A handlebar is a handlebar is a handlebar, but only in theory. In practice, choosing a handlebar is a highly personal choice and all the different options can be overwhelming. Trends change but the perfect bar will always be the one that feels comfortable.
If your personal preference sways towards wide, low, and light, then the Enve Carbon DH Bar should be on your short list. How did we like it?
Weight
While more wide DH rated carbon bars are appearing on the market, the Enve DH bars where one of the first to hit shelves at a full 800 mm wide. The company claims their bars weigh 245 gm grams, but ours squeaked in at 233 grams, or 12 less than advertised.
Installation
The Enve handlebar has a wide roughened clamping surface to eliminate slipping.
The Enve DH Carbon bar is wide. Really, really wide. At 800mm (31.5″) the width is perfect for big guys or big bikes.
Since the bars arrived at the start of winter – just as the lifts closed and the rain began to pour, they had to be cut down before being mounted onto the trail bike.
In order to simplify the trimming process the bars have cut mark graphics integrated. Don’t trust them. The old adage “measure twice, cut once” has never rung more true. The marks where slightly off and my bars ended up being marginally narrower than expected. The difference is minimal, but once you’re used to something as particular as cockpit setup, even the slightest change is noticeable.
Impressions
The Enve DH handlebars are a thing of beauty. Their smooth black velvety finish is perfectly offset by the subdued graphics. These sleek bars will make any build look faster and they’ve seen hours of abuse, even a few crashes, but have survived remarkably unscathed. The finish, as you can see pictured above, is still as attractive as when brand new.
The ergonomics where also spot on. The 5° rise and 9° back sweep is fairly common amongst manufacturers of wider aluminum offerings and the shape translates well to carbon. All our testers fell the bars had a very natural feeling sweep and rise.
These handlebars are technically rated for DH usage, but with winter approaching when they arrived, the handlebars where forced into a less glorious role on the trail bike.At 233 grams, roughly a 1/4 lb lighter than most aluminum offerings, the DH bars are still light enough for all purpose riding. While there are numerous places where weight savings would be more noticeable or economical (wheels, tires, cassette, etc…) the advantages of a carbon handlebar can be measured in more than grams.
The main benefit, which is a truth universally acknowledged across the interwebs, is that carbon dampins high frequency vibrations better than aluminum. Is it true? At first, running a back to back comparison between my preferred aluminum bars and the DH carbon bars, the difference in dampining was barely noticeable. But as the miles begun to accumulate, the subtle benefits became more discernible. For my local terrain, the dampining effect doesn’t make a huge difference, but the lack of fatigue in my hands became really noticeable when climbing and descending through rough terrain.
The blessing of this wonder material is that all this comfort doesn’t come at the cost of stiffness. The bars feel similar in stiffness to the best aluminum bars I’ve ridden, while offering precious dampining. Of course, all this beauty and refinement does come at a price price. A big one. At $180 USD, the Enve DH handlebar is not a cheap upgrade, but it is comparably priced to other high end offerings and can be found for less online. Just make sure to install using a torque wrench.
Make no mistake, these handlebars are pure bling and will make your bike at least 15% faster. They’re also light, stiff, and comfortable. What’s not to like?
Whats Hot
-Weight
-Width
-Comfort
-Subdued Graphics
– 5 yr Warranty/Lifetime Crash Replacement
Whats Not
– Only available in one rise.
