You may be inclined to think this is an April Fool’s gag, but Farr assures us it’s real. Which makes sense. It wasn’t that long ago that Farr introduced their Aero Gravel bar with a built-in aero hand extension. Along those same lines, the company has been selling their Aero Bolt-On which gives standard bars an aero boost. Then of course there is the other Farr Aero MTB bar, but it’s made from carbon fiber.
The newest addition to Farr’s aero range is the Aero MTB Alloy. True to the name, this bar is crafted from 6061-T6 aluminum with the extension welded onto the front of the bar.
Measuring in at 760mm in overall length, the aero section is 224mm wide at the base which straddles the 31.8mm clamping section. At the front, you have a 60mm wide section to mount lights, computers, and other devices which is canted upwards by 15°. At the grips, the bar has a 6° backsweep.
Notably, there is plenty of room inside of the aero section for a new bag from Farr – though this sneak peek is all we get for now.
Weighing in at 515g, the bars will sell for $75 and will be available this July.
so like the Love Mud bars but with no backsweep and 3x the price?
I would say, if you need such an handlebar – go for the Alloy, not the carbon.
I had the carbon. The design is excellent (although the Alloy is much larger; the carbon isn’t excatly designed to hold a bike bag). It is very comfortable, however the design is problematic: the loop is made of a fiberglass-filled paper-thin carbon, and it has no chance to survive a large hit. I’ve broken mine in a slow about-face when I got into a ditch at around 15KM/h. I got few bruises, and the only thing that was broken was the handlebar, at the loop. I was disappointed as this is a 200$ handlebar, and won’t buy it again. However the idea is sound and since the alloy bar doesn’t suffer from the same flaw, I have no problem recommending it.