Description:We took our traditional XC width and sweep that so many racers rely on, and mirrored the design in straight-gauge 3/2.5 titanium – with titanium’s improved strength and near infinite fatigue life, our PG Ti is a bar that’ll be around long enough to will to your kids.
Submitted by
fat albert
a Weekend Warrior
from Berkeley, CA Date Reviewed: July 1, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Tilden
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
light and absorbs chatter better than aluminum
Weaknesses:
Titec customer service was very unhelpful with replacing a misplaced shim. Gave me the run-around (we'll get back to you after checking with our warehouse-- yet didn't get back to me at all). When I finally was able get another response, the guy basically said 'buy another bar'. Also, did not provide suggestions where to get another one (the guy clearly avoided responding to this question).
Similar Products Used:
Flat-Tracker, Syncros Riser, Easton EA-50
Bike Setup:
True-Temper rigid set-up
Bottom Line:
Flat bars are great for control, and this one is especially good for those who ride a rigid fork because of its shock-absorbing material! Given the poor customer service on top of the high initial cost, I feel bad that I own two of their bars (this PG Ti and the Flat-Tracker). I'll give them a 1 for value, which paired with a 5 for performance, equals a 3 for overall.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brian
a Racer
from Milwaukee, WI Date Reviewed: January 25, 2003
These bars took a couple rides to get used too. After that they have been great. The width of the bars has prevented me from putting on bar ends but the width has also been great for those narrow spots you sometimes find yourself in. I also liked the quicker response in steering I got with these bars. I have had a few hard crashes while riding with these bars and they are still in great condition, not a scratch or dent on them. I would definitely buy these bars again, if I was putting them on a second bike, cuz they're gonna be on this bike for a long time.
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Submitted by
ed ballow
a Cross Country Rider
from pensacola,fl Date Reviewed: November 13, 2002
Favorite Trail:
porcipine rim
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Strengths:
fits me used for eight years
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
aluminum bars
Bike Setup:
4 hardtail frames now giant nrs 1
Bottom Line:
eight years!!! when I broke my race face crank I thought well it is about as old as it gets but the only thing older is my pg bar.. 50 or more miles a week for 8 years 5 frames and every other thing has broken. the pg bar is still here
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Submitted by
Lennart soegaard
a Cross Country Rider
from Denmark Date Reviewed: May 16, 2001
Favorite Trail:
Furesoe
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
local dealer
Strengths:
light,comfortable,strong.perfect dimensions for me.
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
heavy duty alum.Zoom 170.GT steel(in the time before internet and mobile phones)
Great handlebar.It has taken some serious punishment over the last couple of years.No problems at all.I will never go back to aluminium.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Berkeley, CA Date Reviewed: July 1, 2000
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
strenght, titanium's vibration damping, doesn't crinkle when you crank down the bar ends, inexpensive ($45), good bend (3-degree) and perfect length for me and my stem (135mm)
Weaknesses:
I'm sorry? Did you say something?
Similar Products Used:
Icon Ernie, Zoom 170, some '88 chromo riser thing on my Diamondback Topanga
Bike Setup:
Airborne Lucky Strike, Bontrager 135mm AHS stem (7-degree rise), Profile Boxer bar ends (narrow bar clamp), Yeti grips
Bottom Line:
This is a review of the '99 Titec PG bar, which appears to have previously been known as the 150 bar. Unlike other people, I've never had to do anything to the shim, except make sure it was centered. Sure, I never used this with my Icon Durante piece of junk (almost an exact copy of the Kore Elite stem with a single bolt clamp), which I'm almost sure would have resulted in the bar turning at an inopportune time, but I've honestly never had any problems with this bar. Light, lasts forever, perfect width. With this bar, my steering is 100% intuitive. I never feel like I'm trying to goad my bike into turning, like I did with my wider Icon Ernie bar (580mm). Plus, with ti, you don't have that metal fatigue problem, so even after it bends it is still ridable. And maybe even can be bent back, without having to replace it. Never had that problem: don't expect to. Aluminum just feels harsh after using this bar.
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Submitted by
Drew
a Racer
from N. Ogden Utah Date Reviewed: June 12, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Trail #17 and #6 at Deer Valley
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
NONE!!!!!!!
Weaknesses:
It broke!!! How in the.... The shop can't explain why. I would never buy this bar!
Similar Products Used:
Azonic Riser now.
