I just put one in my Ice Cream Truck. I've only got one ride on them, but I've ridden with a lot of different alt bars. I would say that they pretty much live up to the promise. More aggressive than Jones Loops, more comfortable than 6-11 degree "straight" bars.

They have about the same sweep angle as another one of my favorites, the Origin8 Space OR 2, but they are much wider, which addresses the only complaint I have about those. The 40mm of rise is nice. It's always a battle to get the bars up where I want them without a stack of spacers or a goofy riser stem.

Two minor quibbles. I like silver components, but silver bars tend to get scratched up too easily. So, I ordered the black. It's not a bead-blasted, matte black like Salsa or Jones, but a shiny, slick, cheap-looking paint. I had to really crank down the brake lever clamp bolts to keep them from slipping. Second, they have a pretty aggressive forward sweep. The ends of the bars are in the same position as the ends of straight bars on the same stem, but the main grip portion is further away. You might need a shorter stem.

 

I just put one in my Ice Cream Truck. I've only got one ride on them, but I've ridden with a lot of different alt bars. I would say that they pretty much live up to the promise. More aggressive than Jones Loops, more comfortable than 6-11 degree "straight" bars.

I ended up grabbing a SQLabs 16 deg high rise bar...low rise version shown in the photos.

I may still try a Terminal Bar to demo the higher back sweep.

 

I find this very useful:
What Bars? The Bicycle Handlebar Database

 

My son and I both like Jones bars and have em on a few bikes. I'm building up one of my old FS bikes for my son and he wanted to try the Terminal bars on it. I picked them up the other day but haven't built the bike yet. They're nice but I agree about the finish.

 

I wish Surly made this bar in a more modern width....say 800mm.

 

I spend a lot of time on whatbars.com planning out my next setup. Love that site!

The width of the terminal bars is just about perfect for me, but I don't have really wide shoulders. Bars >750mm or so are just too wide for me.

I went on a spirited singletrack ride yesterday and half-way in, I noticed my hands were really aching. I think I was death-gripping the bars. I don't know if that's due to the angle of the grips being less secure than "straight" bars, or something else. More experimentation is needed.

 

Was checking the specs last ngh and FW Bullmoose are pretty plose in backsweep to SQlabs(15 and 16 respectively. They are shorter and once installed I wished for more length so added extensions (controltech or similar). I now like them a lot.

 

So I got SQlabs 16 high-rise
Got them out for test ride today over lunch on my chromag surface
Love the bars, very comfortable, feel natural. One minor gripe is finish - looks great out of the box but seem to be easily "scratched". And by "scratched" I mean more of marring - there were what looked like light scratches after installing levers and shifter but were easy to wipe them out with wet cloth. Will see how they hold up.
Overall - very happy but also want to try Stooges motobars, they looks awesome

 

Vikb, thanks for posting this thread, had seen/read about these bars a few months back, but couldn't remember how it was making them and was thinking about picking up a set to try after being on my SQ LAb 30x 16 degree alu bar now on my rigid and hoping back on the FS with a what was nice 9 degree FUNN bar and it feeling weird as fvck. Was looking for a cheaper alternative if I have to replace all my bars now I'm accustomed to better hand position, but interested in trying something with more sweep than the SQ bar.

For those wondering about the SQ Lab bars, I highly recommend them, absolutely amazing bars. I have the 30x 16 degree with 30mm ride, got it after injuring my thumb and wanting something with more sweep to alleviate pressure on the inside of my thumb. They are compliant without you actually feeling the compliance/flex, finish to me is very good, had mine about a year now and they loo almost new and I don't baby my Unit they're on. Riding them on a rigid Unit and couldn't be happier with the choice.

One thing to note is that the stated rise is in fact lower than stated, so the 30mm rise I have seem more like a low rise 15-20mm from other brands.

 

Vikb, thanks for posting this thread, had seen/read about these bars a few months back, but couldn't remember how it was making them and was thinking about picking up a set to try after being on my SQ LAb 30x 16 degree alu bar now on my rigid and hoping back on the FS with a what was nice 9 degree FUNN bar and it feeling weird as fvck. Was looking for a cheaper alternative if I have to replace all my bars now I'm accustomed to better hand position, but interested in trying something with more sweep than the SQ bar.

No worries at all. It's great to get a bunch of feedback on these varies alt bars from different riders. They are pretty uncommon so demoing them is unlikely and rider reviews are invaluable.

BTW - here is a review on the SQLabs bars: https://nsmb.com/articles/defying-convention-sqlab-12º-and-16º-sweep-bars/

BTW 2 - a round up of alt bars: https://bikepacking.com/gear/list-of-comfort-mtb-handlebars/

 

Hahaha. Yeah, it was that review by Andrew on NSMB that made me first aware of them and why I gave them a try. Yeah, not much info out there on this middle ground of alt bar, either it's 25*> or <9*, but any time I've seen the SQ Lab bars mentioned/reviewed, it's been nothing but praise, now I'd really like to give their grips a shot, specifically the 70x or 711.

 

Since we are talking about bars in the Surly sub-forum I'll throw this into the mix. There is a Diety Highside 8-mm bar on my Krampus. I'm using it for urban assault and gravel grinding at the moment not techy trail shredding.

Specs:

- 780mm wide
- 5 deg upsweep
- 9 deg backsweep
- 80mm rise [there is a 50mm rise option as well]
- 31.8mm clamp
- 334g weight

https://www.deitycomponents.com/highside_handlebar_80mm.html

This bar doesn't have the mega-backsweep that the other bars we've been talking about do, but the rise is very nice and given that I am not gripping/torquing the bars crazy hard for non-techy riding I find they are very comfortable.

It took a few rides to get used to the more upright [aka old man] riding position, but now I love it and I am just as fast as I ever was [that's not saying much!] so there does not appear to be any downside. :thumbsup:

Anyways I figured this bar may be of interest to someone here.

 

Thank you Vik. Based on your opinion I got sqlabs 16 high rise and loving it. I also read your feedback in plus forum on Stooges Moto and placed pre-order.
To keep up with the theme of the thread - favorite (and current) Krampus setup with Sunrise bars. I am leaving sqlabs on Chromag (ordered innerbarends from them as well), will put Moto on Krampus when it is here and will finally move Sunrise back to 1x1.

 

View attachment 1259887

Sweet Krampus. Thanks for the bar update. I'm glad the SQLabs is working for you well and I hope you like the Moto bars as much.

 

I just installed the Surly Terminal bars on my steel rigid Mtn bike set up for gravel. I switched from the Jones H-Loop bars as I was looking for a little rise and less weight. Just completed a 26mi gravel ride, the same as I had ridden with the Jones bars, and the Surlies seem to be more rigid and were somewhat harsh. I ran the same grips, ESI Extra Chunky grips on both. I probably could have dripped some tire pressure but they just seemed to have zero flex.
Anyways, that's my first impression, love the geometry and rise of them and will give them a few more rides.