Our classic XC race bar relied on by thousands of extremely fast people. Lightweight and stiff 7075-T6 butted alloy, 23” wide, and swept back 5º for optimal control.
Submitted by
mtbnachos
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2008
Strengths: Light, cheap, strong, comfy.
Weaknesses: Need more sweep angle.
Bottom Line:
Model tested: Enduro 7075-T6 XC O/S Flat. For less than 10 bucks I can't believe the performance this bar can put out. I've gone fully rigid and there isnt a whole lot a flex there. I added the Thomson X4 and the controls rock. Need a cheap build? Get this bar asap!
Similar Products Used: Titec Hellbent, Race Face Evolve
Bike Setup: Soma Juice rigid
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Submitted by
Zachary
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2007
Strengths: Stiffness, durability, bar end compatable.
Weaknesses: A little heavier than the latest tech stuff. 180gram vs. the 120-140g of the carbon and ultra light alloy offerings. Small clamping area for levers and shifters on the 31.8 model.
Bottom Line:
If stiffness durability and the ability to inspire confidence year in-year out matter more to you than the latest tech and lowest weight, then I would recommend that you try this bar. I finally launched the remainder of the Easton parts from my bike when I replaced the bar with a 31.8 Enduro. The Titec is 40 grams heavier but doesn't flop around like a wet noodle under load. The only gripe I have about the 31.8 model is there is a limited amount of clamping room for me to run my twist shifters and bar ends. It's a tight fit, but with the 580mm bar it works. The decision to buy the Titec was easy because I have been riding and racing with one on my rigid single speed for three years. Even after that amount of time grinding up tough climbs in the Rockies and wrenching on the bar ends the Enduro on the SS fails to show any signs of fatigue. One word of caution: This review applauds the merits of the 7075 T6 version of the Enduro XC bar. The 6061 version is excessively heavy and flexy, but with the tough 7075 vesion widely available for less than $30, it should be a no brainer for someone in search of a tough flat bar.
Similar Products Used: Easton EA70 flat, Monkeylite XC lowrise, Ritchey Pro Flat, Icon flat bar.
Bike Setup: Steel hardtail, 80mm travel with lots of sturdy parts.
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Submitted by
Ciff
a Cross Country Rider
from Las Vegas
Date Reviewed: March 28, 2004
Strengths: reasonably light, strong, good width and sweep
Weaknesses: thinking...
Bottom Line:
Couldn't resist buying 2 at this price. Steal of a deal. Great XC flat bar. I don't worry about it, just ride. Rough stuff - doesn't seem too flexy. G-out through a ravine or take a spill and no problems with bending or damage. I'm about 200 lbs riding wt.
I think most XC riders would be happy with this bar unless you are trying to get into low 20's or sub-20 bike weight. I just checked some of the internet retailers and can't find it now for the give away prices. If I could, I'd buy a couple more - bike partsaholic - I usually end up finding a good use for good stuff.
Submitted by
csainthenry
a Racer
from Bloomington, IN
Date Reviewed: January 20, 2004
Strengths: Looks good...matte black with gray graphics. Strong. Totally reliable.
Weaknesses: Heavy
Bottom Line:
A good bar. Mine came off of an old NRS1. Not the lightest out there, but maybe the strongest. If you're more interested in performance and durability than weight, this is the bar for you.
Strengths: light, stiff, does what it's supposed to.
Weaknesses: none. you might want a slighter wider bar though.
Bottom Line:
a solid no frills bar. reasonably light, very stiff. has taken a beating for 2 years with no fuss. can't say the same for the titec x-wing post, for example. there are lighter bars out there, but this thing is great value.
Strengths: $4 for a Titec Bar?!?! Very well built, "knock rated", NOT a riser, will out last me.
Weaknesses: Kinda heavy I guess...
Bottom Line:
This was a great buy... I wish I'd gotten more for bikes down the line. You simply can't beat $4 for this product, well... free is marginally better. It even looks cool. I don't worry about the weight. I ride XC whenever I get a chance, on a 21" frame 30 pound bike, usually with a six pound tent, a sleeping bag, a backpack, and about a gallon and a half of water. Weight is not that big of an issue to me. Just performance, and a flat bar is great for me.
