Coming as part of the brand’s recent expansion, Pembree’s GCS handlebar brings eye-catching, yet subtle looks and an impressive blend of stiffness and comfort. Although it sits at the pricier end of the scale for an aluminium bar, its shot-peened finish graces the bar with excellent durability, and its geometry is certainly nothing to sniff at, nor is its weight.
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Pembree GCS Handlebar – Technical details
The GCS is Pembree’s first stab at a handlebar, and with it come ambitious claims. Certifying to EFBE’s TRI-TEST GR, it’s proven and tested to cope with the demands of all styles of gravity riding. With that, it comes a 7000 series aluminium construction that uses recycled materials, a staple of any Pembree product.
The bar is then shaped with seven degrees of back sweep and five degrees of upsweep, so it’s a rather flat bar compared to a good few others, but the brand says that it encourages a more aggressive position over the bike. It then comes with 800mm of width, promising ‘optimal leverage’, says the brand, however, it is sorted with cutting guides if the width is a little much.
While the options aren’t as vast as you might find with larger brands, Pembree offers the GCS bar with 31.8 or 35mm clamp diameters, 20mm and 40mm of rise and in two colours, black or a very retro/modern silver. Both are shot-peened to add a welcome hint of scratch resistance.
As for the weight, the bar has tipped my scale at a very respectable 294g, which makes it a fairly light bar for its construction, with others, like Renthal’s Fatbar in the same diameter and width coming in at 322g.
Pembree GCS Handlebar – Performance
Needless to say, but I’ve got the silver bar in for testing, and while it might be a bit of a Marmite colour for some, I’m a fan. While it adds a bit of retro-mod bling to a cockpit, along with the shot-peened finish, it’s completely shrugged off any kind of scratching caused by haphazard controls placement or the odd spill. Granted, none of these scratches have been particularly deep, but if the bar were to pick up any serious damage, the silver colour will certainly hide it from discerning eyes.
Coming with a seven-degree backsweep, the GCS is certainly a little flatter than what’s common, but for the bar’s intention, it’s quite a wise move. When in the attack position, it encourages a little more weight to sit over the front of the bike, which pairs well with modern bike geometries as they typically get a little longer. Putting a little more weight over the front isn’t a bad thing either, as it helps eke out a little more traction, while making steering feel more direct.
It’s not just the bar’s effect on weight distribution that aids steering directness, however, as Pembree has delivered a bar that’s fairly stiff along the steering plane. As well as the chunky 35mm clamp, the GCS offers a precise feel, and it helps guide the front wheel straight while negotiating more chunky terrain.
Although stiff, which an alloy bar certainly can be, the GCS does an excellent job of absorbing vibrations. It’s not as compliant as carbon offerings from OneUp or Race Face, but it comfortably negates the sting of low-level trail chatter without feeling like a wet noodle.
Last up, Pembree has adorned the GCS bar with plenty of markings, which I’m a huge fan of. When paired with the GCS Stem especially, they help massively with adjusting the bar’s roll and centring it in the stem.
Pembree GCS Handlebar – Verdict
So the main hangup that comes with the GCS bar is that it’s rather pricy for an aluminium bar. That said, with an almost identical geometry to the Renthal Fatbar 35, it poses an excellent alternative for nearly the same money. The GCS has a little more up its sleeve, too, as it’s lighter and its EFBE certified. Though the Fatbar comes in more rise options.
PNW Components’ Range Handlebar is worth checking out. It’s not EFBE certified, as far as the brand’s website shows, but it goes the other direction in terms of geometry, with a more pronounced backsweep. There are more rise options available, and it’ll set you back £70. It weighs 311g, however.
If you’re happy to spend a little bit more, the Pembree GCS Handlebar brings big benefits in terms of its compliance and stiffness balance, its weight and in my opinion, its looks. It’s a durable bit of kit too, staving off scratches with ease, so while it is a pricier bar, it’ll surely last a good while.
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Diameter: 31.8mm, 35.0mm
Rise: 20mm, 40mm
Bar Width: 800mm
Backsweep: 7°
Upsweep: 5°
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