Want a more comfortable grip on your gravel or all-road bike? Who doesn’t, right? Looking to offer a bar with more natural hand positions, Whisky just unveiled their latest bar, the Spano Progressive Flare Drop Bar.
All photos c. Whisky Parts Co.
What does ‘progressive flare’ mean? Well, when it comes to bar flare, you usually have one of two options. You can go with a moderate flare which keeps the hoods in the ideal position, or you can go with a wide flare which gives you a wider, more controlled grip at the drops. A progressive flare gives you the best of both worlds. Up top, the flare measures just 12° at the hoods. But down at the drops, that increases to 20° making the bar 6cm wider at the drops when measured center-to-center at the hoods.
The bars also feature a shallow 100mm drop and shorter 68mm reach resulting in what Whisky calls a more modern, comfortable fit.
To increase rider comfort, the tops of the bars have been flattened to supposedly promote flex, and help tame road vibrations. Offered only in a 31.8mm clamp, bars are offered in 40, 42, 44, 46, and 48cm widths which are measured center-to-center at the hoods.
Intended for Gravel or all-road bikes, the Spano bars are available now and sell for $280.
This is exactly the bar I’ve been wanting for some time now. Just ordered mine.
I was hot and bothered on these until I saw the price. too rich for my blood, but a good idea nonetheless. Hopefully they will come out with similar in aluminum for a lower outlay.
Carbonfodder, if you think about it you’re still going to be paying about $100 for a high end aluminum flared bar. So for $80 you get carbon, lighter, just as strong, mitigates vibration better than aluminum, and a really progressive flair. I was apprehensive about carbon bars and stems too, most of my bikes are metal. But all it took was a Pepsi challenge about a decade ago and now almost all the bikes have at least carbon bars and seat posts except for the commuter. Eat ramen for a wile to bridge the gap, you can thank me later.
It’s $180 more not $80
Carbonfodder, you can always go with the 3T Aeroghiaia at $350!
I was typing what I thought was $280, but for some reason my keyboard misses 2’s sometimes.
You get my point anyway. If you take the overall cost of the kind of bike these were intended for, that $180 difference between bars is pretty insignificant. People tend to get irrational when scoffing at the price of this or that. Then after some poking you learn they’re riding a bike that costs thousands, so it ends up in a shoulder shrug. Oh well.