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new DH bars needed, what to get?

wood-dog

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,008
0
the mid-west armpit!
I am in a real pickle and I need some advice. Here is my dilemma; my wife is getting me some lock-on grips for X-mas but they will not fit on my Azonic P.D.W. riser bars because when I first got them 4 years ago, I cut about 1/2 inch of the ends and now they are too short to accommodate my shifter and brake lever. When doing some research regarding which on-line retailers carried these bars that I have come to love and trust, I found out that (A) the bars are no longer made and (B) all of the online dealers that I contacted who claimed they carried the P.D.W. bars, already sold out!
So does anyone know of any company that still carries the P.D.W. bars or can you suggest what bars I might want to look into getting?
I ride hard with alot of dh , jumping and drops, so I need something strong!

HELP,HELP,HELP!!
 

mack

Turbo Monkey
Feb 26, 2003
3,674
0
Colorado
FSA carbon DH bars. Very sexy, light and stronger than any aluminum bar.

Or go for the easton monkey lite DH bar, a little more expensive but same idea. Carbon=(sexy+strong)^2.
 

wood-dog

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,008
0
the mid-west armpit!
When it comes to carbon, I am a bit leary of its durability not that I am counting it out. But I assume that it has a shorter life to it then aluminum. One of the reasons I came to trust the P.D.W. so much is because of the 10 years warranty it has, how long is the warranty for the FSA carbon bars?
 

degoose

Monkey
Nov 26, 2005
293
0
So Cal
I would never run carbon on such a dangerous area like the bars....O LOOK MY CENTER OF MY CHEST HAS A STEER TUBE IN IT MOM!
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
Yeah I don't trust carbon bars. Although I'm sure they would be fine for me their tendancy to shatter when they break has scared me off.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
Syncros Bulk bars look cool. They're available in a few different rises and both standard and OS clamps. A lot of people like Easton bars but they're too flat for my taste. I just found a gauge in my irreplaceable Azonic bars so I'm in the same boat as you. Syncros are my next choice.
 

bikenweed

Turbo Monkey
Oct 21, 2004
2,432
0
Los Osos
Alright, to make it simple, the Easton Monkey DH bars and Answer ProTapers are the two best bars out there. They were actually the same bars for a few years, but I do not know if they are still the same. Normal bends, good and wide, and a great selection of rises. I rode a pair of ProTapers for seven years and I finally bent them a few months ago. This is after heavy DH use almost every single day, including week days. I've also ridden Azonic bars, Specialized Demo bars, Koski bars, Truvativ bars, FSA carbon bars, and a slew of others I can't remember.

Carbon is over rated and far too hyped up, don't bother. Carbon's main advantage is not 20 grams of weight saving, but high frequency vibration damping. Strong, simple and light Easton aluminum bars are the shiznit. Tried and true, plus the ProTapers come in gold.
 

zahgurim

Underwater monkey
Mar 9, 2005
1,100
12
lolAsia
I ran Azonic's PDWs for the longest time, but didn't like not being able to find stems to fit the PDW's oddball 28.6 size. Other than their Shorty, but I broke that...

I switched to SIC's bars/stems. I run the Race on my DH, 9 degree sweep. Run the LL on my play bike, 13 degree sweep, feels sooooo nice!

Strong as fook.
 

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
My favourite bars are :

Easton
Raceface (I've even used their 'xc' bars for DH use and they've held up. 6'1", 200lbs!)


As far as carbon goes, it's MUCH stronger than any alu bar. To the point where you will never have to worry about them breaking. That is untill you put a scrape in them or dent in a crash (which you should be replacing your alu bars as well) which leads to an expensive replacement cycle if you tend to ditch much.
 

frznnomad

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
2,226
0
a-town biatches
raceface diablous bars. i run the 31.8 and have absolutly no flex on them and they also have kool powder coated flames on them. and they also come in standerd size as well. havent had any experiance with the standerd size but if there anything like the oversized ones then they are great. right now they have a big gouge in them and are still holding strong and i have no worries about them. so i say diablous
 

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
I ran the oversized Race Face Diabolous bar/stem combo two years ago when it first came out. Wow, so wide, so stiff, so bling...and so heavy. I switched to an integrated stem and a gold Protaper this year. I liked the absolutely rock solid feel I got with the diabolous more, but I like the feeling of not having a brick lashed onto my steer tube even more. I'd go for the Answer Protaper. The gold color is nice, they have a pleasing feel, and they're very light. All at a fair price.
 

NORTON

Chimp
Mar 3, 2005
52
1
Littleton CO
one more vote for Easton. I have Monkeybars EA70 on my freeride bike, best bars I have ever tried. Very light, cheap at like $60, very stiff for a non-OS bar. The rise and bend are perfect, they just disappear under me. Width is good, haven't yet been too wide to make it thru things. I don't think they are that great for urban riding but the width makes trials moves easier for me.

According to Easton they are basically invincible, whatever, I still get a new set every year for the big bike just for peace of mind. Twice I've broken other brands of bars, somehow without serious injury beyond broken wheels, and I'm not even that hard on bikes, I take no chances now. I know a guy who has DHed hard on one for 3 years now- I like that kind of reliability.
 

heikkihall

Monkey
Dec 14, 2001
882
0
Durango, CO
Funn Full On riser bar. These are the best DH bars out as far as I am concerned. I was a big fan of the Easton EA Series bars and also really liked the Answer Pro Tapers. But after trying the Funn bars there is no way I could go back. For my style of riding they have the best rise, rake, sweep, and width, which leads to a really good feeling bar. They are also light and stiff.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
heikkihall said:
Funn Full On riser bar. These are the best DH bars out as far as I am concerned. I was a big fan of the Easton EA Series bars and also really liked the Answer Pro Tapers. But after trying the Funn bars there is no way I could go back. For my style of riding they have the best rise, rake, sweep, and width, which leads to a really good feeling bar. They are also light and stiff.

I have the same feeling with the diety bars...man they just feel soooooooo nice in all situations...I would say diety.