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Found: Baramind’s Flexible Handlebar Smooths a Rigid Bikes’ Rough Edges

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Baramind flexible mountain bike handlebar

Baramind is a French upstart that makes a flexible handlebar for rigid bikes to improve comfort without giving up performance.

A glass-and-carbon fiber sandwiched plate provides the flexible structure for the bar with removable plates on the top and bottom to control the motion.

Two widths are available, 630 and 680, both with different glass/carbon fiber sections in the middle to make the flex characteristics the same between the two widths.

Baramind flexible mountain bike handlebar

The amount of flex is customizable by using different top and bottom sections, which bolt on from the center. The bottom (white) section is softer and primary controls the downward flex. The firmer top section controls upward flex and limits the bar from being pulled upward when you’re cranking back and forth during a hard effort.

Baramind flexible mountain bike handlebar

270g for the 630mm and 280g for the 680mm. It has 3° upsweep and 7° backsweep.

€169 for the flat mountain bike bar. They’re developing a riser bar and a commuter/city model, too.

I rode around on it briefly and it’s plenty firm for efficient riding but definitely takes the edge off. This isn’t a Softride style suspension, it’s just a nifty way to damp the stuff that gives people like Rich Dillon wrist pain.

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29 Comments
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Dan
Dan
11 years ago

And these will be recalled when? Oh thats right the first time someone gets some free dental work done. If you can’t ride rigid there’s this very well tested product called a suspension fork.

dave
dave
11 years ago

seems kinda cool. though tire pressure is the better way to deal with wrist pain.

Sevo
Sevo
11 years ago

The old Softride stems get a lot of flack from the uneducated and those new to the sport. But more than a few world championships were won on the softride stem and back home in the Midwest it was really the best thing out there weight/cost/suspension wise.

People may laugh, but with today’s 29er world, fat bikes, and a plethora of large tires that are available I see a switch back to these passive methods of suspension being justifiable. I see this bar doing well, I see a return of suspension stem about a year away.

My daily driver so to speak is a 5″ bike front and rear. Love it. But for my race and fat bikes I see a bar like this or a softride stem (I still have one-new) being viable.

Dan
Dan
11 years ago

@bundokbiker, those are either POS forks (like the first picture), or freeride/DJ forks(like the second 2). Thats not really the intended market there for this Slick Rick.

The industry went from 25.4mm to 31.8mm and now even 35mm (Deda/Easton) for added stiffness, not to mention taperd steerer/headtubes tubes all for the sake of stiffness. So lets just say F’ it and throw that thinking out the third floor window and make flexy bike parts on purpose.

ryan
ryan
11 years ago

cough… cough…. well designed steel bar….cough…..which wouldnt look hideous….cough…

Ricky Bob
Ricky Bob
11 years ago

This is not the beginning of a suspension stem resurgence. We might as well go back to elastomer suspension and 7 speed cassettes! Not gunna happen.

Samuel J. Greear
11 years ago

Dan, the industry went from 25.4mm to 31.8mm in order to sell you more stems and bars — apparently you bought the marketing.

BBB
BBB
11 years ago

Tyres make a very effective and simple suspension system which when set up correctly offers much more travel than any gimmicky “comfort” components.
Considering how many people still believe that narrower tyres are faster and riding at +40PSI off road is a good idea, I’m not surprised that demand for this kind of products exists at all.

teamdicky
11 years ago

That thing that used to give me wrist pain? I pay someone to do that for me now.

packfill
packfill
11 years ago

31.8 to 25.4 is marketing? A second year engineering student would be able to tell you that the bending stiffness of that cantilever beam increases with the diameter to the 4th power. there’s a HUGE diffence in stiffness..same as with a thru axle or a tapered steerer in torsion. mountain bikes with tapered steerers, thru axles front and rear, and oversized handlebars are light years ahead of where they were 5-6 years ago. you can go back to living with your head in the sand now.

ccolagio
ccolagio
11 years ago

this is not a mountain bike – its a really expensive flat bar cyclocross bike with unnecessarily large tires

MV
MV
11 years ago

I had a Flex Stem (it had an elastomeric disk) on my first rigid fork mountain bike (before front suspension was available). It took the sting out of fast descents. The flexible handle bars seem like a much more expensive solution to the same problem.

JZ
JZ
11 years ago

The guy in jeans forgot something. Whoops.

Topmounter
Topmounter
11 years ago

Cue the h8rs, someone did something that deviates from the status quo.

DJ
DJ
11 years ago

To narrow and 100g to heavy.

brian
brian
11 years ago

could have mine in 34.9 dia. with more bumps and curves.

mike p
mike p
11 years ago

These weigh the same as the steel Torsion bars made by Nitto for Surly. Those are righteous bars for rigid or otherwise. With all else being equal, would you really choose carbon (and glass??) over steel?

randy
randy
11 years ago

I had a set of carbon bars when they first came out. I later found out the company made carbon fiber honda hoods and boat oars. Well…epic fail they broke and I hit the deck on landing over a small creek. I still had the grip in my hand and had no clue what happened when I crashed. Wait until this is out a while before you risk your own neck. Trust me.

Ryan
Ryan
11 years ago

this makes my brain hurt

logic
logic
11 years ago

I’d take a set of the new titanium Thomson bars over these in a second, if I wanted a flexible bar for rigid riding.

Chis
Chis
11 years ago

Yawn. Been done before. About 15 years ago a company did the exact same thing. Didn’t fly then and not going to fly now.

RUSTYDOGG
RUSTYDOGG
11 years ago

Why does this exist!? You built a full rigid for what purpose? To be more in touch with the feel of the terrain?
Run a fatter tire with the proper pressure, improve your traction and try to make you forget the bad choice you made with that rigid fork.
Engineering-wise I can appreciate it. But its fixing a problem thats already been solved with a suspension fork.

Steve M
Steve M
11 years ago

Hey if the full rigid thing can come back then bar ends cant be far behind.

Unravelled
Unravelled
11 years ago

Hmm death bar aside… What frame is that??

feg
feg
11 years ago

unravelled – yes, that’s what i’m wondering too, looks like the old shimano deore xt logo on the head tube.

Nico
11 years ago

If you want more information about the product you can visit the website of the brand :
http://www.baramind-bike.com/

Please contact us if you want information !

hcycle
hcycle
11 years ago

Attn: feq/Unravelled
judging by the headtube, frame is from a new company from Hong Kong, Chiru:
http://www.chirubikes.com/#/about

http://www.hkmba.org/index.php/mountain-biking-in-hk/news-and-views/261-chiru-epic-and-quest-2010

Frank Coates
Frank Coates
9 years ago

I would like to order but need to check on several things.Had a shoulder replacement
Last summer and the road vibration causes pain that takes the fun out of the ridei
E-mail frankcoates56 at yahoo dot com

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