Carbon Cycles eXotic Carbon 2014 Matrix Flat Top Road Bar

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