Carbon’s strength-to-weight ratio and tuneable compliance make it a great material for manufacturing mountain bike parts, especially wheels and handlebars. Many don’t trust carbon bars – especially on more gravity-focused bikes, but I’ve been riding them for years and even survived the notorious Megavalanche way back in 2011 riding on a set of Easton Havoc Carbon Riser bars – although a couple of massive crashes relegated them to a post-ride souvenir. Google 'MBUK at Megavalanche 2011' if you want to see the carnage!
Race Face has a massive handlebar range, with a total of five carbon models in the 35mm diameter option. The SixC 35 Bar covers DH and gravity duties and is DH-rated for racing and compliant enough for your next big mountain adventure. Race Face has stuck to tried and tested angles with the SixC 35 getting a small tweak on back sweep and a truly massive 820mm length.
Design and specifications
The SixC 35 is its DH-rated carbon handlebar, intended for all-mountain, enduro and DH riding. Made from UD (unidirectional carbon fiber), the carbon fibers are manufactured in the same parallel direction for engineered levels of compliance to facilitate vibration dampening and increased stiffness for steering precision. Just what you need riding prolonged rough terrain, chattery stuff or big hits.
Unsurprisingly given the whopping 820mm width, the bars have clear markings from 770mm in 10mm increments for trimming to your personal preference. The SixC is available in 20mm and 30mm rises with an eight-degree back sweep and four-degree upsweep. Finish-wise, they get a beautiful matt clearcoat over some clean graphics and are available in five colors – Blue, Green, Orange, Red and Silver, although I’d love to have seen a stealth black option. On the scales, they weighed in at 230g at full width.
Performance
I initially trimmed the bars back to 790mm, leaving them 10mm wider than my preferred 780mm width to see how they felt. Clamped in place with my go-to 35mm Truvativ Descendant stem, using the clearly printed alignment marks for bar positioning. It’s interesting what difference one degree in back sweep made to my position on the bike. It immediately put me in a more forward-facing attack position over the bars.
The SixC bar felt stable and precise on flow trails, with the stiffness transferring to sharp directional movements. Hitting rougher terrain at speed, the front end did require more input to maintain a good line. Feedback through the bar wasn’t too harsh, even for a smaller, lighter rider like me, and I didn’t experience numbness or arm pump, but I came away knowing I’d want to cut them back a bit more. Trimmed to 780mm, the steering tightened up a bit, feeling more agile on more involved trails without compromising my position over the bars. Hitting drops, I couldn’t feel any noticeable flex, putting my front wheel where I wanted it, but after a few sessions, I started to feel fatigue through my hands, probably a symptom of my light build.
Overall, I’ve enjoyed the ride-feel of these bars in tougher conditions, but an equivalent bar in the 31.8mm diameter for all-round riding may suit a lighter rider like me.
Verdict
If shaving a few precious grams is your thing and you are after increased control, then the SixC will do that. It offers a lovely ride feel that even works for lighter riders in most situations and will appeal to hard-core riders. If the width is way outside of your comfort zone, its Era bar may better suit, offered in 760mm, 780mm and 800mm widths with 10mm, 20mm and 40mm rise options, but you'll have to factor in a matching stem if you’re new to the game and then it gets costly.
