The Radavist

Riding with flat bars doesn’t mean you can’t get aero. The latest from Ride Farr are these alloy aero bolt-ons that create a lightweight, ergonomic addition to your cockpit. These bolt-on aero bars provide added hand positions and comfort while offering an aero-tuck position for when you just have to go fast.

Specs:
-Ergonomic bend and shape
-Easy to fit in under 2 minutes
-Lightweight Alloy construction
-Suitable for most 31.8mm diameter handlebars
-Gravel / Racing / Touring / Bikepacking / MTB and more
-Weight : 133 grams ( including hardware )

In stock at Ride Farr.

The bicycle industry has many layers within the realm of the maker. There are framebuilders, wheel, and component manufacturers, and yes, bar makers. When I moved to New Mexico, I was eager to get to know some of the local metal alchemists. Then the pandemic really hit, so I began to scroll around Instagram, looking for signs of steel and brass. That’s when I found Doom Bars, a small, solo operation based in Albuquerque.

When I saw the bars they were listing for sale on their account, I sprung on a pair of nickel-plated bars, which I just installed on my Retrotec. Let’s take a closer look…

Just as mountain bikes experienced a widening of their bars from the 1990’s 580mm widths to the 2020’s 820mm widths, gravel bikes are too in the midst of a widening trend. Think about it, why should you have to ride the same width bars on your rim brake road bike and your gravel bike. Both bikes operate under different conditions. While many are hesitant and there is a lot to consider with this conversation, a lot of people have caught onto this ergonomic trend. Ride Farr recently worked with Nitto to make a new drop bar, the SUPA-WIDE GRVL in three sizes. These bars will be in their stock in May, so stay tuned.

Specs:
-Heat-Treated Alloy
-Available in 3 Sizes – 650 / 700 / 750mm
-31.8mm Bar Diameter
-120mm Drop
-65mm Reach
-20 Degree Flare

Reference Weights:
-Medium ( 650 ) – 385g
-Large ( 700 ) – 400g
-X-Large ( 750 ) – 415g

Silver will always be classy and Zipp is looking to bring classy builds back with their full line of Silver Service Course components. Seat posts, stems, and a wide variety of handlebar models are now available in this silver finish. Now, since Zipp and SRAM are under the same roof, I wonder if this means we can look forward to silver SRAM kits? Now that would be nice! See the full Zipp Silver Service Course lineup at Zipp.

Ritchey makes some of the best handlebar shapes in the industry and their newest bar marries the wider drop-bar trend with its tried and true ergo bio-bend shape. These bars are 520mm wide and are measured at the initial bar bend, rather than at the hoods, have 102mm of drop, 75mm reach, and a flare of 24º. Best of all, they come in black and are $99 at your local dealer. See more at Ritchey!

Specs:
Material: Triple-butted 7050 alloy
Bend Style: ergo bio-bend
Top Style: flat
Width: 520mm (measured at the initial bend rather than at the hood)
Drop: 102mm
Reach: 75mm
Drop Flare: 24-degree
Flare Out: 6-degree
Back Sweep: 4.6-degree
Clamp Diameter: 31.8mm
Accessory Mount Diameter: 31.8mm
Di2 Cable Routing: yes
Clip-On Compatible: yes
Other Features: C260 compatible
Weight: 325g
Color: Blatte

The Cowchipper (322g) and Cowchipper Deluxe (293g) are widely popular in the touring and gravel market. Rightfully so, too. People love the shape and pricepoint of these bars. Keeping up with the current market trends, these bars are now available in an even wider 52cm, measured at the hoods. See more at Salsa and at your local dealer.

Crust Bikes gives the people what they want and that ranges from frames, to complete bikes, accessories, parts, and yeah, handlebars. Their small-time operation allows them to pivot easily to follow trends and in a lot of ways, set the trends themselves. With road bikes permuting into even more capable off-road machines, a lot of the ideologies of mountain bike design and technology have found its way onto drop-bar bicycles. Sure, the obvious moves are those shorter-travel suspension forks but something that not many people have touched on is bar width.

That’s where Crust Bikes and Ultra Romance have really influenced and inspired the question: what is the appropriate width for a drop-bar bicycle? We already looked at my Sklar with the Towel Rack Bars but after much demand – and my own curiosity – I decided to try out the Made in Japan by Nitto Shaka Bar.

Bars. Bars. Bars. I feel like we’ve been inundated with bar designs this year and leave it to Surly to bide their time and develop one of the more subtle replies to the high-demand gravel handlebar market. The Truck Stop Bar is an aluminum bar with a 31.8 clamp, 42-48cm widths, 30mm of rise (!!!), 12º of sweep, resulting in a bar with many hand positions to help alleviate pain on long rides. Check out the Truck Stop Bar at your local Surly dealer or see more information at Surly!

