Tom Ritchey named the Butano after the trails behind his Northern California home, and the Classic version keeps the shape but strips it back to alloy and external cable routing. The Ritchey Classic Butano handlebar pays homage to the mixed terrain trails behind Tom Ritchey's home, blending timeless aesthetics with modern functionality, and its high-polish silver finish evokes a classic style. If you're building a steel gravel bike or a modern classic road bike and want a bar that looks the part without giving up contemporary geometry, this is where Ritchey lands.

The shape is where the modern side comes in. The Classic Butano features a shallower 118mm drop for better accessibility and control whether in the hook or on the hood, and features a 12° flare that's become standard on modern bars for road and gravel. The shallow drop keeps the hooks reachable from the hoods without dropping your torso through the floor, which matters more as you spend longer days out. The handlebar doubles down on comfort with a 4° sweep on its ergo top and a modest 73mm reach. Between the short reach and the swept tops, you get a cockpit that puts your hands where your wrists want them.

One thing to flag before you order: compatible with the Shimano EW-RS910 junction box, the Butano is classic in another sense too — it doesn't offer internal cable routing. If you're running Di2 or eTap and want everything hidden through the bar, look at the WCS Butano instead. If you don't mind cables running under the tape the traditional way, or you're building around mechanical shifting, this is the version you want.... Read More