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Jones Adds Carbon to the Loop, Introduces New Ultralight H-Bar

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Jones carbon loop h bar

Weight conscious fans of Jeff Jones’ non-traditional handlebars rejoice – the beloved Loop H-Bar will soon be available in carbon. Designed to offer more comfort and hand positions than a traditional handlebar, Jones claims they result in more power and control. Previously offered in titanium and aluminum, the carbon model will make three versions of the Loop. The bars allow for standard trigger shifters or grip shifters to be mounted along with additional aero positioning or extra mounting space for lights, bells, GPS, etc. at the front of the bar.

Prices and availability are coming soon, but we have weights and more details after the jump…

Jones carbon loop h bar 3

Jones carbon loop h bar 5 Jones carbon loop h bar 4

The carbon Loop H-Bar shares the same dimensions as the aluminum 710 bar, measuring 710mm wide with a 31.8mm diameter clamp surface. Jones claims the Carbon 710 Loop H-Bar only weighs 275g. If accurate, that would represent a 240g reduction over the 516g aluminum model. Even with nearly half the weight, the carbon bar has passed the same EN/EU testing as the Titanium and Aluminum H-Bars.

Jones carbon loop h bar 2 Jones carbon loop h bar 6

Whether you want to run bar tape or extra long ESI grips, the carbon H-Bar still has all of the same extra hand positions as the original.

jonesbikes.com

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Tennessee
Tennessee
9 years ago

I love Jones and their H-bars are the best choice for off pavement, long distance endeavors. However, getting a Jones bar (or any product I imagine) through a LBS with a Jones account is painful. My LBS has had to email and call many times to get an order fulfilled. In the end it took about 2 months to get the customer their product with little to no communication throughout that process (all while they remained in stock according to their website). In fact, a few weeks ago I recently attempted to order another bar through my LBS and, after the initial call and email went unanswered, I told them to forget about it. No bike part is worth groveling for and local bike shops employees are too busy and don’t make enough to compensate for Jones poor service. You’d think with the outrageous prices Jones charges (you know this bar is going to be more than a couple hundo) they’d be on top of taking people’s money.

Great product but terrible service.

Topmounter
Topmounter
9 years ago

The big question: Will they cost more or less than the Ti version?

Tennessee
Tennessee
9 years ago

Jones make a great product and their H-bars are the best for off-road, long distance biking. However, buying their products through a LBS with a Jones account is a painful process. The awesome LBS that I give all my business to has had to spend 2 months of repeatedly emailing and calling Jones to get an order filled for a customer (while their website showed stock was not the problem). In fact, I recently attempted to buy a Jones bar through the same shop and after the initial call and email didn’t result in any movement on Jones part, I told them to forget it. No bike part is worth groveling for and the high price tag of these bars should warrant much better customer service on Jones part. If I were about to drop the several hundo that these carbon bars will be priced at, I would want Jones to at least pick up the phone.

In the end this might be a great bar but I’m not down on Jones dumping on small shops. Those guys don’t make enough and have way better things to do than to waste time filling up Jones inbox. In the end, Jones inability to follow though on their end results in the bike shop looking bad and their customers potentially going elsewhere.

Heffe
Heffe
9 years ago

I’d like to see a new version of the Scott AT2 bar.

CeeJay
CeeJay
9 years ago

Can someone explain to me the use oft his bar design?

Chris
Chris
9 years ago

CeeJay:

Some basic reason road bike bars are shaped the way they are: multiple hand positions. Flat MTB bars offer only one position and that one position is a very poor one, ergonomically speaking. If you’re doing long rides and not going over a lot of extremely technical terrain then a flat bar is a pretty poor choice. Actually the flat bar is really only good one thing and that’s riding highly technical terrain where you need the leverage from a wider hand position. Back in the 80s a lot of people actually ran drop bars on their MTBs. Klein and Bridgestone even offered stock, off the shelf MTBs with drops. John Tomac won the XC World Championships aboard a MTB with drop bars. The Jones bar is an attempt to offer the multiple hand positions of a road drop bar while still offering a wide arm, high leverage position that is suitable for more technical terrain. Whether or not they work for you depends heavily on your personal riding style and where you ride.

