Renthal vs One Up Carbon Bars

Shinn

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2020
375
277
Decorah, IA USA
They look very similar, as do most carbon bars. the one up bars are intriguing to me with their ovalized sections and claims of less vibration. I don't see they have a 30mm rise and fear 35 is too much.

I'm leaning towards the Renthals, they come in a 30mm rise at 760mm which I think will be perfect.

I've always ran alloy bars, almost always from Race Face and this will be my first foray into carbon bars.

Anyone tried both? Any reason to stay away from carbon these days?

Thanks.
 

kmag

Member
Jul 1, 2020
17
13
BC Canada
They look very similar, as do most carbon bars. the one up bars are intriguing to me with their ovalized sections and claims of less vibration. I don't see they have a 30mm rise and fear 35 is too much.

I'm leaning towards the Renthals, they come in a 30mm rise at 760mm which I think will be perfect.

I've always ran alloy bars, almost always from Race Face and this will be my first foray into carbon bars.

Anyone tried both? Any reason to stay away from carbon these days?

Thanks.

I have both on separate bikes.
The feel is noticeable between the 2 of them. And I would have to say, I enjoy the compliance in the one up more. (The renthal is very stiff)
 

Flatslide

E*POWAH Master
Jul 14, 2019
265
250
Dunedin NZ
I have an 800x35x35 rise Renthal carbon fatbar on my Remedy. It is as stiff as a stiff thing. I tried it on my Rocky but it was too much for my daily ride I found, so I put the oem Rocky alloy bar back on which is noticeably more compliant and comfortable.
 
Last edited:

coregrind

Well-known member
Dec 16, 2020
95
80
BEAVERTON, OREGON USA
I don't see they have a 30mm rise and fear 35 is too much.
Do you not have 5mm (or more) of spacer under the stem? If not, then the 35mm rise might be too tall. Do you have 10mm (or more) of spacer above the stem? If yes, maybe get the 20mm rise and swap a 10mm spacer to under the stem.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,933
9,273
Lincolnshire, UK
I had Renthal Fatbars in alloy and they were a big improvement on the bog standard no-name I had before. Then I got a cracking deal on the exact same Renthal bar except it was in CF, the Fatbar Light! The difference was immediately noticeable. Pretty much all the vibration was gone and every rock felt as though the corners had been rounded off just for me! :love:
But after a couple of rides it all became the new normal. :rolleyes:
 

Shinn

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2020
375
277
Decorah, IA USA
Do you not have 5mm (or more) of spacer under the stem? If not, then the 35mm rise might be too tall. Do you have 10mm (or more) of spacer above the stem? If yes, maybe get the 20mm rise and swap a 10mm spacer to under the stem.
I have spacers, just trying to keep them to a minimum as the reach on the SL is pretty short...I know the change is minimal but still keeping it in mind.
 

Dingo78

New Member
Jan 5, 2021
18
13
Belgium - Antwerp
Hey Guys,

Carbon handlebars is one of the upgrades in want buy in the near future. I'm looking for more comfort and have heard carbon bars filter out alot of the vibrations compared to aluminium bars. Are there brands that are better then others or some that are to be avoided? Do i need a special stem for it or can i use any stem?
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
What do you weigh?and how do you ride?
If you are heavier or an aggressive rider (and especially both) oneup carbon bars flex disconcertingly.
I can bend them noticeably in my hands without them even being fitted to a bike.
 

coregrind

Well-known member
Dec 16, 2020
95
80
BEAVERTON, OREGON USA
Renthal vs. OneUp is the topic here. In general, my vote goes to OneUp as the most comfortable bar I've used. I'm at 100kg with these bars fitted to my current hardtail, trail, enduro and gravity park builds with a plan to install on my eMTB, when it arrives. No worries from me regarding the strength and they provide an adequately stiff steering experience. They come fairly wide (easy to cut if needed) and are offered in two rise options (20mm & 35mm), but just one clamp diameter. For the stem, anything of good quality designed for a 35mm bar will have you properly setup.
 

Forever Wild

Active member
May 21, 2020
251
445
Arizona
Hey Guys,

Carbon handlebars is one of the upgrades in want buy in the near future. I'm looking for more comfort and have heard carbon bars filter out alot of the vibrations compared to aluminium bars. Are there brands that are better then others or some that are to be avoided? Do i need a special stem for it or can i use any stem?

