We love stumbling across unique items at Interbike…. especially those that are so simple that you wonder why it took so long for somebody to try it. Fouriers showed us the new Control Bend Bars, with a slight arch in the grip area, that claim to reduce hand fatigue. They also had the new Stash Stem and Bars with Di2 routing and “first of their kind” features. Plus some new oval and narrow-wide ring options for Shimano and Sram.
Head around the bend to see what Fouriers has been up to…..
Fouriers puts a twist bend in what we have grown to accept as standard as far as handlebars go. There are several various handle bar sweeps as well as round and ergonomic grips out there that try to conform our not so flat hands to, in essence, a flat tube. Just like all the other “standards” out there, we’ve always just accepted it. Chris Sullivan, Fouriers’ Brand Ambassador was curious as to how a bar that conformed to the natural arch of your palm would feel. One problem some have with paddle or “ergonomic” grips on a bike that they do a lot of technical descending on is that it never feels right in both standing and seated positions.
Initially before trying it, I admit I was a little skeptical. Handlebars have always been straight, and I never thought about it twice. When placing my hand on the Control Bend Bar, it surprisingly didn’t feel awkward, and if anything, it drove my curiosity even further. It was still round but like arch supports in shoes, it contoured to the natural shape of my hand when in a clinched position. The idea behind it is to keep constant, even pressure on your palm so it’s not acting like a leaf-spring when riding over rough terrain, thus reducing fatigue. The one limiting factor is that you can only use grips that are flexible to conform to the bend.
Speaking of bars, Fouriers has new alloy and carbon Stash Bars that work as a system with their Stash Stem *below. The bars are drilled in the center and just a little inside of the grip area to keep everything tidy.
The Stash Stem is pretty unique in its own right. Sure it also has Di2 porting for exiting the Di2 wiring from inside the bars to outside the stem, but the top cover and adjustable lower adjusting nut are what really stands out. The lower nut replaces the headset spacers while also setting the bearing compression between the fork, stem and frame. The top cover… is just a cover. They’ve claimed to not have any problems with it coming loose so we’re curious to get this in our hands to try out.
Also new are Fouriers new *round narrow-wide rings that are compatible with SRAM direct mount and both of Shimano’s XTR M9000 & XT M8000 cranksets. They also have oval rings for the two Shimano standards and have a SRAM direct mount in the works.
