So, i’m no weight weenie, but i was genuinely shocked when i found out the weight of these bendy girders at their uncut length…365g !!

I see a lot of these bars being ran on lightweight bikes, or maybe more to the point, bikes that could always benefit from weight saving considering their intended purpose – Orange 5’s, Sb66’s, Tracers, Ibis etc etc.

Now i do understand that their shape is great having ridden them a few times on demo bikes and having owned a pair myself off a bike a bought secondhand, but by golly, i’m sure there are bars out there with similar shape and feel that don’t require you to add an unecessary 150grams? And largely, i see this on bikes where the owner has spent quite a bit of dosh elsewhere, so it certainly isnt a question of cash or not being able to afford carbon.

Can anyone shed some light?

you sure they aren’t fatbar lites. they look very similar.

Yep – triumph of marketing, really. Hideous colour and massive weight.

It’s because it says Renthal on it.

carbon ones look the same now.

Are you sure you’re not confusing them with the ‘Fatbar lite’ or ‘Fatbar Carbon’ ? They all pretty much look identical unless they are stopped and you lean in to read the writing.

Edit: too slow.

Pretty much every aluminium bar that is a decent width is going to weight at least 300g. Comparable carbon bars usually cost twice as much, and my bars all have plenty of scratches in them that would make me wary if they weren’t aluminium.

If you can find a similar bar that is 780mm wide, aluminium, that you would put on a downhill bike without a second thought, costs ~£60 AND weighs 200g then I would like to know about it.

I like to smugly remind my mates that my bar and stem together weigh less than their renthals, but everyone still buys them all the time…

The stock 720mm alu riser bar that came with my Specialized Camber is 340g. I’d say 365g for what is in all intents and purposes a downhill bar is actually reasonable.

I used to run some full fat Fatbars on my rigid singlespeed. They were flippin ace.

Plus besides, why let it bother you what bars people are running?

Pretty much every aluminium bar that is a decent width is going to weight at least 300g.

740mm Fatbar lite is 270g. Not sure how much the 30mm you’d trim off woudl weigh?

That’s a tall order but a protaper dh is about 10% lighter, 40% cheaper, and 1% as ugly. 800mm Easton Havoc alu is about 300g (and you can choose a hideous colour, if you want). and costs about the same.

But they don’t say renthal on them

I’ve got Renthals on one of my bikes. It’s a KTM 990SM and I don’t care how much they weigh.

I’m prety sure that they are the standard FatBar’s i’ve seen most times. And i guess the width is another issue. Granted the wider the better for control, but then most of us are not riding Fort William every day or val di Sole…. this is about trail bikes specifically. I heard somwhere that bar width for general riding should be representative of your shoulder width, so is 800mm really needed, unless of course you have the proportions of Dolph Lundgren 🙂

If I want to save 150g I’ll take the banana and the cake out of my rucksack. Or go and have a great big……….

This post exists why?

🙄

Who really cares?

I had porridge this morning, would you like me to tell you why I made this choice in case I’ve made a massive faux par too?

DaveyBoyWonder – Member
I used to run some full fat Fatbars on my rigid singlespeed. They were flippin ace.

I still do on mine – they are ace.

Guys, dolls and trolls, this is not meant to be ‘hating’ on anybody: just some wonderment and a bit of chat. If you dont like it, read it and move on, rather than posting obvious statements like “ill take a shi*” or “ill leave the spare tube at home”

Renthal are the best shape bars and the originals are pretty much indestructible. Probably overbuilt as you don’t hear of them breaking.

Find me an alu bar with the same shape as renthal in 780mm and a lighter weight. I haven’t had much luck finding one.

I’ve tried other bars but can’t get on with the shape. 7 and 5 are the magic numbers for me.

740mm Fatbar lite is 270g. Not sure how much the 30mm you’d trim off woudl weigh?

Roughly 3/74 * 270g 🙂

kawato – Member

So, i’m no weight weenie, but i was genuinely shocked when i found out the weight of these bendy girders at their uncut length…365g !!

I see a lot of these bars being ran on lightweight bikes, or maybe more to the point, bikes that could always benefit from weight saving considering their intended purpose – Orange 5’s, Sb66’s, Tracers, Ibis etc etc.

Here’s my bike. It weights about 28-32lbs depending on tyres. Take a look at the build and tell me what the intended purpose is, then tell me why strong handlebars are inappropriate.

Nah, not that simple, longer bars need to be stronger for the same overall performance, longer levers- so the middle is stronger. That’s assuming well-designed products anyway, there’s probably plenty out there that don’t bother doing it right.

@jimjam- it’s not that strong bars are inappropriate, it’s this particular choice of bars that’s getting the raised eyebrows I think.

lets get a rewind here chaps, not intending to cause offence, I’ve got Saint cranks on my bike that a i really dont feel i need on her, but at the moment cant be bothered to get rid and swap. So there are always reasons. For everyhting. Just opening up some commentary, and trying to see if i’m missing something. Not trying to say anyone is wrong for specing said bits on their bike.

Northwind

@jimjam- it’s not that strong bars are inappropriate, it’s this particular choice of bars that’s getting the raised eyebrows I think.