I like my 800x35x40 renthal fatbar. I run another carbon bar, Spomann Carbon, it’s meh. I also run an alloy Vibrocore. Fatbar has the least vibration and feels good to me while riding. It’s subjective but I like my Fatbar the best. I have not tried one up carbon bar.
 

Shinn

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2020
375
277
Decorah, IA USA
What do you weigh?and how do you ride?
If you are heavier or an aggressive rider (and especially both) oneup carbon bars flex disconcertingly.
I can bend them noticeably in my hands without them even being fitted to a bike.

170lbs
What do you weigh?and how do you ride?
If you are heavier or an aggressive rider (and especially both) oneup carbon bars flex disconcertingly.
I can bend them noticeably in my hands without them even being fitted to a bike.

about 170lbs or 77kgs, my local trails are mostly rolling single track which is full of roots and some occasional rocks (good fun). I travel often though to very rocky areas, lots of drops and high-ish speed rocky descents. (really good fun)

The one up bars now make me nervous, locally they sound great but there are some sizeable drops I do enjoy immensely.

I'm on a M Levo SL with short legs and longer arms.
 

Shinn

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2020
375
277
Decorah, IA USA
I like my 800x35x40 renthal fatbar. I run another carbon bar, Spomann Carbon, it’s meh. I also run an alloy Vibrocore. Fatbar has the least vibration and feels good to me while riding. It’s subjective but I like my Fatbar the best. I have not tried one up carbon bar.

Thanks for the comparison between the fatbar and vibricore. Thought if I stuck with alloy I'd look into those a bit more.

40mm rise seems like a lot to me - you must get to go down the hill much more than I.
 

Shinn

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2020
375
277
Decorah, IA USA
I had Renthal Fatbars in alloy and they were a big improvement on the bog standard no-name I had before. Then I got a cracking deal on the exact same Renthal bar except it was in CF, the Fatbar Light! The difference was immediately noticeable. Pretty much all the vibration was gone and every rock felt as though the corners had been rounded off just for me! :love:
But after a couple of rides it all became the new normal. :rolleyes:

Cracking deal, the bars were cracking or is cracking a good deal in your neck of the woods? Sounds like they're cracking and they gave you a deal? I'm confused. While we're at it - what is a bloke? I could google it but figure the responses here would be more entertaining.
 

Doug Stampfer

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2018
737
756
NZ
170lbs


about 170lbs or 77kgs, my local trails are mostly rolling single track which is full of roots and some occasional rocks (good fun). I travel often though to very rocky areas, lots of drops and high-ish speed rocky descents. (really good fun)

The one up bars now make me nervous, locally they sound great but there are some sizeable drops I do enjoy immensely.

I'm on a M Levo SL with short legs and longer arms.
You'll be fine with one ups. I've found them really good for reducing vibration. They are 35mm so you'll need a 35mm stem.
If you're really after comfort look into cushcores & reduced tyre pressure - but thats another topic
 

The Hodge

Mystic Meg
Subscriber
Sep 9, 2020
3,931
8,355
North West Northumberland
Cracking deal, the bars were cracking or is cracking a good deal in your neck of the woods? Sounds like they're cracking and they gave you a deal? I'm confused. While we're at it - what is a bloke? I could google it but figure the responses here would be more entertaining.
Whats a bloke you ask ..?
This should give you the answer but you will have to wait until the end to find out ..
 

Dingo78

New Member
Jan 5, 2021
18
13
Belgium - Antwerp
What do you weigh?and how do you ride?
If you are heavier or an aggressive rider (and especially both) oneup carbon bars flex disconcertingly.
I can bend them noticeably in my hands without them even being fitted to a bike.

Well with 95 kg im on the heavier side of the scale. I'm not really an agressive rider.. a bit in the middle i would say. I would be mounting them to a Cube hardtail.
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Jeff's trails have no corners.
Cornering fast downhill requires weighting bars way more than climbing requires the "yanking" he hated.
For me, vertically super flexible handlebar is horrible cornering.
If you are a DH rider and finding your bars too stiff on 3ft drops you're weak. Plain and simple.

