Dirt

British brand Renthal had been a name in the moto industry for many years before it began releasing products into the mountain bike arena in 2010. The company was formed in 1969 by motorcycle and engineering enthusiasts Andrew Renshaw and Henry Rosenthal, initially making handlebars for trials bikes, and the Renthal name soon became synonymous with the revolution of aluminium handlebars.

In 1975 the company entered the motocross market, with a full time production facility in Manchester. Following a fire in 2000, it moved to a new 49,000 sq. ft state-of-the-art manufacturing and design facility in Bredbury, near Stockport, housing a huge and diverse range of production, quality control and R&D machinery and equipment.

After entering the mountain bike market, it quickly became one of the world’s leading brands, with a portfolio including handlebars, stems, grips and chainrings. Handlebars include the Fatbar, noticeably heavier than most of its competitors at 360g, and the new-for-2013 super-tough Fatbar Lite Carbon, the company’s first carbon handlebar. In the grip range, there are two models – the Lock-On and the Push-On – with four different grip compounds, including Kevlar.

Renthal components are used by some of the world’s top mountain bikers, such as Santa Cruz rider Neil Donoghue, who was heavily involved in the testing and development of the Fatbar Lite Carbon bars. Other Renthal users include top British trials rider Chris Akrigg and the Commencal Riding Addiction World Cup DH team.