Favorite gravel Bars

I read the title to this thread: „Hm, are there special protein bars for gravel? Does gravel stress the body in a different way? The nutrition topic got quite deep, so interesting.“

„No, that can‘t be it. It‘s probably bars where you can have a drink. For after the rides, so people can chat a bit. However that would be tied to a location. What an uncommon topic for this forum…“

Opened the thread, ok, handlebars :see_no_evil_monkey: I‘m going to make coffee now.

you might grow a mustache

giphy

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I run the specialized terra carbon, like them a lot

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Lol you probably just gave some marketer a great idea. I can see it now …. Try neversecond gravel bars! 2x wider than our road bars :rofl:

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I looked at these and like them a lot put those drops are super shallow! 103mm!. I like 120mm and above so I can get a bit lower on road / flat sections.

And flared!

had had enve ar ses bars and coefficient ar bars.

i liked them both. tops on the coefficient were better. drops on the enve were better. looks - enve wins.

i stuck with enve because i ride road more and like the drops. i’d be happy with either of them though.

What’s the width in the drops (at the bar end plugs?) They say 10 degrees but it’s hard to know where exactly that starts from (I wish all manufacturers would standardise with either degrees or two different width measurements - or, ideally, both.)
Also looks like a vertical clamping position with flare below (like SES AR or 3T) - is that the case? In fact, is the clamping area actually toed in a few degrees laterally?

So you remove those little fairings at the stem clamp area to open up the required space? Are they effectively the same as the Roval Rapide / Aerofly transition pieces? (and does that actually mean the routing is kind of ideal for a Specialized tarmac/venge stem?)

How’s that surface for resting forearms on though? Looks almost like you could stick a bit of foam padding on them and then under-hang some TT extensions and not even bother with arm rests…

The thing about the Enve SES AR bars that’s hard to understand until you see/feel them in person is just how comfortable they are in terms of road buzz. They’re probably flexy enough that a road sprinter might complain, but I also somehow feel like they’ve been engineered to flex less under those particular stresses than when just holding your weight. I can physically see and feel how much more they flex than my Roval Rapide bars, and they’re infinitely more shock-absorbing, but they never feel noodley when really wrenching down on them in a hard effort.

Have you ridden both? How would you compare ride feel between the Pros and the Enves?

Aeroghiaia vs Enve
FYI to others - I did a couple rides on Aeroghiaias before going to the Enves and I absolutely hated them. Nothing against the bars themselves (except that they were the most difficult internal cable routing job I’ve ever done), just to say that the geometry etc. means they are completely different bars than the SES AR despite their apparent similarities.

Shape of Drops
One other data point worth mentioning that nobody seems to comment on: ergo drops (multiple sharper curves with straightish sections between) vs. continuous curve drops seem to be very much a personal preference kind of thing and I think a lot of anti-ergo riders don’t even realise how vehemently strong their preference for the continuous shape is (though it seems like ergo-lovers get on ok with continuous curves?) As far as I’ve observed, the anti-ergo riders tend to ‘ride’ in the drops with hands near the bar ends, where those who primarily only use the drops in an ‘attack’ position (in the crook of the curve with fingers covering brake levers) are more likely to embrace an ergo shape. Please share contradictory anecdotes if you have them though, that’s a fairly recent and untested observation of mine!

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I want to try those bars on my Crux. My Expert level came with aluminum bars. What do you like about them? I’m trying to decide if they are worth the money to upgrade.

Those looks about perfect for my preferences. I have the lauf smoothie bars which are nice. But I’ve though their reach (80mm) and drop (125mm). Neither are that big a deal but roval are 70mm and 103mm which is almost a sweet spot for me

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Width at the bar ends measures 41cm or so c-t-c.

Correct, the little plug/fairings cover the area where you can put clip-ons bars.

Oddly, the stem they released with the bars (PRO Vibe Aero stem) only allows under-stem routing, which I was not expecting, even though the bars have a full internal option (through the clamping area). I run it with a Profile Design stem as a result.

The tops are indeed good for forearms, provided that your preferred bar angle matches.

The curves are usable in a variety of spots along the bend.

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Man I really would like an Enve aerobar for the roadbike and an SES AR for the gravel bike, but 450 per bar is just too much for me… Need to find nice alternatives…