Which carbon fiber handlebars do you recommend for 2019? The last CF handlebar I used was an Easton model back in 2002 but I'm sure the industry has had material, structural and general design improvements since then. I recently bought a OUC handlebar but it seems like the 35mm center diameter isn't very friendly for mounting accessories so I'm looking specifically for a 31.8mm CF handlebar.
carbon fiber handlebar recs?
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Enve. Surprisingly it's more affordable than many other manufacturers, has good angles (9 degrees of sweep), and rides really really nice on my rigid SS bike.
Otherwise I also highly recommend SQ Labs 30X bars with a bit more sweep. 12 or 16 degree, with 3 different amounts of rise. https://www.sq-lab.com/en/products/handlebars/sqlab-handlebar-3ox-carbon-12.html
I opted for the 16 degree SQ Labs (previously had Salsa 23 degree aluminum bars and liked them) but the SQ Labs bars do shorten the reach a bit compared to my Salsa Bend II bars.
Both the Enve and SQ Labs bars ride really nice. It would be helpful to know what bike they're going on and how big you are. My Enves are 760 and my SQ Labs are 780. I'm 6'3" and ride NE tree lined trails.
Otherwise I also highly recommend SQ Labs 30X bars with a bit more sweep. 12 or 16 degree, with 3 different amounts of rise. https://www.sq-lab.com/en/products/handlebars/sqlab-handlebar-3ox-carbon-12.html
I opted for the 16 degree SQ Labs (previously had Salsa 23 degree aluminum bars and liked them) but the SQ Labs bars do shorten the reach a bit compared to my Salsa Bend II bars.
Both the Enve and SQ Labs bars ride really nice. It would be helpful to know what bike they're going on and how big you are. My Enves are 760 and my SQ Labs are 780. I'm 6'3" and ride NE tree lined trails.
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626 Posts
Yeah, you almost need to determine what width, rise, and sweep you want and then find a bar that matches it. Some folks are very particular about their bar dimensions as it can have a fit impact for sure.
I had Ritchey Trail bars that were nice as well as Syntace carbon bars. Liked them both honestly. I just switched out for some heavier Ti bars that were a bit wider, mostly to match a Ti hardtail.
And of course, 35 or 31.8mm on the center section? As you’re figuring out by now, there’s a bazillion variables. As far as who makes good bars, we’ll, I don’t recall complaints about any current name brand carbon bars for what that’s worth.
I had Ritchey Trail bars that were nice as well as Syntace carbon bars. Liked them both honestly. I just switched out for some heavier Ti bars that were a bit wider, mostly to match a Ti hardtail.
And of course, 35 or 31.8mm on the center section? As you’re figuring out by now, there’s a bazillion variables. As far as who makes good bars, we’ll, I don’t recall complaints about any current name brand carbon bars for what that’s worth.
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2 Posts
If you want really lightweight XC orientated ones MT ZOOM have a some good ones: https://mtzoom.com/collections/bars
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801 Posts
I like Mt Zoom too and have one of their older bars. I do wish they hadn't gone quite so light in their most recent iteration though, with all their bars in the 120-130g range and having a 110 kg rider weight limit. While I weigh (a lot) less than this it still makes me worry a bit more about their long term durability than their earlier 140-150g bars that had no such limit.
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39,186 Posts
Also, look at Synchros. It's kind of spendy for a bar-stem combo, but when you have to buy both anyways, it's not that bad. I bought the "enduro" one for my XC race rig and still saved about 5g off of my far skinnier Next SL and Ritchey WCS Pro stem, both lightweight components in their own right. Now I have something stronger and lighter (barely). They make regular bars too.
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39,186 Posts
Can't go wrong with that, pull the pin and throw the grenade.
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You have yet to give any details about your weight or the bike it's going on. XC race bike, DH race bike? Mid level trail bike? Commuter? What's the application???
Looking back I'm surprised I responded with specifics when the question is way too vague for an accurate answer.
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6,178 Posts
I am looking seriously at the We Are One and OneUp offerings.
I have always ridden RF SixC and now, Next R. They are light AF and have never failed me, but I have bought into the hype that not all carbon bars are equal and that the We Are One and OneUp bars may be a little more forgiving for my delicate hands. I may be pulling the trigger soon. Why not? Basically a drop in the bucket cost-wise relative to my bike-related spending of late.
In my view, a big issue is 35mm v 31.8mm. I have always run 35, but I am starting to reconsider that approach.
I have always ridden RF SixC and now, Next R. They are light AF and have never failed me, but I have bought into the hype that not all carbon bars are equal and that the We Are One and OneUp bars may be a little more forgiving for my delicate hands. I may be pulling the trigger soon. Why not? Basically a drop in the bucket cost-wise relative to my bike-related spending of late.
In my view, a big issue is 35mm v 31.8mm. I have always run 35, but I am starting to reconsider that approach.
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1,200 Posts
I actually went the other way. Went from carbon back to alloy. Answer 810's with a 2 inch rise. Favorite bars to date!!
But for carbon bars, I loved the sweep on the set of Renthal's that I had. They just weren't wide enough for what I wanted. I switched from Raceface SixC to the Renthal to the Answer 810 alloys. Answer 810's are my favorites by far!
All in 31.8 flavor. IMO, 35's were too stiff/harsh in comparison to the 31.8's for me.
But for carbon bars, I loved the sweep on the set of Renthal's that I had. They just weren't wide enough for what I wanted. I switched from Raceface SixC to the Renthal to the Answer 810 alloys. Answer 810's are my favorites by far!
All in 31.8 flavor. IMO, 35's were too stiff/harsh in comparison to the 31.8's for me.
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23 Posts
Just bought some Renthal V2 Carbons yesterday. My area is a lot of roots and loose baseball sized rocks so I’m looking forward to some of the vibration dampening. I’m 5’6” and was considering trimming them to 740, anyone else run bars that short? I trimmed my current alum bars to 760 and feel like I still could’ve gone shorter.
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6,471 Posts
Agree on the Renthal.
I've got one on all my bikes. The sweep is perfect for me and they have all flavors of rise.
Pretty sure they've got bars dialed as I think they've been doing more bars, longer, than most anyone as they've been doing moto for a long time.
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9,754 Posts
I'm 5'9" average proportions and run 700mm carbon bars for general trail riding. I have 690 aluminum on one bike that started out at 750 and I kept cutting 1cm off each end stopping when I liked it. I detect no diff between carbon and aluminum bars.
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