Sometime during the grunge era, I developed a healthy skepticism towards jumping on board with new trends. Nowadays, I’ve found my reluctance has transferred over to the ever-changing bike industry. I’m not a particularly long-limbed individual, so when handlebars started growing super wide I always found myself a step or two below ‘the latest and largest’ and it never concerned me much.
Recently I was invited to test a new DH bar and stem from Deity Components. Not only did their Blacklabel handlebar spread my hands wider, but the stubby Micro DM stem brought my bars back quite a bit as well. In short, I was quickly convinced of the benefits of running a wide/short setup, and bouncing around on the DH bike instantly became a lot more intuitive, and more fun. Click past the break for the full review…
Deity’s Blacklabel handlebars are labelled as 787 proof (a cheeky way of saying they’re 787mm wide) and the model I tested have a 25mm rise, although 15mm and 38mm options are also available. The bars are made from 7075 T-6 aluminum, and feature a 5° upsweep and 9° backsweep. It’s interesting to note that Deity stuck with a clamp diameter of 31.8mm, where many brands are going to 35mm. They claim this is one of the lightest DH bars available at 315g.
Looks-wise, I give them two thumbs up. The bead-blasted and mirrored finishes look great, I like the graphic details and there are tons of colors available to match up to your bike. It’s also nice to know Deity offers a lifetime crash replacement plan on the Blacklabel bar.
The Micro DM Stem is a very short, compact unit with a reach of just 30mm and a rise of 10mm. The stem is a four-piece design made from 7075 T73 aluminum, and is compatible with the Rockshox Boxxer mounting standard. The clamp is 31.8mm diameter, and the two sides sit 65mm apart to provide torsional stiffness.
At 110g Deity says the heavily machined Micro DM is among the world’s lightest direct mount stems, yet it comes with a lifetime warranty. There’s a rainbow of colors to choose from, and alongside the handlebar I thought the graphics looked great.
As stated earlier I never felt anything was lacking riding my stock 750mm handlebars, but as they say, you never know until you try… With the Blacklabel bar installed the added width was noticeable, but at my height of 5’9” didn’t feel excessive. After a few runs I had to admit I was late to the wide bars party- I found I was comfortable at this width and it leaned me a tad more forward into the perfect attack position. I was instantly riding more aggressively, yet I also felt more stable and centered versus the old setup.
On rock gardens and rougher trails the width of the bars made it easier to keep the bike plowing straight on through. While I’m only 145lbs and handlebar flex isn’t typically an issue for me, the Blacklabels felt noticeably solid even with their 31.8mm clamp diameter. The sweep is close to my stock handlebar’s 8° back, 6° upsweep, so it felt natural right away.
Downsizing from a 45mm stem I was expecting the Micro DM to feel twitchy in comparison, at least initially. However, I was surprised how well-rounded it proved to be; my steering was still comfortable, even more predictable and not overly sensitive at any speed. Where I really noticed the difference was on the tight and curvy trails, where bouncing back and forth between berms became a real treat. I felt like the bike was responding more to the inputs of my head and torso than my arms, and leaning in to a berm became a more natural movement than before. I started to really appreciate the Micro DM’s handling, and it wasn’t long before I was entering familiar corners faster than I used to.
While I never disagreed with super wide bars I would now encourage anyone, even riders who aren’t particularly tall or lanky, to experiment and find their ideal width. Going wider squares off your elbows and definitely provides more stability in the rough. With the shorter stem I felt better centered over my bike and it seemed like every movement required a little less effort than before, making riding easier, faster, and more fun. Deity’s components performed perfectly throughout my test, providing stable and intuitive handling with no mechanical issues to report. They also look absolutely killer on the bike!
