Bike Setup: gt team zaskar, deore group set + disc, mavic rims
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
El Baelos
a Weekend Warrior
from Ghent, Belgium
Date Reviewed: January 25, 2010
Strengths: Price, stiffness, weight
Weaknesses: Comfort
Bottom Line:
I've been using this product for one year now, and I didn't have any problem with it.
For the price, it is probably one of the best handlebars you can get.
The only lesser point is the comfort on long rides. After a marathon, my wrists really hurt. This has also something to do with the position of the hands on a flatbar. Especially in long descents, your wrists are turned in a somewhat unnatural angle.
I just ordered the new Ritchey Superlogic 10 D handlebar to have some more comfort for my wrists. It is only 10 gr lighter than the EA70, but costs three times the price! In comparison to that handlebar, the Ritchey is a real bargain...
Strengths: Light, strong, well made and price is reasonable, useable width.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Excellent bar that is stiff, light and totally functional. Can't quite understand this flex issue that people have commented on. I am a thick-set individual and ride the bars hard into corners and would know if there were any flex. Is is possible that all Easton bars are not created equally? ....unlikely unless there is a major shortcoming in their quality control and that sort of problem would surely manifest itself in more than one product.
Bike Setup: Giant Trance, Full XT, R/Shox Reba Race, 717's on Hope Pro11 hubs, Schwalbe Nobby Nics.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ceejayvee
a Cross Country Rider
from uk
Date Reviewed: October 30, 2008
Strengths: er quite light but...
Weaknesses: ...flex, ends are too thin, black paint jumps off if you look hard
EASTON HAVE ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE, they ignore you
Bottom Line:
Easton customer service does not exist, it is a figment of their imagination (see my review of the EA50 seatpost)
Too much flex to feel in control
The ends are too thin and deform far to easily, you can deform the ends with your hands. Ends are so thin they will slice through rubber grips (lock-ons deform the ends) and any body part that gets in the way of 'em in an accident.
I had a black one, the paint seems to hate the metal it's been put onto and comes away very quickly leaving you with a bar that looks like it has a disease.
Bike Setup: Bianchi, Marzocchi MXC ECC, Hope XC/Sapim Race/317, LX train, XT Discs, RF post n bar, On-One stem
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
skotniczny
a Cross Country Rider
from Clarksville TN
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2008
Strengths: I found that it was lighter then some carbon bars that i was browsing.
Looks good, specially with the matching ea70 stem.
Feels solid to me, but I only weigh 150lb.
Weaknesses: None yet.
Bottom Line:
I got the 31.8mm bar so that i could change my old stem and bar around as i pleased.
i was a little worried about all the flex people have been mentioning, but decided to stick with it due to my light weight 150lb.
on my first ride i gave it a beating, i locked my fork out and did a few sprints putting all my weight on the bar i could not feel any flex.
this has been an awesome bar for me and i would recommend it to any one looking for a light xc style handle bar.
Strengths: As light as many carbon bars, one of the lightest alu bars. Very strong. And in case of a crash: carbon cracks, breaks; alu just bends and absorbs. So: I trust alu more, and it costs half of the price.
Weaknesses: None (but I don't like the orange-yellowish prints much; black is more beautiful, just a matter of taste).
Bottom Line:
Strong and light, doesn't crack in case of a crash. Not the most beautiful one?
Excellent. I'm somewhat surprised by comments here on flex. I'm built like a track sprinter and often climb out of the saddle on my Titec micro bar ends, but I do ride smooth so maybe I don't wrestle the bars as much as some. No problems with the bar ends either. It's often suggested you should change your bars every two years in any case, and perhaps more often if you've had some bad crashes even if you can't see damage, so personally I don't think carbon is worth it. Better to buy something that does the job and that you don't think twice about replacing if necessary rather than hanging onto possibly damaged carbon bars because of the price you paid and then worrying about whether they'll fail. BTW I had the EA50's before, and they crimped badly from the bar ends after some heavy crashes, but that's to be expected, and I even used the bars without bar ends for a year after that and they were fine.
Bike Setup: Spesh Stumpjumper FSR Pro frameset build 24lbs
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Big Boy Truck
a Cross Country Rider
from Seoul, Korea (FL)
Date Reviewed: October 2, 2004
Strengths: Excellent handling, makes it easier to manuver in traffic. Provided better steering and control. Looks great (I have the matching gray stem).
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
This is a great handlebar. I was going to go with the all carbon on my bike to lighten it, but after reading an article on "Strength vs. Light" and decided to go w/strength since I'm a big guy (220), didn't want to yank on my handlebars and break them.
Similar Products Used: Azonic, Ritchet, Coda, Answer etc..
