does anyone have any experience with these? i know some may have concerns about carbon off road, but i'm not a hard rider and it may be a luxury worthwhile for me (for comfort, not necessarily weight)
I am interested in these as well. I have regular EC70 bars on my bike, and I can tell you the carbon makes a big difference in comfort. I didn't think I would notice a difference, but when I ride back to back with another bike with aluminum bars I can tell.
Did the cable routing on the backside of the bar work? I think, that the Rival cables are on the other side of the levers. So they need to be routed on the front side of the bar?!
My $.02: I have Reynolds carbon bars on my road bike. As far as comfort is concerned, I don't notice any difference compared with the alu. 3T's they replaced. In fact, I put the 3T's on my Swiss Cross, and find them very comfortable on dirt and gravel roads. IMHO, comfort is more a function of the shape and design -- reach, drop, flair, top shape - oval or round, as well as the bar tape and position of the brake shifters, rather than the material. I'll be testing a set of alu. Ritchey Venturmax gravel bars soon. My advice - think about shape, design, and your body type and measurements, and riding style first. Material not as important.
I just had my first ride with the EC70 AX. I have experience with typical compact drop bars (FSA SLK, Enve, etc.) The EC 70 AX are very comfortable. I spent time on the hoods and in the drops. Descending in the drops was confidence inspiring. I think I'm going to really like these bars!
I have about 250 miles on my Easton EC70 AX and I love them. I went from a similar flared Ritchy aluminum bar. I changed too many things like wheels, tires, drivetrain to notice a particular difference in them but she rides much better than the stock version. I got the matching stem and EC90 SL cranks to go to a 1X11.
I also have the carbon bar.
\nI love the shape, I went with the 40cm bar, where normally I ride a bar that is 42cm at the hoods. The drops are still wider than most 'traditional' 42cm bars.
\nOf course, you can get the alloy Easton or Salsa bars with similar flare.
\nComfort of the carbon is hard to compare, since I didn't swap an alloy bar for a carbon one, but many other tests show that most of the time, carbon components do offer better vibration damping.
I ordered a new bike yesterday, and I'm shopping for a different bar than what comes with it. This one's on the short list. Any of you using it have some more long term feedback?
I splurged for some carbon drop bars to upgrade the AL bars on my gravel bike. No regrets on the $$$ spent. I really like the feel the carbon gives. I ride AL on another bike and can tell the difference. My riding is mixed 40% pavement - 40% dirt - 20% woods road & single track. Stick with a known quality brand if you are concerned about durability.
Maybe I should be more specific... I've used carbon & alloy, and know which of those I prefer. I was hoping to get some feedback on the shape of these particular bars.
I currently have Easton EC90 carbon bars. On their own they are more comfortable for vibration reduction, but I am switching to Redshift Shockstop stem and going back to aluminum bars (because of di2).
I'd get the EA70X and put the savings toward the Shockstop. The feedback I received is that it'll do much more than carbon bars.
The Easton EC70 AX Carbon came stock on my new 2018 Norco Search XR, and I absolutely love them. I was definitely pleasantly surprised. I've been using carbon bars on my road bikes for a while, including *gulp* a pair of Enve' compact.
The Easton's compare favorably to the Enve for comfort and stiffness. The best part for gravel is the 16 degrees of flare. It's absolutely perfect for descending.
If anyone is concerned about the integrity of a carbon bar on a road/gravel bike, don't be. I'm a big/heavy guy at 6' 5" and 215'lbs. I've been using carbon bars on my road and gravel bikes for a couple of years now, and have full confidence in them.
Caveats? Yea.
Buy new. Never buy a used carbon bar (or any component really), as you don't know what terrible things might have been done to it before you got it, and damage can be unseen without proper testing equipment. You also want to make sure you aren't getting a counterfeit (lots of these out there - be careful)
Buy Name Brand equipment from reputable manufacturers and resellers. Avoid flea-bay where you may end up with a counterfeit or used item repacked as new. Name brand manufacturers are required by law to perform certain testing and their components have to meet safety standards. They also have a reputation to protect. You can feel safe with components from any of the major manufacturers like Enve, Easton, 3T, Thompson, FSA, DEDA, etc.. Avoid no-name generics and chinese knock-offs like your life depends on it (because it may).
I went with the Ritchey Venturemax bars and Redshift stem for the recent build of my gravel bike. Only five rides so far but I am very happy with the setup.
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I've been using the Easton EC 70 AX bar for about 6 months now. The flare is super comfy and they add a degree of confidence when descending sketchy terrain. I've ridden various carbon bars on road, MTB, and now gravel with zero issues. I use Easton on both road and gravel bikes. IMHO they provide the best value in a carbon handle bar. You can always opt for the EA 70 AX if your budget doesn't allow for the carbon bar.
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