Bottom Line:
If you want to save your face from face planting into your stem then don't buy this. It sux and will break!
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Submitted by
Matt Hayes
a Cross Country Rider
from Lisbon Falls, Me Date Reviewed: April 23, 2000
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Cheap (I only paid $15 in Cambria!!!) Light
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
OEM stuff
Bike Setup:
Mavic, LX, XT, Answer
Bottom Line:
Great for the money, is cheap, light, and good for every rider!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Uncle Fats
a Weekend Warrior
from Wall NJ Date Reviewed: December 20, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Ringwood
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Strong and light
Weaknesses:
Let me think.....still thinking.....oh yeah it's a flat bar and I love riser's but other than that....NONE!!!
Similar Products Used:
OEM crap Hell bents' Azonics Kore elite Answer Hyperlite Ibis Ti Control Tech Syncros
Bike Setup:
It was on my old Trek 8900
Bottom Line:
This is the best flat bar money can buy. Titec makes the best stuff, I love it. It is light, but shows no hint of extreme flex, or noticable flex. this is worth the cash and is an extremely nice bar. THIS THING IS BOMBPROOF!!! BUY ONE!!!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ilan
a Cross-Country Rider
from Austin Date Reviewed: September 19, 1999
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
light, kinda flexy
Weaknesses:
shim
Similar Products Used:
Control Tech Al bar
Bike Setup:
CAAD3 with crappy stock Headshok stem, using bar ends too
Bottom Line:
Bought used at the marketplace for $30, so they were quite cheap. My old CT bar broke where the bar-end clamps on to it, so that kinda pissed me off. Hopefully these Ti bars wont ever break. As far as flex and/or damping, its not very noticable especialy if have a susp fork, but these are definitely easier on the wrists than my CT ones. Its really rocky here in Austin and after a long ride my wrists and hands would be really sore, but they arent nearly as sore with these new Ti bars. And im using the same bar-ends with the same bar-end plugs, and i made sure to not over tighten them. My only complaint about this bar is with the shim. It slid around in my stem so i put some duct tape around the middle of the bar, slid the shim back over it, tightened the stem down hard, and now its nice and snug and you can hardly see the duct tape. As a bonus, it doesnt creak at all like my CT bar. Oh yeah, and its not as wide as some other bars, like my CT bar, so it will seem wierd at first, but it's useful in tight squeezes when you have trees and shrubs closing in on you. 4 chilis due to the bad shim, they need to make it a little fatter.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Uncle Fats
a Weekend Warrior
from New Jersey Date Reviewed: July 31, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Ringwood NJ
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Light, Strong, Cheap for a good bar
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
Titec 118, Ibis Ti
Bike Setup:
Trek 8900 XTR, Judy SL
Bottom Line:
Bar has no problems-I used this for light trials for a while-It's strong but light-can't go wrong for the money!!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark Stewart
a cross-country rider
from Edmonton, AB Canada Date Reviewed: February 19, 1999
Bottom Line:
Good bars! Mine are three or so years old and still going strong. The shim has a tendency to let the bars slip on some stems, especially minimalist one bolt clampy jobs, but once cinched up snug is fine. I managed to dimple one end of mine due to a barend impacting the pavement. Compared to my face, pants and helmet it did just fine under the circumstances. I have seen a set of these bend, but the guy who bent 'em was the exact opposite of a finesse rider(and they were replaced under warranty). Get 'em! Take it from me, even if you bend em, it'll be preferable to breaking a light alloy bar.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John
a cross-country rider
from Western Kentucky Date Reviewed: February 7, 1999
Bottom Line:
I have used these bars on my Litespeed Obed for over a year. I am a Clydesdale rider who raced and trained all last season on them. I did not bend, break, or destroy the bars nor do they look any worst for wear. There are a lot of good bars out there but for $40 I don't think I could have gotten a Ti bar. I don't like aluminum do to the instant fatigue syndrome (you know....crash once and walk home due to not having a bar!) I would recommend them to anyone.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dale
a cross-country rider
from Knoxville, TN Date Reviewed: July 27, 1998
Bottom Line:
