canyon Hoverbars - yikes

[Tony Edwards]

Canyon today announced its new Grail gravel bike, and the related press embargo broke. There are several first-ride and other articles online, including:

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/pr...-design-372528

http://www.velonews.com/2018/03/bike...ver-bar_459593

https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/cany...t-ride-review/

I have to say I'm disappointed. The "Hover" bar seems like an elaborate engineering solution to a problem that doesn't exist. If Canyon goes out of business or ceases making the Grail, it may become very difficult or impossible to simply replace the bar and stem on the bike, and in any case it's very limiting in terms of the choices available. It's also pretty awful-looking to my eyes (though that is obviously subjective). On the plus side, it's very light, fairly priced, and, presumably, well built. All things considered it's a pass for me.

EDIT: Just noticed the Hoverbar thread - mods please feel free to delete this post or consolidate the threads.

[MattTuck]

Reminds me of those CAD renderings of people's drawings of bikes.

[old fat man]

Originally Posted by chiasticon

you guys gotta read the BikeRadar ride review. the dual bars act as suspension, over using the types that Trek and Specialized have done, or a suspension fork. apparently the top bar has a lot of give, the middle of which is not for resting your hands on (in fact, you're not supposed to) and it allows the top and hoods to visibly flex a lot. the bottom part is for stabilizing your hands for descents.

not sure how I feel but it's certainly interesting. Canyon's Inflite kinked top tube was pretty polarizing as well. their argument is that most of their users are young and less taken by tradition, so they're free to try new things with less fear of turning potential users off. I get it. interested to see how it does at least (likewise with Inflite).

Can't we just judge it by looks alone, like my 5 year old son does when I put vegetables on his plate?

[middec11]

I like it when companies push design forward and think out of the box. But I can't imagine ever riding or buying this bike with that front end.

[Mark McM]

The Hover bar looks like it was inspired by some of Sheldon Brown's double handlebar bikes:

[Jaybee]

The lower crossbar looks like it's right in the way of my favorite spot for loose gravel descents - deep in the hooks.

[zap]

Good grief.

[jtbadge]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

The lower crossbar looks like it's right in the way of my favorite spot for loose gravel descents - deep in the hooks.

People buying these bikes don't ride in the drops.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by jtbadge

People buying these bikes don't ride in the drops.

Or sprint..

Which is what the alleged benefits are to stiffer drops.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by benb

I think experimentation with bars is pretty interesting an maybe we still need more of it but these are certainly weird. I wonder if they're race legal for one thing. I can't really see why they'd be any more dangerous than normal road bars.

I'd be interested to see "swept back" tops on a bar to put your wrists in a more neutral position when on the tops and/or provide a more upright position. Just extend the reach out to the hoods more than normal to keep the hoods in the normal position.

I also wonder with these bars if they stuck the extra crossbar in a different place if it could facilitate the pseudo aero position that you see a lot of pro roadies using. If this thing turns out to be declared illegal in racing I guess you could stick clip on bars on it too.

That middle cross bar seems much like the Hooker Legal Speed aero bar:



(There was another similar product, but I can't remember the name of it.)

As far as I know the Hooker Legal Speed bar is still legal for USCF racing, although I'm not sure how the UCI would look upon it.

From the photos of the Hover bar, what I'm wondering is how that crossbar affects hand position in the drops? Do your thumbs go above or below the bar? And what if you are using Campagnolo levers - does the cross bar get in the way of moving your thumb to the upshift lever/button?

[R3awak3n]

I mean, it still looks better than the stupid lauf fork. The competition is tight though. WHO WILL MAKE THE DUMBEST LOOKING PRODUCTS? stay tuned. I am sure spesh is coming out with something.


That said, this looks hella fun to ride

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

I mean, it still looks better than the stupid lauf fork. The competition is tight though. WHO WILL MAKE THE DUMBEST LOOKING PRODUCTS? stay tuned. I am sure spesh is coming out with something.


That said, this looks hella fun to ride

I actually don't mind the lauf fork when the legs are painted to match.




And almost all the ride reports on the lauf are glowing. If the Canyon turns out the same way, then I'd overlook weirdness in favor of function.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

(There was another similar product, but I can't remember the name of it.)

Scott Drop In bars? I had the Specialized version on my 1993 Allez Pro....

[oldpotatoe]

I don’t get it. ***arge? What ‘problem’ do these silly lookin things solve? How do ya get the levers on?

[fignon's barber]

Canyon should offer the Grail with a more conventional bar as an option. Although I applaud them for thinking out of the box, I see a major safety flaw: if you are in the drops and have even a minor crash in which the bar suddenly jerks, you will fracture your thumb. Secondly the Hoverbar will force your hand position into one fixed position. Thirdly, after an extended time on bumpy surfaces, the base of your thumb will be repeatedly ponded on the bar.
Additionally, the benefit they pitch (compliance and shock adsorbing), would only be a real benefit if your wrists/elbows/shoulders were fused in a rigid fixed line. Of course, this isn't true: nature gives humans natural shock absorbers.