Leigh Donovan’s World Championship bike of 1997 was bedecked with a blinged-out gold handlebar made by ProTaper. Now, the brand are celebrating the good old days releasing a limited edition Icon Gold A25 riser bar. Announced in conjunction with it is a new range of carbon handlebars for Enduro, All-Mountain and XC, a highlight of which has to be the ProTaper XC Hyperlite weighing a claimed 125 grams.
ProTaper Icon Gold 25mm Riser Bar
If the ProTaper Icon Gold A25 isn’t jewelry for your bike, then I don’t know what is. Harking back to Leigh Donovan’s glory days, the Gold MTB Handlebar is now available in limited quantities.
The eye-catching color is the only thing new here; the A25 is a staple in ProTaper’s lineup, sitting alongside the A12, A50 and A76 riser bars all made from 7050 aluminum. This 810mm bar has a 25.4mm rise, with a 4° up-sweep and a 9° back-sweep. It features cut marks on each end, indicating that it can be cut as short as 710mm. It also has markings further inboard to help out with cockpit component positioning, and more at the clamp area to help set up the roll position.
The ProTaper A25 Icon Gold LE retails at $104.99 USD, just the same as all their other handlebars in the aluminum series.
ProTaper C12 and C25 Carbon Bars
New for ProTaper are the C12 and C25 Carbon Handlebars, made using a Plastic Foam Lamination process. The relatively new manufacturing method is said to be highly efficient; ProTaper tells us it requires less resin and carbon laminate as compared to traditional manufacturing techniques, translating into a 15% lighter bar that is still strong enough to be ridden on the roughest terrain by the fastest enduro riders.
As such, the ProTaper C12 (12.7mm) and C25 (25.4mm) riser bars weigh a claimed 190g at 810mm wide in the 31.8mm clamp diameter option. Only the C25 is also available in a 35mm clamp diameter. Both bars feature a 4° up-sweep and an 8° back-sweep. These retail at $184.99 USD.
ProTaper XC Hyperlite Carbon Bar
ProTaper’s new Hyperlite Carbon Bar for XC weighs a claimed 125g. That’s a 31.8mm clamp diameter bar at 760mm wide. I’m not sure I know of any lighter than that. If you do, drop it in the comments. This one is made using the same Plastic Foam Lamination process described for the C12 and C25 enduro bars. It is flat (0° ride) and has a 9° backsweep, and retails at $184.99 USD.
