The "XL" in Ritchey's WCS VentureMax XL doesn't refer to a bigger size in the t-shirt sense — it refers to how far out the drops fan. The standard VentureMax flares 12 degrees from hood to drop; the XL doubles that to 24 degrees and pushes the width at the drops out to 615mm. Ritchey measures the bar at the initial bend rather than at the hoods, so you'll see it listed as 52cm, but your hands end up substantially farther apart in the drops than on a conventionally-measured bar of the same number. The result is a bar built for loaded bikepacking rigs and rough gravel where you want a wider lever to steer with when things get loose.

The platform itself is Tom Ritchey's gravel-and-bikepacking shape that predates most of the category — short reach, shallow drop, and the Bio-bend ergonomic bump in the drop that supports the curve of your palm so your hand isn't pressed flat against a round tube on long descents. The tops are aero-shaped at 38x22.5mm with a flattened section, which gives you a comfortable hand rest on the flats and a faintly more aerodynamic profile than a round tube. There's also a 4.6° back sweep on the tops, which is subtle but noticeable when you're spending hours up there on a tour.

Construction is triple-butted 7050 aluminum, which is where the WCS designation earns its price over the Comp version of the same bar — 325 grams instead of 350, and a stiffer feel under load. The clamp is standard 31.8mm so it works with any modern stem, and the bar is drilled for a Shimano EW-RS910 Di2 junction box if you're running electronic shifting. Clip-on aero bar mounting is supported, and the 31.8mm accessory mount diameter on the tops gives you real estate for lights, computers, and bikepacking-style bag mounts on either side of the stem.