Looking to upgrad an integrated cockpit

Equipment
1

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to swap the stock CC.01 cockpit on my V4RS. The current bars are a bit too wide and have more reach than I’d like – and honestly I’m just not a fan of how they feel overall. Time for an upgrade.

Since the price-to-spec ratio on Chinese DTC brands seems hard to beat right now, I’ve narrowed it down to three options:

Model Stem Width (hoods) Drop Reach Flare Stem angle
Aerorevo(Lightbicycle) 90–130 375 / 395 123 mm 70 mm 9° -10°
Aerover(EXS) 90–130 380 125 mm 70 mm 10° -10°
HB02 (CRW) 80–140 370 / 390 115 mm 70 mm 11° -10°

My target hood width is 380 mm. The Aerorevo at 375 mm and the EXS Aerover at 380 mm are the closest fits – the CRW HB02 at 370 / 390 mm is the next available size down / up. I ride mostly in the hoods, sometimes tucked, regularly in the drops. I don’t really sprint…

I’ve bought rims from Lightbicycle before and been happy with the quality, but I have no experience with any of these bar/stem combos or with EXS and CRW as brands.

Has anyone ridden any of these? Particularly interested in:

  • Build quality and finish
  • How the bar shape feels on longer rides
  • Experience with the brands
  • any other input

Cheers

2

Putting some Chinese I piece bars on my mtn bike build. Price is good. Quality is good. I’m sure I’ll try to break them. We shall see. I have CRW gravel wheels and they are very nice. No flaws I can find and I have hit some hard things while riding single track rocky section.

3

Which one did you end up buying?

I think all are high quality. I have had the EXS one 100x380. Now I have the CRW HB01 100x360 on the new bike. I like the flare, but it is less stiff and also I find 360mm is too narrow for me. Both high quality. CRW GPS mount was better quality than EXS.

I like the looks, rise and flare on the CRW HB02, but am doubting 370mm will be wide enough. I know 380 is… Hard decisions to make :slight_smile:

4

Not for nothing, but the Reserve RD1 is like $100 more and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it on sale for about the same amount. Why not buy from the folks that is available through the bike shops and companies that actually support the sport?