South Africa’s Ride Farr, a brand focusing on endurance racing products, tagged us on Instagram with their new Aero Gravel Bar. These bares have an integrated aero add-on, are made from alloy 6061-T6, with a 25º flare, and are available in 42, 44, 46cm widths. The Aero Gravel Bar will be available in October, with Ride Farr shipping worldwide. Head to Ride Farr to see more.

Known for their MTB products including pedals, stems, hubs, and bars, Spank Industries has entered the drop bar market with their new Wing 12 Vibrocore™ Handlebars. Inside these Zirconium-Doped 7-Series Alloy bars is a foam insert which reportedly absorbs vibrations on rough roads. These bars will be hitting retailers soon. Check out more at Spank and crucial details below.

-Hood to hood widths: 420 / 440 / 460mm
-Bar end to bar end widths: 497 / 517 / 537mm
-Weight: 350 / 355 / 360g
-Drop/Reach: 110mm / 70mm (all sizes)
-Flare: 12°
-Ramp: 14°

Hope makes exceptional products in the UK and in this video, we get a look into how they make their popular handlebars.

For those not wanting to go into the full commitment into the even large at size small 615mm Towel Rack bars, Crust Bikes worked with Nitto to manufacture a 560mm wide Shaka Bar. There are a few more differentiators, too. Including bar clamp. Shaka Bars are 31.8mm, Towel Rack bars are 26.0 and can be shimmed. The shape of the Shaka Bar is more traditional as well. Got any questions? Head to Crust to see more information and to sign up for an alert when these are in stock!

WhatBars.com and Velo Orange are giving away a set of handlebars every week in the month of November, people just need to follow @velo_orange and @whatbars on Instagram, like the weekly photo and tag a friend in the comments. The weekly winner can choose from any of these bars from VO:

• Velo Orange Curvy One Handlebars
• Velo Orange Curvy Too Handlebars
• Velo Orange Klunker Handlebars
• Velo Orange Nouveau Randonneur Handlebars
• Daija Cycleworks Far Bars

For full contest details, visit the Contest Page.

For those of you looking into swapping out your drop bars for something new, Whisky Parts Co’s new offerings might be of interest to you. The new No.7 aluminum and No.9 carbon bars come in a variety of shapes, thanks to the 6, 12, and 24º flair options, as well as widths up to 46cm. With the two material options, there’s something for any build, so head to Whisky to check out the details and your local dealer for ordering.

It’s happened more often than not; finding a bar that I really love but perhaps it comes in just shy of my preferred overall width. On a MTB bar that margin is in actuality quite small. Earlier this year, I came across the Control Tech Terminator bar extender plugs. They’re a simple design, with an expanding clamp that inserts into your favorite MTB bar and tightens down, adding 2cm to either end of the bar, and 40mm in overall width. Using simple math, that takes a bar that is 760mm to 800mm. Or in the case of my Hunter rigid 29’r with 710mm wide Nitto Bullmoose bars – which always felt a little narrow for my broad shoulders – into more comfortable 750mm overall. They come in two clamp sizes; 22.2mm and 23.8mm. They’re a little product with a big impact and at around $20 for a set, won’t dent your wallet. The only bad news is it appears they’ve been discontinued, so your shop will have a hard time tracking them down, but luckily, they can still be found online and on eBay…

Bicycles. They’re a work in progress, especially ones that are derivative of a particular activity which in itself is evolving. Take bikepacking and touring for example. It seems just about every month, a company makes a new product which therein makes the act of touring eaiser or at least more enjoyable. When I first began talks with Kris Henry of 44 Bikes for this rigid mountain tourer, which I’ve come to call my “Ute” – an Aussie term, short for a utility vehicle – I had a vision for what touring meant and means to me. Leaving pavement and accessing trail, both in double and single track variety, means a fully loaded bike needs to be stable, comfortable and still maneuverable. Since this bikes inception, I’ve been sold on the Jones Bar, mostly due to the amazing leverage, riding position and varying riding positions. The thing, however, that didn’t work so well for me was the very thing that makes the Jones so unique: the hoop design and lack of rise. Also, the Jones bar has proven to be problematic with bikepacking and touring bags, which was slightly evident on my Death Valley tour. That Fabio’s Chest wanted to sag a bit too much with that setup.

Check out more below.

Ever wondered about the Jones Loop H-Bar? I know I have. Here’s a video where their unique shape is explained.

Photo by Olivier Chételat

If you’re not following Olivier on Flickr, you’re missing out on a lot of beautifully capture cycling photography. From landscapes to roads and even components like these Bosco Bullmoose bars by Nitto. If you’re on a 1″ threaded frame and looking for a more relaxed position, look no more. Head over to Rivendell… Also, follow Olivier!