If they are “so” much better in confort and control, how come there is not more top players using them? Surely it can’t be sponsoring, as you could eaily make them or even just put a sticker on them.
So how come the big guns of DH and XC still use standard bars?

I guess they got some freebies?

That’s how it usually works.

Still if it was that much of an advantage, I can see a pro buying his H bar and using it. Can’t you?

Others will disagree for fair reasons, but I just didn’t like them as much on a suspended bike. OK in some situations but overall 50-50 pro-cons. When you need to cope with impacts and generally ride differently on a rigid bike they’re fantastic, especially on a SS. I use different muscles and have a more relaxed position on the bike using H-bars (or a bar with similar sweep). Different riding styles, different bars?

There’s riders on Jones bikes and other rigids on std bars though, so it’s all personal. Bars with more sweep seem to be getting more common in XC generally – answer, ritchey etc.

I hated them, forced my wrists into a very uncomfortable position. My take was that if you have narrow shoulders and like narrow bars with bar ends, they will probably work for you, if you have broad shoulders and like wide bars, they won’t.

IMHO they’re like using wider bars but they’re actually narrow.

Where do H-bars put your hands compared to a typical 700mm bar on the same bike & stem?

I bought a swoopy Ti jones bar for my Soulcraft rigid ss back in 2006 but as the frame was designed for a specific bar/stem set-up i didn’t get on with it so sold it, however i did try Jeffs bike when he came across for the single speed world champs 2007 in Aviemore and i had a spin out at kirroughtree on one of his own spaceframed bikes that’s designed with the H-bar in mind and can only say it was a revelation to ride, more control, more confidence on the trail, more comfort. I dunno as to how much of that was down to the frame or the bar or the riding position but if i could afford it or even if i could just about afford it by living off dried pasta for a year i would buy a custom TI space framed jones in a heartbeat, however on my current wage i guess i could save the entire amount i get paid for a year and i’ll still be short of a fully custom complete Jones build 🙁

My take was that if you have narrow shoulders and like narrow bars with bar ends, they will probably work for you, if you have broad shoulders and like wide bars, they won’t.

I have arms and shoulders like a gorilla. I love my jones loop bars so for me and the other big armed big shouldered monkey boys that swing of jeffs your hypothesis doesn’t quite ring true.