Part 4 - Ritchey Carbon Magic

I am extremely lucky to have Steve Parke as my neighbor. He's the General Manager at Ritchey and he was very enthused about helping out with this project. Ritchey parts embody the spirit of this project: light but strong and extremely well engineered. So we took the lightest and newest carbon offerings to see what more could be done to lighten the bike further-while continuing to improve it's overall performance. We upgraded the seatpost, handlebar, and fork.

Seatpost: Ritchey Superlogic Carbon One-bolt
  • MSRP: $350
  • Actual weight: 140 grams
  • Sizes: 300/27.2 (tested), 300mm/31.6, 350/27.2, 400/30.9, 400/31.6
  • Beautiful workmanship, intelligent single-bolt design
  • Monocoque (one piece) construction with forged carbon head
It's hard to find a seatpost that comes in at less than 150 grams. The Ritchey Superlogic Carbon is one of the few. It is also very strong. Ritchey has designed a post that is "3-D forged" from the shaft to the head mount. That means it's heated and super-pressurized carbon to mold it into it's shape.

Another nice feature is the simple one-bolt clamping mechanism that holds the cradle and end pieces together. Ritchey even makes clamps that come in different sizes to, for example, work with the carbon railed fizik Aliante which has a taller rail profile.

Installing the saddle takes a bit of time but once on, it's easy to adjust fore/aft and the angle. The seatpost didn't have any noticeable flex and complemented the already plush ride of the Cervelo.

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Handlebar: Ritchey SuperLogic Logic II
  • MSRP: $370
  • Claimed weight: 190 grams. Actual weight: 186 grams
  • Sizes: 40, 42, 44 (tested). 31.8
  • 142mm drop, 82mm reach
  • One piece construction
  • Clip-on compatible
The Ritchey SuperLogic Logic II handlebars are crazy light. It's amazing that they are clip-on compatible. The are also "crazy functional". I am a fairly conservative descender so I really value handlebars that feel good in the drops. The design of these bars is perfect for me. They feature an aggressive mid-bend that provides an excellent and secure feel when descending. The bar ends extend back, giving additional security; you feel like your hands won't run out to the ends prematurely. They are also a nice perch when descending. Ritchey has a slightly different bend with their Evo models; in my opinion, the Evo looks slightly better because it's more upright. But, for me, the performance of these SuperLogic II's surpasses the looks. By the way, Logic II is Ritchey's way of saying the reach and drop is customized for all three bar widths. Additionally, riding on the hoods was comfortable and well placed.

These are impressive bars that improved my descending skills while also saving weight.

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Fork: WCS UD Carbon Road
  • MSRP: $400
  • Claimed weight: 298 grams. Actual weight: 297 grams uncut, 345mm steerer tube
  • Available in 43mm (tested) and 45mm rake
  • One piece all carbon construction
  • Alloy dropouts
  • Easy to install compression plug
  • Wide, 45mm width
The stock fork on the Cervelo was the excellent True Temper Sub-3. I honestly had very low expectations with the new Ritchey fork. The one disappointment with the Sub-3 is inordinately heavy at 375 grams. This is because it requires epoxying of the star-fangled nut mechanism--and the nut itself is heavy. The Ritchey reduced this by 78 grams. And looks-wise, the wide, 45mm "shoulders" of the fork mate perfectly with the stout head tube of the Cervelo.

This WCS fork turned out to be an absolute revelation; the handling is superb. The fork has an amazing dampening quality; it smooths out bumps. But at the same time provides continuous feedback. You can really feel the road but it is not fatiguing. And, as stated, I am a conservative descender. On the maiden voyage, I ended up in a huge group ride of over 50 people. I was petrified as we all descended our local highway 84 out to coast at mach speeds. But the fork (and handlebars) provided a new found confidence with the incredible feedback--and comfort. For the first time in a while, I actually enjoyed the descent. On the way back, we dropped down Kings Mountain road. And for the first time in 10+ years, I was able to hang on my buddies wheel. Typically my friends have to wait for me post-descent.

This is by far the best fork I've ever used and the most impressive upgrade in this whole project.

Conclusions -

Seatpost: Ritchey Superlogic Carbon One-bolt



Handlebar: Ritchey SuperLogic Logic II



Fork: WCS UD Carbon Road



Check back soon for parts 6 and the final conclusion in part 7!