

The bar is finished well with sharp graphics and easy to use gradations etched into the outside of each drop section which insures even lever placement. Since I prefer wide bars, I like the width, but shorter riders using these in rougher terrain may also opt for a wider bar with a shorter stem, much like what is recommended on several newer designs for gravel bikes. The test sample we requested is in the 46cm width and with the overall width being 602cm, it approaches the width of narrow mountain biking bars. Of course, the Vibrocore™ feature also was intriguing. (Admittedly, I am chief amongst those rare folks). The gradations on the side of each drop make setting up levers on the Flare 25 a snap.įirst Impressions: The first thing I noted about the Flare 25 was the 31.8mm bar top section and the flare, which both reminded me of the near mythical Ragley “Luxy Bar”, which has a strong cult following amongst dirt drop bar aficionados. Other features of this bar can be seen in the chart below, courtesy of SPANK.

(Please see our “ Drop Bar Terms De fined” article for definitions of these terms) It also has something fairly different in that the bar clamp diameter of 31.8mm extends all the way across the bar “top”.

The Flare 25 has, as you may have surmised by now, 25° of “flare”. Can the SPANK Flare 25 Drop Bar help in this regard? That is what we aim to find out.īut what about the rest of this bar? Well, the name gives part of the story away here. How many times have we heard, read about, or experienced ourselves, the numbness that comes from riding hours upon hours of rough gravel? Too many to count. Most bikes being used in this genre are rigid fork bicycles and transmission of vibrations from rough roads is of concern.

Needless to say, this sort of technology seems to be right up a gravel/all-road rider’s alley. You can read more about Vibrocore on SPANK’s site. The main idea is that the Vibrocore foam, and the way the components is designed that it is injected into, is supposedly going to inhibit injurious vibrations from reaching the rider. It is a biodegradable specially formulated foam injected into handle bars and some rims sold by SPANK. What It Is: SPANK has hung its hat on what is called Vibrocore™ technology.
