OneUp Components Carbon Handlebar: Rider Review

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

With only a few actual touchpoints on a bicycle, it's incredibly important that those points are of the highest quality. Handlebars have a huge effect on the on-trail performance and feel of your ride. With the release of Oneup's first carbon handlebar, they aimed to make a statement...and they did! Check out fellow rider, Mike Harris' review below!

Introduction

You likely need a new handlebar.

Bars are built to take some abuse and likely most will never fail, but when one does fail it can be catastrophic. Handlebars are not very thick, so when you consider a “deep” gouge you don’t have that much margin.

The picture of the gouged bar shows some deep scars from a bell of all things. The spurcycle bell is great, but in this case, the rubber feet slipped and put this deep gouge in the bar. I rode it like this for many weeks but was glad to get a “fresh” set of bars on the bike so this was not a concern. These bars retail for less than most of their competition so it does make it easier to consider regularly replacing bars.

Compliance

A person riding a bike down a dirt road asked how much more compliant are these?

Hard to put a percentage on this, are they 13.8% more compliant or 21% more compliant? I do know this, they don’t feel as stiff at the pair of Renthal 35mm Fatbars. Seems like the industry really moved to make bars stiffer and stiffer as well as more durable. Here in Colorado you can have 10min even 20min descents. When I think of things like arm pump, fatigue and the trail that is the proving ground for a big descent, it is the Greens trail in Salida, CO. You need to bring your “A game” for both fitness and equipment. These bars are better. You can ride faster, longer with a bar that feels better. This bar feels better. The Oneup bar claims to be the best of 31.8 and a 35mm bar. These bars allow you to keep your 35mm stem but run a bar that feels more like a 31.8. Why not just move back to a 31.8…. well, I think you have 3.2 more mm in the clamping area to adjust the carbon layup. A good bar is a good bar, but seems like this does allow Oneup to have a little more margin to work with. Three people in my riding group have these bars and all claim they have a better “feel”.

Finally, what about that unique looking flat spot?

One use that I’ve not heard mentioned was another bar position. It makes for a nicer feel grabbing the bar near the stem. Sometimes when just cruising up a climb or riding some flatter ground into the wind it’s nice to have another position.

Final Thoughts

They do feel more compliant than other bars and you can keep your existing 35mm stem. They have a nice flat spot in the middle for riding “aero." You likely need a new handlebar and these are a reasonable price.

We did an entire deep dive comparison between the Oneup carbon handlebars and a few of our other favorite bars. Make sure to check it out for a complete download of everything there is to know and see about these handlebars!