- Spank Flare 24 Vibrocore Wheelset and Flare 25 Vibrocore handlebar
- Price: Wheelset £289.99 front / £379.99 rear | Handlebar £89.99
- From: Hotlines
- Tested: 3 months
“Can you review some wheels and handlebars that are supposed to reduce nerve issues and tingly hands, Jase?” Hannah asked.
I didn’t need asking twice. I’ve been plagued with hand numbness, pins and needles and weird issues when riding my bike for years. It’s been caused by riding bikes a bit too much, back in the days when I used to race for 24 hours at a time with a rigid fork. If I operated a hammer drill all day at work I’d probably call it white finger.
Incidentally, if you operate a vibrating tool (stop sniggering) for more than 15 minutes a day at work, you’re apparently ‘at risk’ of this sort of damage. Hmm, that’s me knackered then. My fingers tingle right now, typing this. Permanent damage I think. Normally I can ignore it but I had to drop out of a race last year because my hands went wibbly. It was so bad that I couldn’t grip the bars, change gear or take my own socks off. In summary then, anything that claims to alleviate these problems or allow me to ride for longer without my hands going numb immediately grabs my interest.
Spank has introduced a new range of gravel-specific handlebars and wheels that claim to reduce fatigue by isolating the rider from some of the high frequency vibration that we all experience when riding a bike. The idea being, if fatigue can be put off until much later, the rider can ride faster for longer.
Luckily I already own a cyclocross bike that I’ve set up with reasonably-tall gears and wide-ish tyres for going out for hours and riding big gravelly circles on (rather than really small, muddy circles for 1 hour) so I swapped my 40mm WTB Nanos over to the Spank Vibrocore wheels and fitted the handlebars, fitting the same thickness tape as my previous bars. If Spank say that their handlebars and wheels can smooth the lumps and bumps as effectively as they claim they do, the comparison needs to be a fair one.
To make the review more accurate, I swapped the wheels and rode the bike before I swapped the bars. Just to see if the wheels were any good on their own and if the wheels and bars were even better as a combo.
Flare 24 Spank Vibrocore Wheelset
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Hi Hannah – hoped it worked out for you. Check the “log in” function. Logged in but no further review.
@wally Should be fixed now?
“Reach and drop measurements are quite small (65/110mm) so even when you’re riding offroad in the drops, there’s none of that terrifying”
Nope, drop still too big. Even ultra-short Venture MAX got 102mm, that I would love to cut by 5-7mm at least.
Courtesy of midget sized paws :-/
Cheers!
I.
…or to save a packet for a similar claimed effect, how about Specialized Phat Bar tape for the hands? I’ve run all my drop bar bikes with it for years after noticing a big increase in comfort when I started using it. Would not go back to a normal set up now.
Cheers
Sanny
I just popped some of the bars on my bike as I wanted something a little wider and thought I might as well go for comfort as well! Used the gel pads and comfy tape by Spank as well so not sure which has made the most difference but it’s certainly a hell of a lot comfier now!
errmmm… Not sure if I’m following…
You suggest thick padding of handlebars to address issue with small hands?
How that is going to help me reach for the levers from the drops?
Confused…
Cheers!
I.
Just had some wing 12 bars delivered. Reach looks small which I like, bars appear wide but measure right. Looking forward to testing.
I’d also recommend the gel pads. They just sit on top where your palms might rest, don’t add much girth ;/
Wing 12 listed with drop of 110mm, so too much for me.
I’m guessing that adding gel pads is supposed to lift my hands slightly over drops?
Probably every millimetre or 2 counts…
Cheers!
I.
Hmmm should I take my expanding foam gun to my bike?