the bar there's about 14cm in which to mount accessories before it begins to flare into the aero profile – so about 5cm either side of a normal-width stem. You'll be needing a 31.8mm clamp stem to secure the bar, and there are deep channels under the tops for cable routing so you don't feel them under the tape.

Another nice feature is the Ritchey logo markings to help with aligning the bar perfectly centred.

One point to be aware of if you're interested in the Venturemax XL – you might need to replace your brake or gear cabling because of the extra width of the levers. This isn't a shortcoming of the bar, rather the natural implication of going wider. Finally, there are no markings on the curve of the drops, so you'll need to be sure you've got your eye in or your measuring game on for hood positioning.

And that lack of markings is the only thing I can mark the Venturemax XL down on – not that it matters that much, as given the vagaries of anatomy, stem and bar alignment you should go by feel of what's right for you rather than forcing your body to comply to exact measurements. For long days riding rough trails, possibly with luggage, everything else is perfect.

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I really liked the PNW Coast Bar in its 48cm version, and PNW does a 52cm that pretty much matches the Venturemax XL. But there's no ergo hand bend, the tops profile is round instead of aero, and it's £16 more expensive.

Rob found the 52cm Salsa Cowchipper took a while to get used to but still very good, so that's another option – and £1 less than the Venturemax XL – though again there's no ergo hand bend and the tops profile is round instead of aero.

Conclusion

Is the Comp Venturemax XL for you? Not necessarily. Your shoulders might be too narrow to comfortably support your weight with arms spread that wide; your arms might be too short; or you might prefer a narrower bar to reduce your aero cross-section or for ripping through narrow, twisty trails.

As with everything cycling, there's no absolute right or wrong answer, just what's right for you. If you want oodles of extreme terrain, high- and low-speed control, super-comfortable and grippy hands, loads of luggage space, and all at a sharp price, the Ritchey Comp Venturemax XL could be the answer.

Verdict

An exceptionally wide and comfortable drop bar for massive adventures