Product Overview
The Persuader is Tumbleweed Bicycle Co's take on the ideal mountain bike touring handlebar - a tough, wide, comfortable bar designed for modern bike geometries that inspires confidence when riding a loaded bike. This handlebar was created with four main principles in mind: Strength, Comfort, Easy Bag Mounting and an Optimized Grip Area.
Heat treated, triple-butted CrMo Steel was the material of choice for strength and moderate flex at a reasonable weight and price. A 31.8mm clamp section provides a stiff attachment and allows use of modern stems without the shims required by many steel handlebars. This is a tough, durable handlebar built for years of hard use. The tubing choice and wall thickness also allows some natural flex to tame trail chatter.
Comfort is key when riding long miles over rough terrain and the Persuader hits the sweet spot. 800mm of width make them a great fit for modern mountain bikes and provide plenty of leverage to keep your loaded rig tracking that fine line. Of course, you can always trim down as needed for your fit and preference. 30 degrees of sweep generates a comfortable wrist angle while still allowing an aggressive, elbows-out stance. 50mm of rise provides fit flexibility and helps with clean cable and hose routing around bag straps. In addition, the long grip section and moderate sweep combine for around 5 inches of fore-aft space. This means you have access to a wide range of body positions as you vary your grip position.
Unlike many other bars marketed for bikepacking, The Persuader has no forward sweep or extension in front of the clamping area. This flat front offers ideal real estate for bag mounting, especially when using some of the top-loading handlebar bags that we carry such as Road Runner's Jumbo Jammer or Middle Earth Jammer. They play equally well with cylindrical, under-the-bar type bikepacking bags like Revelate's Sweetroll or Ortlieb's Handlebar Pack. Tight bends where the bar rises and sweeps are the source of the magic here. Creating those tight bends is more challenging on the manufacturing side but results in more usable space across the bar. The long grip sections allow you to position your controls wherever you'd like and make the very most of that range of hand and body positions.
*Note: Most of the photos above show preproduction versions of this bar with draft graphics. Production models have additional graphics with centering marks as shown in the final photo.Installation Notes
We HIGHLY recommend using a friction paste (as used for carbon fiber components) when clamping the Persuader Bar in stems with a smooth clamping surface such as Thomson. The smooth finish and hard surface of these bars combined with the leverage generated by the width and backsweep results in a tendency to slip unless the stem's clamping bolts are overtightened. Application of friction paste results in a secure, slip-free interface without risking stem damage. Stems with a peened or otherwise textured clamping surface may not require friction paste.
Specifications
- 800mm Width
- 30° Sweep
- 30mm Rise
- 31.8mm Clamp
- Triple-Butted, Heat Treated CrMo Steel
- 638g
