PRO’s new Vibe Evo handlebars are a ground-up redesign of aero road bike cockpits, taking integrated designs to the extremes. Sure, we’ve seen plenty of lightweight 1-piece carbon bar & stem combinations before. And fully internal cables have become standard recently. But this angular new Vibe Evo road bar rethinks where you might wrap bar tape, or whether you even will need it at all…
PRO Vibe Evo integrated aero carbon road handlebar cockpit
PRO’s Vibe aero carbon handlebars have been around for a few years without much update, beyond simple internal routing tweaks and a new pair of aero alloy options added late last year. But now the Vibe Evo take the aero bars truly to a next level with a fully integrated, one-piece bar & stem combo.
So integrated in fact, that they include their own bar top grip/padding so you don’t need to wrap them with bartape which has been suggested diminishes a bar’s aerodynamics. And with steps down at the drops for a smooth transition, PRO says they even have a set of ergonomic drop bar grips in the works that will slide on like mountain bike or track bar grips.
These anti-slip grips on the top of the bars are stuck on (but replaceable), designed to provide an ergonomic & secure grip for comfortable control, but while not disturbing the aerodynamics profile of the flattened bar top.
PRO says it offers five secure ergonomic hand positions: on the tops, in a pursuit position, gripped in the corners, on the hoods, or all the way in the drops.
Shown in these composited half wrapped/half unwrapped images, you can see how these replaceable grip sections are designed to transition under the brake hood for a comfortable hold on the bar and to cover the cables as they enter the bar.
The result is meant to be a smooth interface between bar and stem, between hood & grips, and between hoods and bartape in the drops – all with cables hidden from view and the wind.
Tech Details & Options
The one-piece handlebar & stem combo is mdke from a T700 carbon monocoque construction with weight claims from 395g for 38cm bars up to 410g for 42cm bars.
The new PRO Vibe Evo handlebar comes in three widths – 38, 40 & 42cm (center-center) – and in three stem lengths each – 105, 115 & 125mm. The bars all feature a relatively compact bend with 80mm reach, 132mm drop, and a gentle 5° flare out at the drops to allow more room for your wrists.
The integrated PRO Vibe Evo cockpit uses a 1 1/4″ steerer tube clamp, and includes a set of 1 1/8″ shims that allow users +/-2° of stem angle adjustment to fine-tune the angle on the flat tops, a rare but welcome feature of a one-piece handlebar & stem.
The bar features internal cable routing channels that work with fully-internal of semi-internal routing to work with most all modern road frames, a sleekly integrated stem top cap, and 2-bolt direct mounts under the stem for out-front computer & accessory mounting. Thanks to PRO’s Shimano family connection, it is of course optimized for internal Di2 setups with a bar end-mounted junction box.
PRO Vibe Evo integrated handlebar – Pricing & availability
Neatly routing cables & hoses internally, and with smooth transitions for its bar wrap or grips, the PRO Vibe Evo integrated handlebar has an astronomical price tag of $600, and will be available from late July in Europe and September 2021 globally. The as-yet unseen PRO Ergonomic Drop Grips will sell for $35 when they become available later in November.