Charlie
Charlie
9 years ago

I would agree with Chris that flat bars “offer only one position” but only if you assume bar ends are not attached. Bar ends make flat bars a viable option, in my opinion. If you stand with your arms relaxed at your side and then raise your hands by bending your elbows, you can see that bar ends are the natural thing to hold onto. But I suppose a bar with a 45 deg back-sweep like the Jones Loop comes close to the ergonomics of bar ends. And they obviously offer more than just the two positions offered by flat bars with bar ends since holding the ends of the Jones Loop would put your back in a more upright position and holding onto the front of the loop would let you couch down.

dorkdisk
dorkdisk
9 years ago

Am expecting to see these pointing straight up, with bar ends pointing straight up

Jeff Jones
9 years ago

Dear Tennessee, First off, thank you for the kind words about H-Bars. We are happy with them and getting a lot of good feedback. I am however sorry to hear about your experience trying to get yourself a set of H-Bars. We have been growing our dealer program and work with many qualified LBS who carry our products. We are definitely a small grassroots company and we do have a hard time keeping things in stock at times, but we do our best to stay on top of it. That said, I also do my best to reply to every single email that comes to my inbox, and I am happy to talk to anyone on the phone about our products. I spend a lot of my time talking to individual customers on a personal level to share my perspective on our parts and bikes, how they compare to other products on the market, and what might be best for them given their style of riding or whatnot. I want every customer to be happy with their purchase. We are currently working hard to ramp up our dealer program, we very recently went live with a new website with an online store and we are currently working to integrate dealer ordering into the site.

I started my career in this industry working in a LBS and I also started a couple of my own bike shops. I have a lot of respect for the small shops and appreciate working with them, to me they are the heart and soul of the industry. Please understand we are a very small company and we do our best. We don’t have the economies of scale of many of the larger companies but we still feel we offer good value and honest and reliable service. I do invite you to call at anytime, I am reachable on our direct line most days during regular business hours at 541-535-2034 (PST). Sincerely, Jeff Jones

NinerRider
NinerRider
9 years ago

@Tennesee: i have ordered bikes and parts from Cannondale, one of the biggest companies in the industry and had to wait 6 months and more. Jeff runs a small company. His stuff is top-notch and he stands behind it. I’ve called him several times and had never a problem to get him on the phone.
My guess is that your “awesome” LBS might have dropped the ball. Why not pick up the phone and order directly from him or his site?

Stu
Stu
9 years ago

2008 called and they want their handlebars back. Seriously, these are cool as long as you don’t like descending fast. (IMHO) Rode the alloy Titec version.

bielas
bielas
9 years ago

@Chris
John Tomac didn’t win the Worlds XC title riding drop bars, he was riding a flat bat with bar ends (1991 in il Ciocco, Italy). He was riding a Raleigh bike that year.
In 1990, tomac placed 6th in the Worlds DH championships and 4th in DH in Durango, USA. That year yes he rode drop bars on his Yeti bike.

The position in the drops is too low for Mtb riding, therefore it is useless and that is why many years ago everything went to flat or riser bars, for a more upright position.
As for the Jones bar, it has a nice backsweep that makes it comfortable on the grips, but it is just 1 position. Is the front arch for riding TT style on road sections?

Ben
Ben
9 years ago

I’ve always been fascinated with these bars but have never ridden them. I can see how the width would add to control but I wonder how they perform when trying to do wheelies or bunny hops?

OregonSS
OregonSS
9 years ago

It’s amazing what a polarizing reaction these bars get. I have a set of the originals that make their way on and off my single-speed, depending on what/where I’m riding.

These are possibly the best single speed bar you can get. That 45 degree bend allows you to pull much harder on climbs using your lats and shoulders, instead of just your biceps. That position also allows you to get WAY far back and move around on the bike better (which is critical if you run a rigid fork in nasty terrain). The “hidden” hand position is actually at the intersection of the 45 and the main bar–with break levers, it functions like a road hood. When you’re tapped out on a long gradual climb, that position allows you to stretch out and get over your hips (and open up your lungs better). It’s worth noting that you have to set these up just right (I found I like mine angled back/down about 15 degrees for the correct position), but once you get used to them the only place they handicap you at all is tight downhill switchbacks (feels like turning a bus). It’s actually quite easy to loft the front end with these.

The originals aren’t really wide by modern standards (going back/forth from a 720 to a 660 is weird), but the new versions look very promising!

craigsj
craigsj
9 years ago

I don’t know why polarizing reactions “amaze” you when you consider the deliberate misinformation and oversold hype surrounding the product as demonstrated in this article and in your post, OregonSS. Few people appreciate such exaggeration and some are motivated to comment on it. I appreciate what Jones tries to accomplish with this bar but don’t much care for the lies and hype.

Dean
Dean
9 years ago

I recently ordered an aluminum Jones h-bar directly from their website and received it in less that a week. Seriously lovin’ it!

Tennessee
Tennessee
9 years ago

To Mr. Jones and all,

After waiting ~2 weeks I told the manager of my shop to send another email ordering some alloy h-bars for me. The order was received and shipped by the next day. I’m happy to report that whatever the issue was between placing an order with my LBS and Jones fulfilling that order has been corrected. I’m excited to finally rock these bars on my fat tired troll! No other bar would fit the bike as well.

I really appreciate Jeff Jones taking the time to reply to my post and stand behind the name of his company. I will continue to recommend your products, Jeff!

Chris

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