I've recently become a fan of Easton's Havoc line after mounting a test set of Havoc DH wheels on my personal Trek Session 88, so when a matching Havoc DH bar landed on my desk, I didn't waste any time in mounting it up to get some time on it.
The black and gold graphics match the wheels and even match the silver and gold graphics of the frame for a sweet factory look out of the box. (just lucky I guess)
The Havoc DH bars come in at 750mm or 29.52" inches wide. Photo: J. Van Horn
At a listed weight of 315 grams, the bars are relatively lightweight and the low rise puts your hands in just the right spot when mounted and combined with a dual crown DH fork. At 750mm wide, (29.52 inches) the bars fit in line with the current crop of DH bars. Easton's copy writer details them as "ultra-wide," but when bars widths in the 30+ range are showing up at the starting gate of the local ski hill, (for comparison's sake, look to the average motocross bar, which come in at 31.5" inches wide) I'm going to call them "just right" for the intended application- ripping down burly terrain at speed. Some people like them wider, but at 5'1"0, I'm a fan of 29.5" width and find that the bar feels great on my DH bike. And if you like them shorter, that is what pipe cutters are for.
The Havoc bars feature a 9º bend with 5º of upsweep, which matches the sweep on the Sunline bars on my all mountain bike. (It is also comparable to a quick glance at similar bars available- Race Face does 9º x 6º, Chromag 8º x5º, FSA/ Gravity 9º x 4º, Answer 8º x 4º.)
I generally prefer all my bikes to run the same bar to make switching between them brainless, but having a matching bend works just as well. Initially it took a few rides to get the angle dialed in, but with the lines printed on the clamping area, getting things line up is easy.
First impressions of the bars are great. I don't think about the bars when I'm riding them and the bike goes where I point it. I've had a few quick and panic get-offs so far, and everything is still running straight. When it comes to handlebars, do we really ask for more?
| MSRP |
|
$75.00 |
| Listed weight |
|
315grams |
| Clamp Diameter |
|
31.8 |
| Material |
|
Aluminum |
| |
|
|
I'm running these bars on a full blown DH bike, but they would be great for someone that rides hard on an XC single speed hardtail as well.
The Havoc bars, mounted on a Session 88. Photo: J. Van Horn
For more information on the Easton Havoc line, check out their website at EastonCycling.com
Special thanks to Inga Beck for modeling the Havoc DH bars. | 
