Ritchey Bar Ends

The Ritchey Logic WCS bar ends are described to us as not having the grip tubing and the clamp either glued (bonded) or welded together. This would make them unique among all the bar ends we've written about in this section, and it presents a problem in how to describe their manufacturing technique, since it's not overtly revealed. Ritchey describes it as being a "one piece, three dimensional forging", which gives us a clue. The clamp section has a smooth finish in the area where the grip tubing and the clamp area link. There are fine traces of wire brush polishing in this area, and when you look under a jewelers loupe you can see very small pits in the surface, which is what delivers our best guess as to the forging process used. We have narrowed it down to a cold forming technique known as "backward impact extrusion". The rough form of the clamp section, absent the handlebar hole, bolt hole or saw cut making the cinch mechanism exists in negative relief at the back of a die that also has the shape of the grip tubing along its outer walls moving forward toward the front face of the die. A ram, 19mm in diameter, in the shape of the inside of the grip tubing, presses against a block of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, forcing the aluminum further and further into the die, compressing it against and creating the clamp shape. The ram under the same pressure now forces, or squeezes additional aluminum backward, around the ram, as the additional aluminum tries to exit through the front of the die, forcing it to adopt the shape of the die's 22.2mm diameter walls which make the outer surface of the grip tubing. The ram is just 19mm in diameter so it creates a tube with a wall thickness of 1.5 to 1.6mm. The piece is removed from the die by griping the end of the grip tubing. A secondary forming process is used to bend the grip tube. With a mandrel inserted into the tubing a draw bending technique is likely used to bend the original straight tubing into the bar end's angled style. The solid aluminum area of the clamp is drilled to make the cinch bolt passage way, and then tapped for the bolt threads. The 22.2mm diameter hole for the handlebar to pass through is then drilled, and finally the saw cut through the threads into the handlebar hole is made to create the clamp mechanism. So the piece as you can see is made of just one piece of aluminum. The Logic bar ends uses a cadmium plated steel bolt for the cinch bolt. It has a 5mm hex fitting with 6mm by 1mm pitched threads, is longer than need be at 16mm and weighs 5 grams. The primary grip section is 4 inches long and moves at a 9 degree inward angle toward the front wheel. The secondary grip section is just 2 inches long, is bent an additional 55 degrees inward toward the front wheel, while it rises upward at 9 degrees. The Ritchey Logic WCS Medium length bar ends are available in Anodized Black or Silver. The Logic bar ends come Black plastic, press-in end plugs installed in the end of the grip tubing, there are no plugs provided to close off the open handle bar end. These plugs are the same ones used with the WCS foam grips, and also used with a different logo on the surface in both Specialized and Onza bar ends. The weight of a pair of Logic Medium length bar ends with steel bolts and end plugs is 140.5 grams. Price in Catalog

Ritchey makes three version of their WCS Logic bar ends, Short, Medium and Long. The variable in each of the models is the length of the grip tubing, and really what we're talking about is amount of grip tubing that's permitted to reverse or backward extrude, if our theory about the manufacturing process is correct. More or less aluminum pressed into the die by the ram will make a shorter or longer section of tubing. Practically speaking however, it's more likely that only "Long" models are manufactured, and the tubing section on these Long models is cut down to make the Medium and Short versions. Everything about the Logic Long bar ends is the same as the Medium except the length of the secondary grip section which is 30mm longer, making it 1 3/16 inches longer than the Medium, or 3 3/16" long. The Logic Long bar ends are also available in Black or Silver. The weight of a pair of Logic Long length bar ends with steel bolts and end plugs is 152 grams. Price in Catalog

These are made in 2 sizes, medium and large. They are the same length and bend as the WCS models. The Logic Experts are made in Taiwan using a two piece construction. The clamp section is melt forged of 6061-T6 aluminum. The grip tube is bent to shape and then bonded to the clamp assembly. These come with end plugs and use steel cinch bolts. They are available in painted Black or polished Silver. Price in Catalog