Sea Otter 2012: Easton’s New 35mm ‘standard’

Welcome to the start of our Sea Otter coverage for 2012… Let’s get stuck in with the latest from Easton. Basically, it’s all gone bigger, wider and better…

Easton has always had highly regarded XC and downhill handlebars, with its original Monkeylite Carbon, the Haven XC and Havoc DH bars in both aluminium and carbon. Well, it’s all changed…

Easton found that riders wanted wider and wider bars. It’s 750mm Havoc bar wasn’t wide enough (apparently) so it looked to make a wider bar. The trouble with all that leverage is that it makes wider bars prone to failure – or to beefy weight. After a lot of testing, Easton has come out with a new 35mm handlebar diameter, with surprisingly impressive results. Easton had already introduced 35mm bars with it’s Motocross line a few years ago to great acclaim, so why not try it for MTB?

Colours too...

Two new Easton stems: DH direct mount and regular 1.1.25in steerer.

Doesn't look that odd actually, does it?

So light that Dain only needs to hold on with one hand.

By increasing the centre section of the handlebar to 35mm (yes, it’ll need a new, proprietary stem, but bear with us) Easton found that it could make an 800mm wide, 35mm centre bar, that’s not only stronger, but lighter too…

Here's the regular stem with the new bar on a Nomad.

Taking the Havoc Carbon 35 and comparing it to the Havoc 31.8 Carbon, the handlebar is 15% stronger in Easton’s failure drop-test, it’s 10% stronger in fatigue and it’s 21% stiffer. Pretty impressive.

It’s also 10% lighter(!)

The Easton carbon Havoc 35 bar (above) is made of Easton’s EC90 top end carbon and weighs a mere 220g for an 800mm bar. It has a 20mm up rise and a 9° backsweep. The above setup weighs 330g – which is the same weight as Easton’s carbon road stem and carbon road handlebars. When you put it that way, that’s really, really impressive… Plus there’s a five year warranty against defects. Even better, we should be able to see the bars in the UK by about June…

The front bar is the ally Havoc, still only 300g. The regular stem comes in 50mm only and weighs 190g.

If you feature the (alternate) future, don’t worry as the 31.8 Havoc bar will still continue.

Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

Comments (9)

18bikes18bikes April 20, 2012 at 10:07 am

great, another product version, just what we need!

1961Bikie1961Bikie April 20, 2012 at 10:15 am

I hereby declare that the cycle industry is no longer allowed to use the word “Standard”.

I have spoken.

ChainlineChainline April 20, 2012 at 10:19 am

But where is the flat version!!!! Only one carbon 750mm flat bar out there for the low front 29er campaign….

toonstoons April 20, 2012 at 10:21 am

I bet my exposure light bracket wouldn’t fit

drookitmunterdrookitmunter April 20, 2012 at 10:43 am

No. Just no.

footflapsfootflaps April 20, 2012 at 11:57 am

I’ve not yet come to terms with 31.8mm yet! Half my bikes are still on 25.4mm!

bakesbakes April 20, 2012 at 11:59 am

******* stupid ******* non-standard standards
what a load of ****

bebbeb April 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm

Personally I don’t see why people get so uppity about these new standards. I find these changes usually offer more choice and/or a performance improvement, or at least, some more choice – whats not to like? Perhaps they should be called new ‘designs’ rather than a new ‘standards’ – less controversial perhaps. All IMHO of course 🙂

ToastyToasty April 20, 2012 at 3:55 pm

Not too terrible is it? It’s not like it’ll force your hand like a BB or head tube standard would. Wonder if the stems will be 10% heavier and 21% flexier.

Comments Closed