Hot color selection seems to be in this week. Following the Santa Cruz Bikes news about a whole new customer selectable color palette, Truvativ has just announced some very eye catching colors for the their NOIR T40 bars. And the trend for wider handlebars just continues! Although we featured the 1000mm wide Syncros bars in the top pic of the Mtbr Lights Shootout, these new 720mm bars from Truvativ are much more realistic. If you have wide enough shoulders and don’t ride tight, woodsy singletrack, you might want to check the Truvativ NOIR T40.
But how wide is too wide? Are wide handelbars more fashion than function? Let us know what you think in the comments below and tell us what size bars you run and what kind of riding you do with ‘em.
Official press info from Truvativ follows:
Wide appeal
More bar means more control, more power, more comfort. So we’ve added an even wider bar option to the NOIR carbon bar family. The NOIR T40 carbon riser bar. Powerful 720mm width bar. Available in three colors: red, blue and silver. Whether you’re grinding up a climb or fighting through the woods, NOIR T40 is wider and bolder than ever before.
NOIR T40 carbon seatposts will also be available in the new color options.
NOIR T40 carbon riser bar, 720mm wide, 215 grams, up sweep 5º, back sweep 9º
Available July.
“Are wide handelbars more fashion than function?”
No. They’re about fit for riders who are larger than the industry wide average 5′-8″ 170# male.
The question you probably meant to ask is “”Are colored handlebars more fashion than function?” Absolutely.
came here to post exactly what k1creeker just said. couldn’t have said it better myself.
720 is hardly what many would call wide. At 6’2″ tall I would never consider riding anything under 680 mm for any purpose and 700 – 720 is a good spot for aggressive XC even if you are riding around a lot of trees IMO.
That said I’m not sure how I feel about different colors of carbon bars. There is a practical side to anodizing aluminum and putting some color of dye in there is standard, whereas painting carbon bars seems a little bit vain. Not that they look bad…
“Are wide handelbars more fashion than function?”
no, they absolutely are not.
the un-asked question: is 720mm “wide”?
no, it’s not. It’s kind of the minimum anyone other than a weight weenie that doesn’t actually ride would even consider these days.
Joules, that’s just ignorant. I like the way wide bars feel too, but anything over about 660mm, and you’re getting dropped like a wet turd half a dozen times on the better rides in my neighborhood… too tight. Gotta run what functions for your size and trails. “Are wide handelbars more fashion than function?”…for some people, apparently so.
My Spesh Stumpy came with 660 wide bars and that seems fine for me and im 6ft 3…..but i would try 680 or even 700 if they felt right…..on one trail i do the bars just squeeze through two trees so much wider and id be over the handlebars!!