Tharsis 9.8 Handlebar

What Our Gearhead® Experts Are Saying:

"The ribbed midsection construction is what separates this from a standard alloy bar. The stiffness is immediately noticeable on technical terrain where a flexy bar introduces handling uncertainty at exactly the wrong moment. The AL-7050-T76 double butted construction keeps the weight honest at 330g while giving you the confidence to push harder into the chunk."

Handlebar stiffness is not a spec that shows up on a trail map, but it shows up in every corner, every rock garden, and every moment where the rider commits to a line and needs the bike to follow without any lag or flex in the communication chain. The PRO Tharsis 9.8 Handlebar is engineered with that priority at the center, delivering a front end that translates rider input into precise bike response on the terrain where imprecision has consequences.

The bar is constructed from AL-7050-T76 double butted alloy, an aerospace-grade material chosen specifically for its high strength-to-weight ratio and resistance to fatigue under repeated impact loading. Double butting varies the wall thickness along the bar's length, adding material where stress concentrates and removing it where it is not needed, arriving at a claimed weight of 330g for an 800mm bar. The reinforced ribbed construction at the midsection adds torsional and lateral stiffness precisely where the stem clamps and where flex would be most disruptive to handling feel, without adding unnecessary weight to the ends of the bar.

Geometry is built around the demands of aggressive riding. The 800mm width provides the leverage and body positioning advantage that steep and technical terrain requires, with cut markings at 720mm and 780mm allowing riders to trim to their preferred setup or cockpit constraints without guesswork. Thirty millimeters of rise combined with 4 degrees of upsweep and 8 degrees of backsweep produces a wrist and shoulder position that reduces fatigue over long enduro stages or extended trail days while keeping the rider's center of gravity appropriately positioned for descending. The 31.8mm clamp diameter is compatible with the full range of standard stems and controls. Designed with world cup downhill racing as the benchmark, the Tharsis 9.8 performs equally at home in enduro racing and demanding trail riding where front end precision is non-negotiable.