Bontrager Race X Lite Isozone handlebar

At 169g Bontrager's Race X Lite Isozone bar is light, even for a carbon fibre bar, but weight is not the heart of the story here. What's cool about this bar is the Isozone foam inserts on the tops and in the drops that improve comfort.

On the surface, this is a conventional carbon fibre bar, insofar as a component that is still fairly uncommon can be seen as 'conventional'; it's not like you find carbon bars as standard equipment till you get to fairly spendy bikes.

And let's get it out of the way now - this is an expensive handlebar. That's true of all carbon bars, of course, but nevertheless weight would have to matter to you quite a lot to drop £220 on a carbon bar, if a lower gram count were all it offered. There are 250g aluminium bars for well under £100. But the Race X Lite Isozone bar has a trick up its bar tape.

The bar is shaped with indents into which the Isozone foam pads sit, so they provide extra cushioning without increasing the diameter of the bar. That's arguably a better way to improve comfort than, say, using two layers of tape or placing gel inserts under tape on a standard bar. Unless you have very big hands, a fatter bar can be fatiguing.

There's a space for a pad along the tops and round the bends to the brake levers, and another in the curve of the drops.

With the foam inserts in place and taped up, there's no visual clue that there's anything unusual about this bar, but you definitely notice it on the road. Buzz is reduced and your hands are cosseted. It's not enough to reduce the feeling of direct contact with bar and bike, but the usual high-frequency vibration you get over coarse road surfaces is gone.

The foam pad in the drops is less noticeable, but that's only because I spend less time there. But when it's time to get your head down and hammer, then once again, you do so with comfier hands.

When it comes to overall shape, the Race X Lite Isozone has a medium drop and reach - 85mm and 125mm respectively - and a curve to the drop with no 'anatomic' flat section. The transition from the top-section forward bend into the drop has a fairly sharp radius so you can fine-tune the brake lever position and the angle of the bottom section.

Our nominal 46mm bar was actually more like 44cm across the brake levers, flaring gradually to 46cm at the ends. The extra width makes for improved control at speed, which facilitates downhill shenanigans.

The bend itself also has a fairly tight radius, and that's really my only gripe with the Race X Lite Isozone bar: there isn't quite enough room in the drops for my hands. I'm an L in most gloves, so I have fairly large hands, but I'm not exactly Jimi Hendrix.

But if you have slightly smaller hands than me and want a bar that's both light and provides an extra bit of comfort, the Bontrager Race X Lite Isozone is definitely worth your consideration. And if the £220 price tag has you sharply drawing in breath, the £59.99 Race Lite IsoZone VR-CF has the same gentle flare and shape and comes with foam pads for the tops.

Verdict

Light bar with some handy extra comfort for long days out on the bike, but riders with strangler's hands might find the drops a bit cramped.