— Victory Chimp (@VictoryChimps) March 15, 2018
Obviously the first question that comes to mind is a highly technical one, and it is as follows:
Why???
Duh, because gravel, that's why:
The Hover bar is Canyon’s totally unique integrated carbon cockpit that the new Grail gravel bike was designed around.
The Hover bar (otherwise known as the ‘Canyon CP01 Gravel Carbon) was developed in a bid to improve front end comfort and control without the added complication and weight of a Future Shock-style system or a suspension fork.
So instead of the suspension fork you don't need you've now got a double-decker bar you don't need. Plus, the design falls short of even amateur cockpit engineering efforts, since it doesn't incorporate braking from the additional hand positions:
Confused yet? You're not alone:
Unlike every other drop bar in existence — where the stem attaches to a clamping area in the middle of the tops of the bar — the Hover bar places the tops of the bar above a stem that connects to an additional bar that in turn connects the apex of the hooks.
If that sounds confusing, that’s because it is, and I highly recommend you closely examine the included photos to actually begin to understand what’s going on.
But it's still not as confusing as the bar I'm designing:
The real question on my gravel-specific Mobius Bar is going to be which direction to wrap the bar tape:
Of course it may have occurred to you that if you want a funky-looking bar that offers various hand positions for all-terrain riding you could always go with a Jones H-Bar:
Which is why the savvy among you have no doubt already figured out that this design is less about control and front end compliance for gravel-grinding and more about people who suffer from crabon-itis yet can't come to grips with the fact that they need a few more headset spacers, an angled stem, or perhaps a bike with a taller headtube:
Canyon developed the Hover bar for two reasons: to provide a long-distance friendly upright riding position without resorting to using a super-long head tube or high-rise stem, and in a bid to improve front end compliance.
Oh sure, this is way more elegant than a taller headtube or angled stem:
Please it even makes this look elegant:
It is truly astounding the lengths (and heights) people will go to in order to attain the riding position of a Rivendell with a crabon bike:
And let's not forget the prescience of Sheldon Brown:
Canyon? More like Can-yawn.
from Bike Snob NYC http://ift.tt/2FT40zt
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