ENVE Composites G Series Gravel Drop Handlebar [Rider Review]

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Enve has been making top-tier carbon components for years now, and as a result they make some of the best carbon handlebars for all sorts of applications. Our friend Brian recently treated himself to their G Series Gravel Drop Handlebar and hasn't looked back since. Read on for more!

Overview

There’s a lot to love about the Enve gravel bars. Finally, someone has managed to come up with a drop bar that does not put my hands to sleep. My love for long-distance rides of three hours or more came to a halt after years of drop-bar discomfort. It always seemed silly to me to have an aero handlebar when I never felt like getting any lower than the hoods. Of course, on downhills I would be there, but other than that the position never felt comfortable or necessary.

Now with the Enve gravel bar, I spend probably at least fifty percent of the time in the drops. The wider design not only feels better, but it provides more control and opens up the arms for better breathing.

It also allows a lot more room for your knees when rocking the bars in the drops. I have a Shimano Ultegra Di2 disc setup and the shifters are perfectly situated to be used in the drops. With this system, the brake cables are larger in diameter. The groove machined into my previous carbon bars wasn’t deep enough and no matter how I manipulated the cable under the tape, it had a funky feel when grabbing the top of the bars.

These bars have a very different style in the end. They come with some custom rubber plugs that fit inside a nipple style end. To me, it didn’t look or feel right but I’m sure it wouldn’t bother most people. It seems it would require a new approach when wrapping the tape if you chose to keep them. I’m not sure if my groupset generation is the kind that would insert into the bar end but I cut them anyway. The holes provided near the hoods would be an excellent way to take advantage of this though and would create an even cleaner look than they have already.

Speaking of a clean look, in my opinion, the Enve handlebar tape is a must buy when purchasing the bars. How many times have you wrapped your handlebars only to realize that you have not calculated the length correctly? It seems it’s either just a little too much or too little and then you have to unravel and start over. This is not an issue with this tape because Enve provides plenty of material for you. I actually have enough left over to use on some other application. (I might even wrap my tennis racquets’ handles with the excess!) The Enve handlebar tape has a great tacky feel to it and definitely has some obvious shock-absorbing quality that complements an already vibration-free handlebar.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I give the Enve gravel handlebar and the Enve handlebar tape a big thumbs up. It is not inexpensive, but some upgrades are worth it and this is definitely one of them!