I've had this same bar on three different frames over four years now. It has been raced cross country many times and been crashed many more times with absolutely no adverse affects. I use bar ends - no crimping to report. As for the length, I cannot imagine using a wider bar in the technical single track of east Tennessee and western North Carolina. I am 180 pounds of vet racer and I haven't been able to bend it. I would definitely buy another one.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
cush
a cross-country rider
from albany, ny Date Reviewed: July 17, 1998
Bottom Line:
I have been racing and riding this bar all season and love it. It was a major weight over the 100% solid steel bar that came with my c-dale F500. It does not require the BARTS (Bar end reinforcement things) that you need with the 118. I did not use lock tite on the center of the bar to eliminate twisting and have not had a problem. A quality product.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rollingbones
a weekend warrior
from Fair Oaks CA Date Reviewed: May 18, 1998
Bottom Line:
Over a 1 1/2 yr. period I bent three alum. bars crashing. I purchased one of these BMF Bars almost two years ago. Still crashing, no bent bar, not even with barends (I have the wide base OnZa Raw's, short). Not much else can be said. I've replaced just about everything on the bar, but the bar. It takes takes a crash'n and keeps on mash'n. Five Hot Tamales!!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Colin H
a racer
from Lewiston, N.Y. Date Reviewed: March 29, 1998
Bottom Line:
I had these bars for 2-3 weeks and bent them .I had no crashes with them whatsoever but did some hard ass riding on this bar. I'm not a haevy joe either(137lbs). I like the feel and the sweep, lenght was good too. I wouldn't buy this bar again but would probly get the stronger 118.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Doug Hauswirth
a weekend warrior
from Phoenix Date Reviewed: February 18, 1998
Bottom Line:
I've had the Titec for two years now and have had no problems whatsoever. It has been ridden hard and still gives that wonderful shock-absorbent Ti ride. I weigh 185 and have yet to break it even after numerous crashes and thrashes. I suggest using Answer HyperLight barends simply because they clamp from the inside out and negate the need for berts. Besides, they're light, feel great and look excellent. Two thumbs up!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin S.
a cross-country rider
from Venice, CA, USA Date Reviewed: January 14, 1998
Bottom Line:
Updating my 10/96 review:I bent it. I'm not a heavy or ham-fisted rider and don't normally break things on my bikes. Don't think it was from a crash, the angle of the bend is inline with the fork travel. One too many drop-offs, I guess.Swapped it for a Hyperlite, which is a little wider and has more sweep. Didn't notice any difference in ride quality.
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Submitted by
Joshuuuuuu
a weekend warrior
from The Location Date Reviewed: December 17, 1997
Bottom Line:
It's the king man! Light, Flexy, nice 3 degree bend, and really powerful lokkin too. If I could mount this in my car, I would. Lighter than some handlebars, but it's at least twice as stong. For all you technical guys, Titanium is 60% heavier than the identitcal volume of Aluminum, but it is at least 2 times stronger. Also, I am happy because it will usually catastrophically fail like ultralight Al bars might
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a cross-country rider
from Claverack, N.Y. Date Reviewed: August 18, 1997
Bottom Line:
This h-bar is one of the best. It is light, strong, and cheap(for a Ti h-bar).
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Erick
a cross-country rider
from Pennsylvania Date Reviewed: March 15, 1997
Bottom Line:
It's a comfortable bar but it has problems. I crimped both ends with barends. I put a good size bend in it with no major crashes on it and i'm only 160lbs. Also, the spacers that go between the stem never seemed to stop clicking.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
crackbaby
a cross-country rider
from california Date Reviewed: March 7, 1997
Bottom Line:
Too dang narrow, especially if you use barends. Couldn't live with it for more than a week.. (came stock on my Klein)
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Per Hahn
a cross-country rider
from sweden Date Reviewed: March 2, 1997
Bottom Line:
yes it is a okay h-bar but it`s to smal for me i need a full size bar and the plasticshim starts to sqeak after a month so it sounds like the bar is starting to crack and i'm 6.3 and 85 kg so you big guys buy a aluminium bar and save the money for cool barends.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a cross-country rider
from Cleveland Oh Date Reviewed: February 25, 1997
Bottom Line:
I've had these bars for about 2 years and really like them. They reside on a Giant CFM with rigid fork from way back in '92, and the flex these bars impart helps soften the ride. It was such an improvement that I've moved on to a Ti Lightspeed frame. Highly recommended. Rock On!
