Thomson

Carbon XC Handlebar

The aerospace engineering industry has little tolerance for trends and ill-planned designs, and Thomson's methodical, impeccable craftsmanship has represented the company's pragmatic roots in the industry since it first began making mountain bike stems. Slowly expanding further into the realm of mountain bike componentry without unnecessary fuss or fanfare, the company forgoes hyperbolic claims and shiny, loud graphics with designs like its Carbon XC Handlebar, featuring clean, refined aesthetics and a lightweight, race-ready construction.

During the manufacturing process, Thomson arranges Toray carbon fibers in different strengths along the length of the bar, shaping them to provide strength in high-stress sections while maintaining areas of flex for comfort. Rather than using a conventional inflated nylon bladder, Thomson instead relies on an EPS mandrel to shape the bar during the molding process, which its engineers believe helps better prevent wrinkles inside the layup as the fibers are molded. A custom resin bonds the fibers together to ensure high impact resistance, while reinforced 1.5K woven impact ends strengthen the bar ends in anticipation of the crashes they'll see in their lifetime and give you the freedom to shorten the bar length without damaging the carbon.

When you mount the bar on your frame, you'll have the option of having no rise with an off-center clamp, or reversing it to a 5mm drop if you're riding a 29er, with 6-degrees of backsweep and a stable, but nimble 730mm width ideal for racing. Ever thorough, Thomson also made sure the XC Handlebar was certified to EN standards and tested to DIN+.