Posted on April 19, 2022 by Cory Benson
Farr Aero Drop & Aero MTB reshape two new aerodynamic aluminum handlebars, offering improved hand positions for both road & mountain bike endurance racers. Both affordable alloy aero bars integrate an upturned front extension loop that gives riders somewhere else to rest their arms, and a place to tuck in a bit more on-the-bike storage.
Plus, their unique bullmoose-style HeadSpace stem goes into Super Trail mode, with new shorter, stiffer stems built to handle more technical off-road riding.
At first glance, the new Farr alloy Aero Drop Bar for road riding looks a lot like their Aero Gravel Bar. But beyond simply dropping the flare for a more traditional road handlebar shape, the aero loop has been reshaped as well.
It’s a project that Farr has been refining since 2020 (together with the MTB bar below), to more closely mimic the optimized hand position ergonomics of their simple Alloy Aero Bolt-On loop extension (and also the carbon version). This slightly upturned shape provides a more comfortable wrist position while in an aero tuck, while still giving plenty of flat surface to lean on and keeping the drops in a regular horizontal position.
It also now integrates more smoothly with Farr’s clip-on Arm Rest kit which sits forearm pads just above your bar.
The new $119 USD bar is made of butted 6061-T6 aluminum, with a wide 31.8mm (x 120mm) clamping area with plenty of space to mount accessories next to the stem, and a standard 22.2mm diameter loop out front (40mm for accessory mounts).
The loop extends 115mm in front of the bar, upswept at 7° then 45° to rise 50mm from the tops.
The road bar features 76mm reach & 125mm drop with a traditional compact road bend and only a hint of 2° of drop flare from the hoods to make room for your wrists, and zero outward flare at the ends of the drops.
The bar is available in 38, 40, 42, 44 & 46cm widths (center-center at the hoods) with a real weight claim of 439g in 42cm width (+/-10g for the largest to smallest sizes).
The new Farr alloy road Aero Drop Bar is in stock & ready to ship globally now.
c. Farr, MTB cockpit photos by Dominic Maurer
Want that same ergonomic aerodynamic shape for marathon mountain bike racing or off-road bikepacking too? That’s the Farr Alloy Aero MTB bar.
This second-generation aero mountain bike bar replaces the straight loop original, with the same double bend rising loop of the new drop bar. That means the 13mm shorter loop rises 17mm higher thanks to the new 7°/45° bend.
Farr says the resulting shape is more comfortable to stay aero longer in the flatter, smoother sections linking technical stages of marathon and ultra-endurance mountain bike races.
Maybe an upturned v2 Aero Gravel Bar will be coming soon, as well?
The 6061-T6 alloy Farr Aero MTB Bar also sells for $119, in a width of 760mm at a claimed 423g (plus cut marks down to 700mm). The bar features no rise, 6° of backsweep, a 31.8mm (x 100mm) clamping area, and 22.2mm grip & extension area.
The Alloy Aero MTB bar is available for pre-order now, with the first deliveries from May 2022.
Farr has also quietly rolled out a pair of updated short trail versions of their two-spar HeadSpace stems, as part of their expanding ST super trail Speed Tech mountain bike component family.
The new forged and CNC-machined design has a more beefy alloy body with horizontal relief cutouts to save weight, resulting in a stiffer design with the same 70mm clamp spacing as before to make it compatible with Farr mounts and Aero Bolt-On bars.
Now, the 0° rise, 31.8 bar clamp HeadSpace ST is offered in short 50mm (166g) & super-short 32mm (155g) stems. Both share the same anodized black sandblasted finish with laser etched graphics.
The 32mm stem sells for $89, and the 50mm stem for $99 – both in stock now.
Cory Benson is the EU Tech Editor of Bikerumor.com.
Cory has been writing about mountain bikes, enduro, cyclocross, all-road, gravel bikes & bikepacking for over 25 years, even before the industry gave some these names. Prior to Bikerumor, Cory was a practicing Architect specializing in environmental sustainability, has designed bike shops & bike components and worked as a bike shop mechanic.
Based in the Czech Republic for 15+ years, he is a technical mountain biker, adventurous gravel rider, short & medium-haul bikepacker. Cory travels extensively across Europe riding bikes, meeting with key European product developers, industry experts & tastemakers for an in-depth review of what’s new, and what’s coming next.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
What Ti Pinion frame is that?
Gravel innovation has truly jumped the shark. Let’s take a Scott AT4 and Profile For Speed bar from the 90s and create something “new”. Hey gravel innovators – the Rhode Gear Flickstand needs to be given new life!
Any smart manufacture would mold a Flickstand mount into their carbon downtube.
So there are no smart carbon bike manufacturers? No a single one?
© Copyright 2022 Bikerumor, All Rights Reserved