Gravel drop bars have splintered into two camps over the past few years — the heavily flared, MTB-influenced shapes pushing 24 degrees or more, and shallower, road-adjacent designs that still want to handle dirt without re-teaching your hands where the hoods live. The Ritchey WCS Butano sits firmly in the second camp. Named for the trails behind Tom Ritchey's home in northern California, the current Butano is the updated internal-routing version with a moderate 18-degree drop flare, a shallow drop, and a short reach that keeps the hoods within easy grab from the tops.

Gravel drop bars have splintered into two camps over the past few years — the heavily flared MTB-influenced shapes pushing 20 degrees or more, and shallower road-adjacent designs that still handle dirt without re-teaching your hands where the hoods live. The Ritchey WCS Butano sits firmly in the second camp. Named for the trails behind Tom Ritchey's home in northern California, the current WCS Butano is the updated internal-routing version with a moderate 18-degree drop flare , a shallow drop, and a short reach that keeps the hoods within easy reach from the tops.

The numbers tell the fit story: 115mm drop, 73mm reach, 5-degree backsweep on the tops, and triple-butted 6066 alloy construction . That backsweep matters more than it looks on paper — it kicks the tops back toward you a few degrees, which closes up your effective reach when you're cruising on the flats and gives your wrists a more neutral angle on long days. The top section is what Ritchey calls ergo-aero: flattened on top for a comfortable palm platform rather than the round tube you'd find on a traditional road bar.... Read More