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.

We all love those long and fun Downhill trails, however we can all agree we don't like hand fatigue after a gnarly section. OneUp Knows very well about this fatigue and offers a carbon handlebar that allows for more compliance where it's needed. See what our customer thinks about OneUp's carbon bar!

Overview

My mountain biking experience spans several years, with some introductory racing experience but really, I'm a recreational, club-level MTB rider in Southern California. Most dirt rides in the LA region have some amount of steep inclines and complementary fast descents – think Chaney Trail, Wilson Toll Road, Lukens, and the Verdugos. Single track offerings can be from beginner/intermediate like Cherry Canyon to black diamond El Prieto. All this to say that I ride my bike in a variety of terrains and technical levels.

With the purchase of my much overdue (and I’d like to think well-deserved) new MTB, a buddy urged me to consider replacing the stock alloy handlebars with a carbon one and recommended the OneUp unit. To say I was hesitant or skeptical is an understatement. I’m not a weight weenie. Even during my road bike-focused years, I gave little credence or value to saving several grams here or there. Suffice to say that reducing about 20 grams with the OneUp carbon bar vs. my stock alloy bar wasn’t a driver.

I rode the first month owning my new MTB with the stock bar, and then made the jump to buy the OneUp Components Carbon Handlebar from WorldWide Cyclery. When the package arrived, there was no doubt what it was 😉

Installation was a snap with the OneUp bar after cutting the overall bar width to my preference of 760mm. I placed a strip of black electrical tape around the bar where my bike computer mount would be placed, and torqued the brake levers/shifter such that if I were to go down, they would rotate rather than brake. Mounted the dropper post lever and I was ready to roll.

My first impression of the OneUp bar over the first few rides – compliant. My MTB rides tend to be 2 to 3 hours for a longish weekend ride, covering some said fire roads integrated with singletrack of varying types. My hands and arms tended to be less fatigued on the bike than with the prior alloy bar. Washboard type fire roads just felt more comfortable and forgiving with the vertical flex and compliance designed into this bar. I recently descended a section of the San Gabriel mountains known as Earl Canyon. The initial segment tends to be rocky and rutted as this trail does not get regular trail maintenance by the forest service. Yet I felt the most comfort through my hands, arms, and upper body given the vertical flex that this bar offered.

From some of the product research conducted, the OneUp folks seem to have made this possible in part by the oval-shaped design. Whatever the case, it works! The other major benefit of the OneUp carbon bar is the lateral stiffness that riders seek. While slower climbs up steep gradients may not make this much noticeable, single tracks and quick turns with this bar were noticeably more precise and livelier.

Final Thoughts

So that’s the magic of the OneUp carbon handlebar – it achieved both the vertical compliance AND the lateral stiffness that OneUp targeted. And while I can’t speak to other carbon mountain bike handlebars since I haven’t owned or ridden one, I can definitely convey that compared to my stock alloy bar, the OneUp folks achieved their objective. I’m a believer, and you bet that my next MTB will also be donning this or its future sibling!