Curve Cycling’s latest Walmer Bar is one of widest carbon drop handlebars available

Australian-based Curve Cycling has released a carbon version of its Walmer Bar which is available in a 50cm width, making it one of the widest dropped carbon handlebars on the market.

Not completely new, the release is a new carbon take on the original alloy gravel bars which were released in 2019. Adopting carbon has allowed Curve Cycling to introduce multiple updates, including ovalized tops, but the headline bar widths have carried over.

When the original bar was released it, in the words of Curve Cycling, was “thought of as an April Fools gag”, as it defied the narrow handlebar trends that were - and have continued to - engulf cycling. Its sizes included a 43cm, 46cm or 50cm width, and Curve Cycling has replicated these three sizes in the latest carbon version, with the 43cm designed for road and all-road bikes and the 46cm and 50cm options geared towards gravel.

The handlebar has already been briefly available on Curve’s website but only as a part of a package with the AIR Kev gravel bike. Now they can be purchased individually for the first time for £240/$300/279.95.

• Read more: Gravel bikes, riding, racing and events: Everything you need to know about the sport in 2024

65cm wide at the drops

On paper, the largest 50cm width is enough to catch attention as it far outstrips the size of the bars specced as standard on most bikes, but it doesn’t do justice to just how wide the bars are.

Courtesy of the 30-degree flare, that width balloons out to 65cm. The smaller options don’t lag too far behind when flare is taken into account either, clocking in at 58cm for the 43cm width and the 61cm for the 46cm width.

So, why so wide? According to Curve Cycling, it’s to boost comfort, stability and control.

“Changing hand position regularly prevents pressure and tension build-up and helps minimise numbness and blisters,” it says on the Curve Cycling website. “A wider handlebar offers more stability and control, particularly when descending sketchy terrain on a loaded bike. It also gives added leverage when tackling technical climbs.”

Curve Cycling hasn’t completely emulated the alloy selection of sizes as that range exceeds 50cm with its 55cm and 60cm offerings - when measured from drop-to-drop, this comes in at a 70cm and 75cm width, respectively.

Carbon upgrades: Increased comfort

While the new bar emulates its alloy cousin in many ways, using carbon has allowed Curve Cycling to subtly alter the design. These alterations give the bar a slightly more performance flavour which was the Australian brand’s intention: “The Walmer Bar Carbon is an alternative to our original alloy Walmer Bar, where performance is more of a focus, rather than straight-up robustness.”

Most obviously of all, carbon provides additional vibration-dampening qualities, so the new bars should be a little more forgiving on the hands. Carbon also comes with a weight saving which for the 50cm size, weighing 334g, is nearly 100g over its predecessor. That’s not huge amounts in the context of the overall weight of a bike, especially if it’s laden with gear, but every little helps.

© Curve Cycling

The oval shape of the tops boosts comfort

Curve has also taken advantage of carbon’s versatility to introduce an oval top section between the clamping area and the drops, as opposed to the standard rounded shape used on the alloy bars. To many cyclists this will scream more aerodynamic, but the change is driven by comfort. That being said, a routing recess under the bars will help to keep cables neatly tucked away for a clean look, providing some minor aero gains in the process, we’re sure.

All of this additional performance hasn’t come at the sacrifice of robustness, though, as the top section of the handlebars have been reinforced with Kevlar “to reduce the risk of crush damage from stem, lever and adventure tusk clamping”.

Check out the full range of bars on Curve Cycling’s website, linked here.