The Chromag Fubars OSX is one of the most ubiquitous and popular handlebars in Western Canada, here’s why:

First off, this is a downhill/freeride bar, so it comes 780 millimetres wide—which provides tons of damping to your steering, but is pretty close to max so far as how wide a bar you might want. The smart move here is that Chromag keeps the taper nice and close to the inside of the bar, which leaves tons of room to move your grips, shifters and leavers in, should you choose to trim.

I myself have a habit of clipping trees, and am an all-mountain rider—which I guess we’re supposed to call “enduro” these days. So I cut a half centimetre off either side, conveniently pre-marked by Chromag on the bar itself. This was the perfect sweet spot for me, and has saved my pinky fingers from encounters with foliage and hardwood on older, tighter trails.

Chromag shred
Nelson’s smoothest corner?

I used the OSX to replace the stock 760-millimetre-wide Kona bar that came on my Process 153. What I was looking for, mainly, was comfort. After the switch my bike felt instantly more natural, and my grip strength improved immediately. This is due to the sweep being more ergonomic, which is why this bar is so popular. Amazingly, it’s also lighter than my stock XC bar.

Next, my riding position became more aggressive on steeper trails and my front fork felt more active. This is because the OSX, with 25 millimetres of rise, is slightly higher than my stock bar. The place this makes the biggest difference is on rock slabs. Being more comfortable in my connection to the bike means I’m more centred now.

Morning Sickness in Nelson, BC.
Slabalanche in Nelson, BC.

The drawback? I did lose a little bit of cornering acuity with the extra rise, which felt a bit clumsy at first. But I quickly got used to it and am altogether better off for it now. For those looking to keep their bars lower, Chromag does make the carbon BZA, with a similarly comfortable sweep, available in a 15-millimetre rise.

All told, the OSX has been a boon to my riding, especially with the abundance of steep trails in Nelson and the dry conditions. That said, I have taken this bar all over the province this summer, and with the exception of some zones where the trail building hasn’t caught up to modern standards—i.e. the trees are two effing tight—there’s nowhere I didn’t appreciate this bar.

Specs:

Custom drawn 7000 series alloy • 780mm (30.8”) width • 5° upsweep, 8° bend • 25mm (1”) rise • 325g anodized, 330g paint

Colours:

  • Paint series:
    • Neon orange
    • Neon yellow
    • Fuchsia
  • Anodized series:
    • Black
    • Red
    • Ocean Blue
    • Silver
    • Purple
    • Satin Nickel
    • Gold
    • Polished Aluminum
    • Charcoal/Tight Yellow

MSRP: Price actually varies according to the finish and colour on these bars. $100 to $110 CDN

www.chromagbikes.com