Bike Setup: Trek 4300 undergoing many upgrades as is necessary. Kore lite 3 stem, this bar, titec micros barends, some Koski stuff, sun rhyno-lite and deore.
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Submitted by
Peter Tollan
a Cross Country Rider
from York, England
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2003
Strengths: Strong, good shape, looks good,quick responses.
Weaknesses: Quite heavy, not as good as a riser.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent value and good performing xc bar. It has a very direct feel when coupled with a descent stem and headset and it looks great. Doesn't have quite as good accuracy and reactoins of a riser though.
Similar Products Used: Easton monkeylite, easton ea50 flat
Bike Setup: merlin malt one frame, marz. mxcomp, shimano deore disks, irc serac xc, deore groupy etc
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Submitted by
rob black
a Cross Country Rider
from New York, NY
Date Reviewed: December 27, 2002
Strengths: super cheap super strong super solid
Weaknesses: heavy
Bottom Line:
It could be used for downhill. The bar is extremely thick and heavy. But that's not a bad thing considering how I beat the crap out of equipment. For $4 I bought 2 of them. One is on my rig, the other I keep next to the bed in case I have to smack a burglar. It really is that solid!
Submitted by
Igor
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: December 13, 2002
Strengths: Cheap and it works
Weaknesses: A little too heavy. The surface is very slick so grips won't stay on. The inner diameter seems to be smaller than the rest cause I can't put plastic bar end plugs in.
Bottom Line:
Seems like a pretty solid bar. Nothing fancy but it works. For the money, it's a real bargain.
Submitted by
Aaron
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2002
Strengths: strong and cheap
Weaknesses: Not the lightest flat bar, but for $9, who cares. The wall of the bar tapers down too close to the center so I couldnt mount my computer there.
Bottom Line:
This review is for the Titec Endura HF 6061 alum bars which weigh 190 gr. Its a great value at only $9 and its relatively light when compared to other cheapo bars, but very very strong. I wasnt able to mount my cateye computer near the center stem clamp due to the way the bar tapers down. I cant be the first one to think of this, but I ended up mounting it by the left grip. Its looks cool there plus you can press the buttons without taking your hands of the grips. I imagine that wouldnt be as easy on a bike with seperate shifter and brake levers, but my bike doesnt have a front derailleur so the computer mounts conveniently close to the grip.
The rest of this is for me to talk about my bike project. I chose these bars for my project bike which is a Madwagon City bike (www.madwagon.com). This bike comes stock as a commuter 9 speed rigid bike. Its basically a mountain bike frame with skinny tires and no front derailleur with just 9 speeds. My objective is to turn this into a flatbar roadbike/hybrid/mtb. My mission is simple: A bike with a somewhat leaned over riding position like a flatbar road bike combined with comfort bike geometry for stable predictable handling and mountain bike ruggedness and versatility. I started by upgrading the crappy stock steel seatpost to a decent alum. one I had laying around and adding a few extras like cyclocomputer and a water bottle cage. Then I replaced the cheapo steel riser bars for the titecs. My current phase involves the replacement of the super cruddy V-brakes and levers. My last and final stage will be to replace the stock single wall alloy rims with double wall rims and slightly larger tires for a more offroad ruggedness. I will be able to use the gently worn wheels off my XC bike when I replace them later this week. Fortunately the bike came stock with a great drivetrain. Its a SRAM 5.0 derailleur and grip shifter coupled with a 9 speed megarange cassette which allows for versatile gearing despite having only a 42 crankset up front.
All of this has cost me less than $250 which is still less than the retail value of the bike. The closest bike Ive seen to this is the Novara Buzz which is sold thru www.rei.com. Considering that the buzz costs $550, this one is clearly a bargain. Find one of these on ebay for $150 including freight and give yourself a modest $100 budget to spend on parts, youve got yourself one heck of an urban assault bike.
Submitted by
Toni Laitinen
a Cross Country Rider
from Helsinki, Finland
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2002
Strengths: It works like a handlebar (?), light
Weaknesses: I´m more in to riser bars, so this flat midget is getting on my nerves! It´s so short!
Bottom Line:
Well, iguess this bar works great. It´s just not my thing. Some shaved skinny dirt-anal nazi whippet would enjoy it. I´m giving it 3 flamin´ chilis only because I don´t like it, not because it doesn´t work.
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