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Carbon Cycles eXotic Carbon 2014 Matrix Flat Top Road Bar

5
£99.99

VERDICT:

5
10
Smart looking comfort handlebar but with serious flex issues
Weight: 
271g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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By melding alloy with carbon fibre, Carbon Cycles have set out to create a light but stiff bar with their eXotic Carbon Matrix Flat Top, but unfortunately have achieved neither. The weight is average and it's the most flexible bar I think I've ever used.

The Matrix (that's we'll call it from now on) has an anatomical shape that offers the same sort of dimensions as a more traditional drop bar but with the inclusion of a flat section for a more comfortable hand position. Most of the bikes I ride these days have newer compact style bars, so swapping to the Matrix meant I had to move to a 20mm shorter stem to get the 105mm reach and 157mm drop to feel comfortable. Worth remembering if you're going for an upgrade.

Buy this online here

The bar tested is 44cm, which Carbon Cycles measure centre to centre, so outers come in at around 47cm - that's a wide old bar. The overall shape is comfortable, though, and there is plenty of clearance for your wrists when in the drops. The flat tops are a pleasant place to rest your hands too.

The thinking behind using the combination of carbon fibre and 2014 grade alloy is to exploit the benefits of both materials. Alloy bars can be made cheaply and they are relatively stiff. They can be heavy, though, relatively speaking, so by wrapping them in carbon fibre you can have thinner walls and save a bit of weight and rely on the carbon to provide the stiffness. That's the theory anyway.

The trouble is, the Matrix is no lighter at 271g than other alloy bars we've tested at this price point, and while it might be stiff around the clamping area, from the hoods or drops it flexes like mad. This is ideal in terms of comfort, but not what you want when accelerating or pulling on it when climbing. You can even feel it dip under hard braking, which is unnerving to say the least.

Overall, the Matrix Flat Top looks good, and offers a variety of hand positions and comfort, but it's just too flexible for any kind of performance riding - which is what I'd say it's aimed at. I've ridden plenty of bars that have inherent flex in them for a bit of shock absorbance but the Matrix is just a step too far. It's bordering on scary at times, because of the feeling of lack of control. Even for the discounted online price of £67.99 there are plenty of similarly weighted and shaped bars that offer much more in the way of stiffness.

Verdict

Smart looking comfort handlebar but with serious flex issues

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Carbon Cycles eXotic Carbon 2014 Matrix Flat Top Road Bar

Size tested: 31.8, 440mm/31.8, 420, 2014 Al Skeleton

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Carbon Cycles say, "MatriX is the manufacture process for melding aluminium or alloy with carbon fibre. It allows our components to take advantage of the strengths of both materials. Carbon fibre is light and strong and alloy is heavy but flexible, so in matriX we get the best of both material's properties."

I say, "It hasn't quite worked."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

*2014 grade alloy skeleton

*Reinforced with carbon fibre

*42cm/44cm c-to-c

*31.8mm clamping diameter

*Drop: 157mm

*Reach: 105mm

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
5/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Comfortable, but too much flex for my liking.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The carbon gloss finish.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The flex.

Did you enjoy using the product? Not really

Would you consider buying the product? No

Would you recommend the product to a friend? No

Use this box to explain your score

I really like the way the Matrix Flat Top looks and it offers plenty of comfortable hand positions, making it ideal for all-day efforts, but the flex puts me off. Descending on rough roads or pulling hard on the bar when climbing means you lose all feedback from the bike, giving a feeling of being out of control. The way it dips under hard braking is bordering on the scary as well. Basically, you could get all of the good points and the weight from another alloy bar without the flex.

Overall rating: 5/10

About the tester

Age: 36  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: Kinesis T2  My best bike is: Mason Definition

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

 

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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5 comments

Avatar
Vejnemojnen | 8 years ago
0 likes

https://www.bike-components.de/en/DEDA/Zero100-OS-Lenker-p24455/

Why not this one? Stiff, comfortable, RHM shape..  103

Or slightly cheaper another Italian "noname" company (3t? )  1

https://www.bike-components.de/en/3T/Ergosum-Pro-OS-ergonomischer-Lenker...

Ritchey also has cheaper&stiffer&more comfortable shaped bars

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Handlebars-Grips/Road-Race-31-8mm/?lim...

Never liked the anatomic shape anyway..  1  1

Avatar
Batchy | 8 years ago
0 likes

OK they may be 25gs heavier but I find that Deda rhm 2s are hard to beat. The ovalised tops and shallow drop on these stiff and strong bars make for a comfy ride and further more they are about a third of the price of the gimmicky ones reviewed here. This is IMHO of course and it can be taken with a pinch of salt if anyone disagrees !

Avatar
Vejnemojnen replied to Batchy | 8 years ago
0 likes
Batchy wrote:

OK they may be 25gs heavier but I find that Deda rhm 2s are hard to beat. The ovalised tops and shallow drop on these stiff and strong bars make for a comfy ride and further more they are about a third of the price of the gimmicky ones reviewed here. This is IMHO of course and it can be taken with a pinch of salt if anyone disagrees !

Or for a little less: Deda Zero100. Same Shape as RHM, below 250gram weights...

Avatar
mrfree | 8 years ago
0 likes

...pictured on the least exotic floor available.

Avatar
lolol | 8 years ago
0 likes

2014 grade alloy is so last year, boomtish!

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