THOMSON Carbon Road Bar
I have had the chance to put some serious miles on the Thomson carbon road bar. It is a carbon bar, what makes it better? Well, any carbon bar will have the desired ride characteristics of damping road vibration while maintaining strength and light weight.
What sets Thomson apart is their fine quality and exact specifications. A nice touch is that the bar is exactly 31.8mm diameter under the clear coat. The clear coat compresses when clamped, so mated to a Thomson stem that is exactly 31.8mm you get a perfect fit, and a reduction of stress to the bar as well as a tighter fit.
The bar comes with a tiny tube of carbon application lube, that is a gritty gel to increase friction between the stem and the bar. This reduces the clamping force necessary to hold the bar. A torque wrench should be used to 4Nm when tightening the stem bolts to avoid over-clamping and crushing the carbon.
Thomson found that the sticky goo other bars have at the clamp area only cause the bar to slip easier, especially in the drop test.
What sets Thomson apart is their fine quality and exact specifications. A nice touch is that the bar is exactly 31.8mm diameter under the clear coat. The clear coat compresses when clamped, so mated to a Thomson stem that is exactly 31.8mm you get a perfect fit, and a reduction of stress to the bar as well as a tighter fit.
The bar comes with a tiny tube of carbon application lube, that is a gritty gel to increase friction between the stem and the bar. This reduces the clamping force necessary to hold the bar. A torque wrench should be used to 4Nm when tightening the stem bolts to avoid over-clamping and crushing the carbon.
Thomson found that the sticky goo other bars have at the clamp area only cause the bar to slip easier, especially in the drop test.
The bar comes in different widths, and there is also a CX version for the winter racer.
The Thomson website reports:
Our road bar features a mild wing shape on top, clamping area wide enough for aero bars, mid-compact reach and drop. This is the modern bar for the modern road bike. Our Road bar wing section is small enough not to restrict hand movement when riding on the top and allows bar angle adjustment with out “locking out” your wrists. Shaping on the bottom side of the wing allows housing to be taped out of the way without the use of narrow housing channels or internal routing, both of which shorten bar life. Certified to EN, tested to DIN+.
For Cyclocross we present the KFC-One, Katie Compton Signature ‘cross bar. Katie brings her multiple National Championships and European racing experience to give you a bar built her way for cross. The natural transition from your Thomson road bar for the ‘cross season. Twin flats on the bottom of the bar allow taping your housing to create a completely round bar when wrapped. Top profile is round and as wide as possible. This allows auxiliary brake levers to be safely used and still leaves lots of room for your hands. Certified to EN, tested to DIN+.
Layup uses 3 different fiber types with different tensile strengths and tensile modulus, including High Strength carbon fiber. This helps allocate stiffness and flex where needed.
All carbon fiber is produced by Toray and uses tailor made Nano Epoxy Resin for very high impact resistance. Toray is the main supplier of carbon fiber for Boeing and Airbus.
Both the Road and Cross bar are made in one piece, not three pieces co-molded and glued together.
Bars are molded over an EPS mandrel to avoid wrinkles inside the layup during molding. Most other bars are molded over inflatable nylon bladders.
Reach for the Road and Cross bars is the same at 78.5mm. Drop is proportional. Road drops are: 40CM 137mm, 42CM 140mm, 44CM 140mm, 46CM 143mm. Cross drops are: 40CM 131mm, 42CM 133mm, 44CM 135mm.
1.5K woven impact ends help prevent damage to uni-directional fibers from impact
| Model Number | Handlebar Description | Weight | Retail Price |
| HB-E104 | 40cm center to center-Road x 31.8 | 188 g | $249.95 |
| HB-E105 | 42cm center to center-Road x 31.8 | 190 g | $249.95 |
| HB-E106 | 44cm center to center-Road x 31.8 | 192 g | $249.95 |
| HB-E107 | 46cm center to center-Road x 31.8 | 194 g | $249.95 |
| HB-E110 | 40cm center to center-KfC-One-Cross x 31.8 | 202 g | $249.95 |
| HB-E111 | 42cm center to center-KfC-One-Cross x 31.8 | 204 g | $249.95 |
| HB-E112 | 44cm center to center-KfC-One-Cross x 31.8 |
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