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Submitted by
Dillan
a weekend warrior
from Vancouver Canada Date Reviewed: February 22, 1997
Bottom Line:
taken a beating for the last couple years and still feels great
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Martin Scheffer
a cross-country rider
from Belgium Date Reviewed: February 20, 1997
Bottom Line:
Light,very very confortable. one of the bigest improvements to my bike.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chuck
a cross-country rider
from the mind of Stephen King Date Reviewed: January 24, 1997
Bottom Line:
These bars truly are awesome. KB spec'd these things right on the money. Durable and reliable. The ti-flex that these bars provide on big hits complements the fork's damping well. I've had mine for three seasons, and am buying another pair to immediately replace the Kore bars that are stock on my new GT Avalanche.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Matt Decenzo
a racer
from Dallas Georgia Date Reviewed: December 27, 1996
Bottom Line:
The bars are only outdone by their lighter cousin!!!! Great choice for the money! The coller bone feels more at ease with these in place of any al. bar.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mychailo
a cross-country rider
from Pullman, WA Date Reviewed: December 15, 1996
Bottom Line:
Spiffy 150 gr bars for only $50. I've had no problems with bending or fracture in the 2 1/2 years I've had mine. And I've had my share of good crashes too. My one complaint is that I had to really tighten down my handlebar clamp to keep the bars from rotating. The advantage over Al bars is that they should be less likely to catastrophically fail.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dr. hoo
a cross-country rider
from the midwest Date Reviewed: November 20, 1996
Bottom Line:
LONG TERM TEST. My wife and I both got titec bars 2 years ago, she got the 118 and i got the 150g version. The 118 works well for her, but the extra stiffness of the 150 is better for larger riders like me. After 2 years both bars are going strong. We hit the trails about 3 times a week and the bars are as good as new. And because they are titanium, we don't have to worry about fatigue failures anytime soon. The only complaint I have is the 3 degree bend. When are more companies going to make bars that fit the way our hands are shaped? My next bar will be a WTB custom bent bar, but that will be much more money. For the price I think that the Titec 150 is the BEST VALUE in the MTB handlebar world.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
David Beers
a
from Belgium (Kingdom of Mud) Date Reviewed: November 17, 1996
Bottom Line:
I bought these after I noticed that my cro-mo stem was starting to gouge my Zoom 130 aluminum bar at the clamping area. This happened at around the time when rumors started about the limited life-expectancy of lightweight aluminum bars. These bars give me peace of mind at a reasonable price, and I chose them over other ti bars because of the plastic shim (Marketing guys will tell you that it is not plastic but DELRIN instead). This is a good thing because my cr-mo stem can dig into the shim without weakening the bar, as would occur with a bulged bar. Yes, I know I should buy a less agressive stem, but fact is, I had to buy a new bar in any case, so this solved my problem for good. I run a suspension fork, so I don't notice any undue bar flex. These bars work, period.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
JC
a cross-country rider
from Port, Or Date Reviewed: November 5, 1996
Bottom Line:
I've had my bars for about a year and already they are toast. One trip over the bars was all it took. I bout these because aluminum breaks too easy. Well these bend too easy. at least they didn't break.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ted
a cross-country rider
from PA Date Reviewed: November 5, 1996
Bottom Line:
Hmmm, you might like these, you might not....but I guarantee that they won't break unless you abuse them severly.I've had a pair for 3 years, from back when they were Bontrager/Titec PG bars. These bars flex quite a bit. If you like to use barends or weight a lot you might not like how they feel.I never even notice the flex in mine until I switched to an aluminum riser bar. The first thing I thought was hey, why's my fork so stiff?Ti bars are sort of like stealth suspension, but they don't get along well with barends. If you can live with the flex (I like it alot) then try one. As an added bonus, Ti bars will last more or less forever unless you destroy them. Aluminum bars fatigue and eventually MUST be replaced.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin Smith
a weekend warrior
from Los Angeles, CA, USA Date Reviewed: October 24, 1996
Bottom Line:
They're light, look good, and aren't known for failing. What more can you ask for in a handlebar? Bontrager/Titec also made some lighter bars, but they needed something called BERTS if used with bar ends, which eliminates all but a few grams of the weight savings. If those are still around, avoid them and get the heavier 150 gram part.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Erik Su
a weekend warrior
from Ithaca, NY Date Reviewed: June 24, 1996
Bottom Line:
These handlebars are nice. You get the strength and durability of titanium, all for only about 50 bucks. What a deal. I'm not a very big guy, though, and I don't break handlebars often, but it's still nice to have the piece of mind that these handlebars are pretty darn strong, much safer than those ultralight aluminum jobbies that are lacking in the fatigue resistance department.
$ 79.95
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