Syntace has updated a few of their handlebars for both road and mountain, and introduced a new DH direct mount stem, upgraded flat pedals and showed off an interesting aero road wheelset developed with Reynolds.
Above, the Syntace High 10 carbon bars are coming and will be in offered standard and ultralight versions, the latter being up to 20% lighter depending on model (they offer it in various other rises, too – the “10” in the model name refers to the rise in millimeters).
The standard low rise bar will be about 208g for an 8° backsweep / 760mm bar, and the Ultralight should come in around 185g (target based in initial test models). Available this fall.
Their new direct mount DH stem was developed at the request of bike brands that spec their components as OEM, but needed this to complete the parts kit. It will come in 44mm and 55mm lengths, both under 100g (44 is 92g).
It uses their anti-strip design which uses a slightly flat section at the top and bottom of the handlebar clamp that causes the bar to “snap” into place. Then, when tightening the faceplate bolts, it puts the torque and pressure on the bar that spreads farther around the bar to reduce pressure points.
The Racelite CDR carbon handlebar does away with the cable grooves to have a rounder profile. This makes it stronger with less reinforcement material needed to create the channels. Their larger OEM customers said they didn’t need the channels anymore because the bars were going on higher end builds that were mostly Di2 anyway. New weight is around 5-6% lighter, putting some of the narrower sizes under 200g. It also gets a bit stiffer. Despite that, they say they’re strong enough to ride on a DH bike – everything has a 10 year guarantee.
While we’re on road, some of their team riders have been using the negative rise mountain bike stems on their road bikes. They were originally developed to help get a really low bar height on 29ers, but they look pretty darn good here, too.
Flat pedals will likely see the small size go away as they’re only 5% of sales.
They get updated to use the same grease port that’s on the company’s Liteville bikes, making it easy to keep them running smooth. The grease port is a free upgrade for existing pedal owners, too, just buy the Syntace grease gun and you’ll get the port parts for free.
This aero road wheel collaboration with Reynolds was developed for their pro team. It’s built on new Syntace hubs with Reynolds’ DET rims used on they’re top wheels. They’re 17mm wide inside, designed for a 25c tubeless road tire, and use a 72mm front / 90mm rear depth combo. Syntace says this mix works for all types of riding, not just wind cheaters.
That depth combo was designed with input from Paul Lew. It differs from Reynolds’ own wheels by using 24 spokes up front rather than 20, but makes the hub flanges narrower, which Syntaced say tested as more aerodynamic overall without giving up stiffness. They also come with no decals, and you can choose which color you want or get custom decals for team colors or logos for €25. Wheels are about 1,685g.
Not shown, the mountain wheels are now all made in house or exclusively for them. Spokes are made by another company (top secret), rims are now made in their own Taiwanese factory and the hubs are made in Germany by a company that does a lot of automotive parts, then it’s all handbuilt in Germany.
