Race Face recently reaffirmed its commitment to downcountry with the launch of its super-light Era SL cranks. Now it’s doubling down with the new Era SL handlebar. This carbon bar is aimed squarely at cross-country, downcountry, and short travel trail bikes, with a very light weight, “Goldilocks Tune”, and a flippable design that essentially makes it two bars in one.
Era SL Handlebar Details
The new Era SL is made of UD Carbon, and with a claimed weight of 170 grams, it slides into the brand’s handlebar lineup as the lightest of the bunch. This makes it among the lightest non-boutique handlebars on the market, especially at 760mm wide. Race Face states that it is eMTB-ready and “designed for downcountry, suitable for trail riding on bikes with up to 140mm of travel.” Although the brand may be leaning into “downcountry,” the Era SL’s low weight and dimensions should also make it well-suited for lightweight cross-country race bikes, too.
Dimensions
The Era SL has a 35mm clamp diameter and has a max clamp width of 60mm. It comes in a 760mm width, and Race Face says it is trimmable to 720mm without impacting the bar’s stiffness characteristics. They also mention that it can be trimmed narrower than that, “but it increases stiffness undesirably.”
The Era SL has fairly standard sweep angles: 8 degrees of back sweep and 5 degrees of up sweep. However, they note that if the bar is rolled to a flat profile with no upward sweep, it has a 9-degree back sweep. And finally, it has a flippable design that allows for either 6mm of rise or 6mm of drop.
Flip It
Arguably, the most interesting feature of the Era SL handlebar is its “flip-to-fit” design. Race Face designed the Era SL to go from 6mm of rise to 6mm of drop by simply flipping it over lengthwise. Despite flipping the bar, the sweeps remain consistent, and the logos have been designed to flip as well. While that sounds almost impossible at first, it makes more sense when you see it. And while some XC riders have probably been doing this for years, this is the first modern handlebar we’ve seen that specifically calls it out as a feature.
Essentially, the rise/drop section of the bar is offset to the top or bottom (depending on its orientation) of the widest part/center of the bar. The offset design accounts for +/-6mm of rise from flat, giving riders a total difference of 12mm when flipping the handlebar. Race Face also tells us that riders seeking more adjustability can pair the Era SL handlebar with the Turbine SL stem. The Turbine SL stem can also be flipped for +/-6mm rise, making for a total of 24mm of height adjustability in the cockpit.
Goldilocks Tune
Race Face has given the Era SL its Goldilocks Tune (GL Tune), which it shares with the rest of the handlebars in the brand’s lineup. With the GL Tune, Race Face believes they’ve found the “just right” balance of stiffness and compliance to enhance rider comfort while maintaining handling precision. According to the brand, trimming the Era SL bar to 720mm does not affect the GL Tune, but going narrower than that will increase stiffness.
Race Face Era SL Handlebar: Pricing and Availability
The Era SL is available now at a retail price of $199 USD ($220 CAD). Like most Race Face products, it comes with a lifetime warranty. You can learn more about it and the rest of the Era SL family of products on the Race Face website.
