TECH Q&A
AWKWARD STIFFY
The stiffness of 35mm-diameter handlebars has been criticised in the mag and on the BikeRadar podcast. However, I have a fancy 35mm Hope stem that matches the colours on my bike. Fitting a 31.8mm bar-and-stem combo would mean getting rid of that, which I don’t want to do. Are there any less stiff 35mm bars out there that you’d recommend instead?
Dan, Sunderland
Generally, we’re not massive fans of 35mm bars. On paper, the larger clamp diameter should allow use of thinner-walled tubing, resulting in a lighter bar with the same stiffness as a 31.8mm equivalent. In practice, though, most brands seem to have kept their 35mm bars the same weight but made them stiffer, perhaps to accommodate the trend for wider bars. This means they can feel harsh, especially if you cut them down.
The 35mm option we’d most recommend is the
