Giving the Hemlock a refresh, and thinking it’s time for some fashionably wide bars… I’ve been trying out a set of 745mm Pros which feel pretty good fit-wise, don’t think i need to go much wider

I’m not 100% whether this is an all-mountain bike or an enduro bike yet 😉 I’m a light rider and not that massively gnar but it will have to do uplifts, alps trips, uk enduro and maybe dh racing. Mostly it’ll be ridden a lot, and crashed quite a bit so it’s got to be durable more than mighty.

Kinesis Strut R750 is the leading contender…. very nice weight, supposedly durable, etc. Good price too. Maybe a little bit too shiny for my taste. But just wondering what the other options are…

Mt Zoom seems good, a little narrower but otherwise competitive. I sort of perceive it as a wide XC bar but that’s pretty much kneejerk

Crank Bros Iodine comes in a 780mm at 215g, not entirely sure I need the width but that’s pretty damn good too.

Bubbling under… Answer Protaper DH carbon I’m ruling out as it is hideous. Renthal is a little narrower and also pretty ugly, and pricey. Easton Havoc is probably stronger, but a bit heftier. Nukeproof do a carbon Warhead but it’s not light either. Not sure I need the strength. Exotic do a very nice looking 770mm, I’ve always liked Exotic but somehow it’s just not doing it for me in this case…

The mt zoom wide flat bar is a touch on the flexy side for rougher riding. The shape of the riser may offset that though. Other than that the mt zoom (Flat) is great. I have two!

Enve DH bar

Mmm, nice the Enve but almost twice the price of the Kinesis!

Thanks for the comments on the Mt Zoom Swanny, I think I’ll just knock them off the list- not convinced there’s any selling points over the Strut for this particular job. Very handy, cheers!

The kenisis ones flex A LOT, to the point where it’s pretty noticeable. I did hear it mentioned that they’re designed to but I just found it weird

For light and strong, I’ve found my enve’s really good. I’ve only ever used them on my xc race bike and once or twice on the trail bike but they’re very good. I’m selling mine (i run flat bars now) so if you want to give them a try before i Punt them on you’re more than welcome. Oh, and they only do Matt black…

My mt zooms have been real good so far but if youre running ks remote you’ll need some electric tape underneath as its too narrow to clamp properly.

The struts do flex at 15mm rise, but I’m fairly light so the flex isnt that noticeable…I also got them new for £45 so can live with it (and the shininess!).

Both are VERY light.

Pairing the zooms with a syntace stem this morning. 50mm stem and bars weigh about the same as a fatbar light (stem 119g).

I’ve got the new superstar ones, real nice bar but too wide at 780 for me so cut them down a bit

Thomson?
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/thomson-carbon-mtb-handlebar

Renthal Fat Bar Lite Carbons are 740mm and weigh 177g in any riser height. Very stiff too.

On-One Knuckleball Hard 747mm. £49.99.

Brant, care to elaborate with some more details? Are they available now?

Been on the Kinesis Strut for a few weeks now and have to say I’m surprised at the flexy comments, compared to Sixc bars 725 and 785 they transmit a little less feedback to my hands but at my weight (72kg) I’m not experiencing flex.
The main thing about the Strut is the shape, 5&3 degrees takes a little time to get used to when you’ve been on 8&4 or 9&5. I’d like textured areas for the grips too.

I like my raceface sixc, trimmed down to 765. Were a decent price when I bought them too.

Knuckleball is a new project we have been working on since last year.
I visited a factory that makes carbon road race bars, but also golf clubs and baseball bats.
So our trail width 747mm bar is available in hard or chewy versions. One stiff. One more flexy.
We also have a 777mm bar that’s just available in the hard version.

Coming soon. Month or so I think.

Tell the ship to hurry up. I’ve got cash for bars burning a hole in my pocket

Renthal?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/renthal-fatbar-lite-carbon-riser-bar/rp-prod114072enthal?

I know you said they’re heavy, but I really like my Easton Havoc’s, even if they are about 70g heaiver than the Struts. I’ve got non carbon fatbar lite’s on another bike and the Eastons are a nicer shape.

Heavy is all relative when you’re talking about bars made of string isn’t it 😆 I think my objection to the Havocs is just, I dunno, stylistic? I’ve got a set on my 224, though they’re cut down, and I can’t help but think of them as “stuff to put on a dh bike” rather than Hemlock-stuff. But most of my bars have been Easton so I do like them.

I’m really curious about the sweep of the Kinesis, it seems to make sense to me- the wider you go, the bigger the impact of sweep, right? And I can always change the “layback” effect by shortening the stem. But really hard to know about these things til you try and it is a gamble.

The Thomson is lovely… But the narrowest of the bunch. I’ve nothing against narrower bars exactly, all mine now are 710mm or 720mm, but I’ve been playing with a wider one and though I don’t exactly like it, I think it works better, it’s certainly helped me with my ropey cornering commitment! And you can always cut down a big bar…

Renthal would be in with a shout if they just looked nicer. That wouldn’t rule them out outright if the competition wasn’t so stiff, but it is… On One have disqualified themselves, sorry chief.

Cheers folks, all very helpful.

The reason I got the Struts was because my TT is pretty short on my Bandit and the shorter sweep means I can still run a pretty short stem with room to breathe.

Apologies for hijack…

Brant – does that mean there’s some new PX carbon road bars on the way too?