Quantcast

FSA's - wider is better policy

scene603

Chimp
Feb 3, 2005
34
0
With all the hoopla over wider bars and who makes the widest bars on the market. FSA decided to put the argument to rest by releasing their 800mm wide Gravity Light bars that Fabian Barel and Chris VanDine rode at the worlds this year.
They should be hitting your favorite distributor this week.
Let the internerd squabble begin about who needs 800mm wide bars.

 

matt12

Monkey
Aug 17, 2004
512
0
Napa, CA
eventually it will just be a 5 foot pipe you can put on your stem and cut to length.
would it be a pipe or just a hollow bar?:busted:

hmm it will be interesting to see how these 800mm bars. pretty cool looking but i don't even know if i could ride with another couple inches on the end of my full ons. where to draw the line?
 

skinny mike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 24, 2005
6,415
0
i want to get a pair of those. mainly because i know i can dial in the perfect bar width for myself now, instead of wishing my bars were a little wider.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,480
4,720
Australia
I take it they're only 31.8 and lowest rise is 25mm?

I wish Easton would at least make the EA70 lo-rise in 710 width...
 

Mountain_Dewd

Monkey
May 30, 2005
331
0
whis
i tried them and they feel awesome, i think they need to be cut down a bit, but im getting a set for myself.

they are nice looking too imho.

800 is to wide for me, but the option to trim to what size you want is great.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
My bars are like 685mm. That would be way too wide for me. Bars should come really wide, so people can just shorten them. It's a little harder to lengthen them.
 

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
i dont know about you guys but here in jersey we have trees, heck my 28" bars smack them all the time.

remember at the worlds the track was pretty wide open and didnt have to worry about ridin around trees. so 800 not a problem.
 

FCLinder

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2002
4,402
0
Greenville, South Carolina
Its funny I saw this post today. I just put some Sunline V1 bars on my bike thinking they were only 28" long. I rode my bike this past weekend on one of my favorite shuttle runs here in the South and thought the bars were way to wide. I normally run 27" bars and like it that way. I ended up measuring the V1 bars before I cut them to find out they were not 28", but 29" long. I didn't think they even had 29" bars yet but they do. All there new V1 bars are 29". So I ended up cutting them down to 27.5". Much better now. I don't see how some of you run bars that long.
 

Banshee Rider

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2003
1,452
10
I'm riding 30" chromags and haven't had issues with them being too wide. I'm also riding 30" Truvativs on my xc bike. Trails here in New England consist mainly of heavily wooded singletrack. Chances are, if you find your 28" bars are too wide, then you are riding trails are not fast, or cut by people who don't ride fast.
 

jasons

Chimp
Feb 28, 2005
74
0
Denver CO
What is the weight of the FSA bars in 800mm width? The problem I see going that wide is that not many people will run the bars that wide without cutting them. The wider the bars are, the thicker the walls need to be to make up for the added leverage. If you cut the bars down to 29" you have a bar that is heavier than a bar that was designed to be 29" wide.
 

El Gordo

Monkey
Aug 15, 2007
375
0
Vernon, NJ
I cut those bad boys down to like 740mm to be perfect for me anyway.. I think 800mm way to long. Is 25mm the only rise available?
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
The Gravity Lights are nice bars. I've got one of the 680mm wide ones. I guess an 800mm bar is cool, since you can cut it down to whatever you want, but I can't possibly see myself using it at full width.
 

Banshee Rider

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2003
1,452
10
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: Your kidding me right?
If you're riding trails that force you to slow down and wiggle between two trees with your 28" bars, then it's not a fast trail...

If there is 180* hairpin turn with a tree in the center that grabs your bar, then it's not a fast trail...

If someone cut that trail without the input of others, then that person doesn't ride fast...

If someone cut that trail who is fast, then they intended it to be challeneging, technical, and slow...


Really, it's not that hard to understand IMO. No personal attacks, just common sense. No, I'm not kidding you.
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
yeah, what he said . . . .

been riding the new Burgtec ride wide bars the past few months and they feel great at 750mm. if i go trail riding on the dh bike, yeah, they are a bit cumbersome feeling but that's not what they were designed for.

99.9% of race tracks are not too narrow for 30" bars, and if they were no one would be looking for wider bars in the first place:thumb:

besides, if you go fast enough you can ride right through the trees:
 

FCLinder

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2002
4,402
0
Greenville, South Carolina
If you're riding trails that force you to slow down and wiggle between two trees with your 28" bars, then it's not a fast trail...