When I bought mine the bike shop I worked in stocked Easton bars, maybe one other make. At the time easton DH bars were 711mm. So when Renthal launched the Fatbar I bought some for my bike which, back then was a DH bike. I think they cost me £28.00.

I can’t remember exactly when that was but I pre ordered them before release. Back then they were very rare and most people did, and still do think they look good. Mine are very haggard and have had an extremely hard life, thinking about it, along with the Hope hubs they are the oldest component on my bike by some margin and have been carried over from about 6 builds. TBH it’s time I retired them, and if it was any other bar I probably would have long ago.

kawato – Member
I’ve got Saint cranks on my bike that a i really dont feel i need on her, but at the moment cant be bothered to get rid and swap. So there are always reasons.

Saint cranks!! What are you doing? Bloody RedBull Rampage???

jimjam – thats a gnarcore extreme bike. You need them yard long things that Superstar were knocking out.

Would they help me win ALL MOUNTAIN races?

Even my XC full suss has a short stem (50mm) and 760mm Renthals. Why? Because I prefer the way the bike steers and responds with wider bars, that’s why.

Of course, I could swap them out for the 2005 Answer Pro-Taper bars in my spares box, which are some 170g lighter but I’ll happily put up with the equivalent of three packets of crisps’ worth of extra weight given the handling benefits.

i’m sorry my handlebars upset you so much, if you can let me know which £50 780mm 210g riser I should have bought in 2012 I will surely sleep better tonight.

bigjim – Member

i’m sorry my handlebars upset you so much, if you can let me know which £50 780mm 210g riser I should have bought in 2012 I will surely sleep better tonight.

Yes, basically a +1 to that bigjim. I’d like the OP to recommend me some new bars since my Renthals have been hammered for years, that and they are clearly costing me time and success in my racing career. That and they seem to be offensive looking.

I’d like a 20mm rise, the same backsweep as my Renthals, and I’d like them to be under £50 if possible. I don’t need any wider than 760mm. They need to be suitable for the rigours of all mountain racing/ enduro riding, dh freecore and “Rampage Light” style riding along with lots of general abuse and crashing.

haha, yeah my Saint cranks came with the bike i bought secondhand, doesnt cause me embarrasment bearing in mind i dont ride The Rampage, just thnink maybe if it isnt too much hassle, could probably do with losing a bit of weight without spending too much extra.

I run my Fatbars cut down to 760mm. Lite’s didn’t come any wider than 740mm at that point in time (do they now?), if so I would most likely have bough them as I don’t run a DH bike anymore.

I wanted Renthal as;

1. Had them before, like the shape.
2. They match my Duo stem (another good bit of kit)
3. They have a history of reliability.
4. Renthal customer service has been good to me in the past.
5. Price was right vs exotic carbon bars

The small weight penalty – I’ll live with it.

kawato – Member
Guys, dolls and trolls, this is not meant to be ‘hating’ on anybody: just some wonderment and a bit of chat. If you dont like it, read it and move on, rather than posting obvious statements like “ill take a shi*” or “ill leave the spare tube at home”

I think I touched a nerve.

[video]http://youtu.be/XZ6rv2ZC3Kc[/video]

They’re heavier than all the competition, pretty much.

The Best Aluminium Downhill Bars of 2014

they didnt have ‘lites in the bike shop when i went in.

More front end grip for corners.

Lites are 740mm wide, I wanted 760mm, hence chopping down a set of Fatbars. Fatbar carbons were an option, but was concerned about the longevity and crashability.
FYI, I have fatbars on my trail bike, 4x bike and dh bike, the xc bike (when it arrives), will have a set of low rise lites put on, as it will maintain the same feel across all my bikes (I also run the same grips on all my bikes)

I’ve had a soft spot for Renthal bars since i was a kid/adult riding BMX. I used to go through bike bits at a shocking rate (honestly Dezb, if you’re reading, i really did, swear to gawd…). Rental bars were one of the few things that didn’t break on me. Other bars had a nicer shape/feel but that’s not much use if they snap when you don’t want them too. I know how strong Renthal stuff* is and i like that.

When i first started mtbing, i looked for Renthal bars but was surprised they didn’t do any. Several years later they started and i got a pair straight away. I think i prefer the shape of my older Sunline bars but it’s reassuring having stuff that you know wont let you down.

*Renthal layback seatpost also strong like ox!

Someone who admits too running Saint cranks questioning the logic of running Renthal bars.

Does not compute. What are your Saints on OP? Karpiel Armageddon? Mk1 Spesh Big Hit with Super Monsters? BMW Super Trucker?

I like mine on the big bike cos they’re built heavy, nice and strong. Had a set of lite’s on the hardtail for ages, both good and comfy. Don’t care about the weight of the fatbars it’s mainly used for lift assist and 100g extra isn’t a lot to worry about when the tyres weigh 2.5kgs! Plus they look cool with the duo stem!

I’ve happily got a set of SID’s carbon post and other light bits on my XC bike but run 320g turbine flat bars purely because i’ve seen what happens when bars snap! If I didn’t want flats I’d still be on the fatbar lites they were a lot more comfortable.

Daveyboywonder maybe you should read my posts fully. They came with the bike AND I do want rid.