There's no way I'd run oneup bars and stem on any bike. Infact I was offered a set for free last year and declined.
 

gaba

Active member
Dec 31, 2018
112
129
California
Honestly I’m surprised to hear people say the Renthals are too stiff. I run the carbon Fatbar 40mm rise on a Turbo Levo and an Enduro. I have an ENVE carbon bar on my XC bike. The ENVE bar is STIFF. I can slightly flex the Renthals in my hands somewhat “easily”. They absolutely absorb a great deal vibration. I don’t think I would want any more flex in my bars than the Renthals. The direction of flex is important. How they layup the carbon can give different flex in different directions. To each their own I guess. I’m 6’4” 225lbs, 1.9M 100KG. There was another carbon bar review video that was pretty good that compared all the top end Carbon bars not that long ago - Renthals, OneUp, ENVE etc. I’ll look for it and post if I find it.
 
Last edited:

Shinn

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2020
375
277
Decorah, IA USA
Jeff's trails have no corners.
Cornering fast downhill requires weighting bars way more than climbing requires the "yanking" he hated.
For me, vertically super flexible handlebar is horrible cornering.
If you are a DH rider and finding your bars too stiff on 3ft drops you're weak. Plain and simple.

There's no way I'd run oneup bars and stem on any bike. Infact I was offered a set for free last year and declined.
20 years of climbing rock and ice has left me with bad wrists, tendonitis and cubital tunnel syndrome in both elbows. Certainly not weak, am I as strong as I was 20 years ago? Nope.

Just trying to find a more comfortable solution to the RF 35mm alloy bars I'm currently running. I have a 2.6 DHF and cushcore waiting to install so I can get the pressure down a bit closer to my last bike that had 2.8's.

I'm certainly still on the fence about the one up bars. I just want to continue riding for as long as I can, steering is important but so is being able to hold on to the the bars.

I'm more worried about them breaking.
 

Shinn

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2020
375
277
Decorah, IA USA
Whats a bloke you ask ..?
This should give you the answer but you will have to wait until the end to find out ..
Can't go wrong with some Dire Straits. I'm still a bit of a fan of Mark Knopfler excellent guitarist, not the greatest writer though.

Much better definition than I would have gotten from Google.

:)
 

Forever Wild

Active member
May 21, 2020
251
445
Arizona
Honestly I’m surprised to hear people say the Renthals are too stiff. I run the carbon Fatbar 40mm rise on a Turbo Levo and an Enduro. I have an ENVE carbon bar on my XC bike. The ENVE bar is STIFF. I can slightly flex the Renthals in my hands somewhat “easily”. They absolutely absorb a great deal vibration. I don’t think I would want any more flex in my bars than the Renthals. The direction of flex is important. How they layup the carbon can give different flex in different directions. To each their own I guess. I’m 6’4” 225lbs, 1.9M 100KG. There was a carbon bar review video that was pretty good that compared all the top end Carbon bars not that long ago - Renthals, OneUp, ENVE etc. I’ll look for it and post if I find it.
I run the same Fatbar as you. My other 4 bikes run a variety of other bar setups. I’m 225lbs as well and hands down I prefer the Fatbar. I tend to have less hand fatigue. My vibrocore is probably my worst offender with hand fatigue but it could be that I’ve got it installed on a boxxer fork.
 

Shinn

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2020
375
277
Decorah, IA USA
Nice video. Supports why I like my Fatbar. It’s suited for my type of riding. I can see the one up being better for a different rider or different style of riding or different trail.
I've watched that a few times now. Thanks for posting it though, others may not have.
 

gaba

Active member
Dec 31, 2018
112
129
California
20 years of climbing rock and ice has left me with bad wrists, tendonitis and cubital tunnel syndrome in both elbows. Certainly not weak, am I as strong as I was 20 years ago? Nope.

Just trying to find a more comfortable solution to the RF 35mm alloy bars I'm currently running. I have a 2.6 DHF and cushcore waiting to install so I can get the pressure down a bit closer to my last bike that had 2.8's.

I'm certainly still on the fence about the one up bars. I just want to continue riding for as long as I can, steering is important but so is being able to hold on to the the bars.

I'm more worried about them breaking.
I don’t think I’d worry too much about them breaking honestly. For me it comes down to bar control/control of the front end. I think too much flex up front makes for less power pulling up over rocks and roots and less responsive in technical climbs. It also lessens my bunny hop/manual power. I tried those REV grips for a short time. Though they helped with some vibration, the loss of power in my bunny hop from pulling and twisting the bars was too much. The Renthals are the sweet spot for me. I don’t want wet noodle bars on my bike.

Of note, I have a 25 year old wrist injury, an old hand fracture and a old thumb tendon injury.?
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Just FYI. I ripped rev grips clean off the bars first time I tried them. Just messing around bunny hopping and manualling in the street.
 

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