If there is 180* hairpin turn with a tree in the center that grabs your bar, then it's not a fast trail...

If someone cut that trail without the input of others, then that person doesn't ride fast...

If someone cut that trail who is fast, then they intended it to be challeneging, technical, and slow...


Really, it's not that hard to understand IMO. No personal attacks, just common sense. No, I'm not kidding you.
Sorry our trails don't get cut a mile wide so you can go full speed down them. Most of all our trails are more Tecy, but we do have a good mixer of both tight and open here. They take more skill to ride at speeds here. Thats what I love about the South East. Its more timing and placement when it comes to bars hitting or not hitting trees here. So, we do have very fast trails, but they are way more tight than most are used too.
 

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,010
1,146
El Lay
I had funn full-on bars... thought i liked them. then i noticed that i never used the outer 1" of bar. try as I might to keep those palms at the edge: end of the run my hands would be back in place where they wanted to be.

got some ea70s, and they fit me well. i'm glad i'm not a gorilla, as I can get a season's worth of rocky DH out of a singletrack rim too.

cut-to-fit seems like a smart move from the companies. I wonder if a 30" bar cut to 27" is the same weight as a 27" bar uncut.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
I wonder if a 30" bar cut to 27" is the same weight as a 27" bar uncut.
In theroy, no. The longer bar would need to be built stronger to handle the extra leverage. Therefore the walls will be thicker, and therefore it will be heavier, even when cut down to the same length.


That said, I doubt the difference is all that big.
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
In theroy, no. The longer bar would need to be built stronger to handle the extra leverage. Therefore the walls will be thicker, and therefore it will be heavier, even when cut down to the same length.


That said, I doubt the difference is all that big.
Good theory, but . . . .

Burgtec ride-wide bar, 30": 265g
Funn Full-On, 28": 295g
Funn Fatboy, 28": 316g

the extra ounce i've shaved from my handlebars is a huge advantage, but the first time i pulled up on the bars i flipped over backwards because i forgot that i'd taken so much weight off the front end.
 

Jim Mac

MAKE ENDURO GREAT AGAIN
May 21, 2004
6,352
282
the middle east of NY
Good theory, but . . . .

Burgtec ride-wide bar, 30": 265g
Funn Full-On, 28": 295g
Funn Fatboy, 28": 316g

the extra ounce i've shaved from my handlebars is a huge advantage, but the first time i pulled up on the bars i flipped over backwards because i forgot that i'd taken so much weight off the front end.

I just HATE IT when that happens! :imstupid:
 

FLdragon

Chimp
Oct 22, 2005
34
0
in the area
I run stock length Easton EA70's (I think they are 26") and was considering getting the Easton Havoc bars (28") for next season.
But after riding Plattekill last weekend I realized there is no way in HELL I am getting handlebars any wider than the EA70's....!!
It was tough enough negotiating tight trees with the 26" bars.
Im sure 28" is dope for wide-open fast stuff...
but not much of that in the super steep tight chutes of Plattekill.
So consider the terrain you ride in mostly before you buy your bars!
or else you'll end up tagging a tree at speed & that aint a pretty crash.
 

Jim Mac

MAKE ENDURO GREAT AGAIN
May 21, 2004
6,352
282
the middle east of NY
I think it's a combination of personal preference and bike set up...I run Diablus bars (28"+, I believe) and have been running them at Platty for 2 seasons - it feels just right for me there, but for you that may feel too wide.
 

Sam B

Monkey
Nov 25, 2001
280
0
Cascadia
I am sold. I did one afterwork run at the full width (which was 32" end to end with the bar end caps) and decided they were a bit too much. Cut them down 3/4" on each side (so they are 30.5" to the end of the bar end caps) and they are so freakin awesome. You can pretty much point the big and just ride the wheel. It makes everything feel slower and gives you so much leverage over the bike. Steeps were better and high speed turns were better. I am not going back. I wouldn't run them on my Bottlerocket but on the 8" bike with Boxxers it's proportional - full moto feel.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Good theory, but . . . .

Burgtec ride-wide bar, 30": 265g
Funn Full-On, 28": 295g
Funn Fatboy, 28": 316g

the extra ounce i've shaved from my handlebars is a huge advantage, but the first time i pulled up on the bars i flipped over backwards because i forgot that i'd taken so much weight off the front end.
That might be a reasonable comparison if you were talking about the same bar that was sold in two different widths. You'd also be banking on the manufacturer making the two bars equally strong, rather than just making the shorter bar a chopped version of the longer one.