I ride a ride hardtail (carbon fork) and have been looking around for some affordable titanium [flat] handlebars to add a little vibration damping to my ride.

The Thomsons look lovely but are very expensive and some reviews I’ve read suggest that they’re over built and don’t feel very different to aluminium bars. I don’t want anything super flexy but I do want something that will dampen down a bit of buzz.

Torus Bicycles offer a titanium bar for £115 and I was wondering if anyone had experience of them; they look a little plain compared to the Thomsons but are rather more affordable.

The Thomsons are super solid so probably no better than 7075 alloy.
You said you don’t want carbon due to the bar ends you use, so try KCNC scandium bars. They bend more than 7075 alloy.

Here

Thanks, I’ve not come across those before (although I have heard of some Crank Brothers aluminium bars that are a tad flexy).

I had some Torus bars and found them to be really stiff

25.4mm bars?

I’d say you’re probably barking up the wrong tree; I’d suggest a bigger front tyre.

^ this. It’s not the bar. Bigger tyre, tubeless and lower pressure will make a far bigger difference. After that, maybe some soft grips, eg ESIs.

I have KCNC Scandium bars (not quite the same as those, but very similar) and thought they were pretty stiff. Though as already mentioned, bars are the wrong thing to be looking at – far more difference to be found with a bigger lower pressure tyre, and if that’s not enough I understand some people use these new fangled suspension fork things.

Well, a boingy fork totally changes the bike, so that’s not really the answer.

But yes, it may be as simple as just leaking a small bit of puff out of the current tyres. Getting the pressures right makes a huge difference on a rigid bike. (As does finding a tyre with a carcass that suits; IME low pressures in sturdy-carcass tyres work best on rigids, YMMV.)