Words: Pete Scullion

Handlebars make up two of the four contact control points on your bike, so it’s vital that they perform the job well. A downhill bar should be strong, light and wide enough to provide control when the going gets interesting. A lot about a handlebar is personal preference, but beyond that, every good DH bar needs to have some key features. Strength is key. Modern handlebars are considerably wider than their predecessors, especially when it comes to downhill, and they need to be able to withstand a large amount of bending force. The longer the lever the greater the force, and so our taste for wider bars hasn’t made things any easier for manufacturers. As with anything, compromise is evident and a strong handlebar needs to be light as well. High-grade aluminium alloys provide a fantastic strength-to-weight ratio, making them perfect for this application. Flex and shock absorption are also important when trying to make a bar that will allow you to ride all day. Too stiff and your hands will start to suffer, as they will with poor shock absorption. A bar that exhibits too much flex will lead to vague steering and lack of feedback to the rider. Up-sweep and back-sweep should be sensible, but again, this is personal preference. A good downhill handlebar should come in a range of rises to accommodate everyone’s tastes. Price shouldn’t be sky high for an alloy DH bar and if you’re lucky, there might be one in the same colour as the rest of your kit.

So, without further ado, and in no particular order, it is now time to unveil our selection of the very best aluminium downhill bars on the market. Just get clicking below to see which ones made the grade…