Bike Setup: Devinci Phantom
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
adam
a Cross Country Rider
from kokomo, IN
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2003
Strengths: what can i say? carbon fiber! super lightweight and extremely low flex.
Weaknesses: no bar ends allowed!! what a crock.
Bottom Line:
great bar. but no bar ends? just a couple of fitted aluminum rings crammed into the ends to reinforce the ends of the bar for bar end clamps. for $70 i expect better planning in the engineering department.
Bike Setup: EPX Terrashark frame, mostly XT drivetrain, easton bar and stem and marzoochi MX Pro fork
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ryan R
a Cross Country Rider
from Long Island N.Y.
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2003
Strengths: Lightweight, Good for XC racing, decent alternative to Carbon if you want to go cheap.
Weaknesses: Bent this bar in under a year worth of daily trail riding only.
Bottom Line:
I gave these bars a great review below about 3 months ago and this is a follow up to that review. Today after some pretty tame trail riding I was sitting on my deck and I noticed something, THE BARS WERE BENT! Man this sucks I used to like these bars and now they are bent and with a great weekend of riding coming up this really sucks! Some how both my grips were bent downward not too bad but not enough to ride this bar with out concern so I removed them today and will get new bars tomorrow. I like easton and I like the fact they didn't break and have a piece of jagged aluminum in my arm. But please I don't freeride or downhill I leave the insanity to winter time. I only use my bike as a trail bike and thats it I felt I could get at least two years out of these. I'm going carbon next so I can't bend them. If your looking for a cheap set of bars and are going to be light on them these might work but check for bending peroidicly. Anyone who wants to do the fun trails try something a little stronger. PEACE.
Submitted by
Ryan R
a Cross Country Rider
from Long Island NY
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2003
Strengths: Light very Light, and surprising strong, Excellent control for such a small bar! Very comfortable for a stright XC Bar.
Weaknesses: Scratches very easy be carful when you install it. Manufacture warns about scratching (Read Instructions) DO NOT USE BAR ENS ON THIS BAR! They will make it flex like a wet noodle and even possibly break it!
Bottom Line:
This is a great addition to my EA50 Stem! I love the 8 degree sweep back and the length not to wide for single track. They are light so light I was concerned a guy like me who wind up breaking everything would be junking these in a week, but at the price they were being sold at on pricepoint I thought I would take a chance. These are great Strong and Light great combo for XC. Don't Use barend though they will flex the bar way too much tested this theory by using roadie grip tape and took a spin. It is f$&kin scary how much they flex! Easton warns of this if you like to read instructions thats why I tested it first before installing my grips. Love em anyway though and I don't miss my barends at all. And man did this combo shave some weight off my bike some times I think it's too light.....Nah!
Similar Products Used: Specialized, Kore, Aviner, and stock bars.
Bike Setup: 02 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Patrick M
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2003
Strengths: Light weight, Stiff, Looks
Weaknesses: The printing scratches easily
Bottom Line:
When I first picked up this bar at the shop, it felt as light as picking up an empty Coca-Cola can. So light!! Had a bit of doubt on its durability initially, due to the feel and weight, but took the chance based on the shop's recommendation. I've installed it and I have no regrets. The bar is very stiff and strong regardless of the weight. I've done a bit of hard riding and it is still as good as new. I noticed some reviews indicating the bars felt like "noodle". Could it be because of its light weight that gave the "imaginative" noodle feel? I think these bars are very durable for cross country purposes. If used as something it is not built for, obviously there will be negative results.One thing to note is the warning on bar ends. This bar is not meant to be fit with bar ends.
Submitted by
Ant
a Weekend Warrior
from Los Angeles, CA
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2002
Strengths: light
Weaknesses: doesn't work with bar ends
Bottom Line:
Before somebody out there stabs themself through the heart with the end of their broken handlebar, check out the installation instructions from Easton's web site.
Here's the big quote to save you some time: WARNING! DO NOT ATTACH AFTERMARKET AERO BARS OR OTHER CLIP-ON STYLE BARS TO THE EA70 OR EC90 ROAD BAR. THE EA70 AND EC90 HANDLEBARS ARE NOT DESIGNED TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH THESE STYLES OF AERO BARS.
I think you want the EA50 if you want to run bar ends. It's a little heavier, but doesn't have that warning.
Besides that, the EA70 seems like a really nice bar. It's less than half the wieght of the bar I'm replacing, but with a little more flex to it. I'll have to see how it does on the trail since I just finished putting it on.
(yeah, I'm one of those wierd guys who likes to check the instructions....)
I'll give it flamin' pieces of shrapnel to counter balance the low scores given by the Darwinism test subjects who've lived long enough to come back and post.
I am just wondering if anybody knows how to measure the rise on the low rise EA70 bars. I just picked up one at a flea market for $38. They seem very lite & durable. Any experience Read More »
