The PNW Components Coast handlebar is an instant classic: wide, shallow and stable, it's perfectly suited for long days on rough roads and trails. It's affordable too, and has a lifetime warranty.
PNW Components hails from Seattle, Washington; surrounded by awesome trees and trails, it's the perfect place to hone gravelly products. Its range includes dropper posts like the Suspension Dropper that Stu really liked back in the summer, as well as stems, handlebars and grips. The Coast lineup also includes a matching stem (review to come) for £60, meaning you can have a PNW combo for £130.
> Buy this online here
The Coast bar is, on the face of it, a simple idea: go wider and shallower, to give more stability and more comfort. PNW does a range of mountain bike bars, where wider has been better since the world got over the 1980s addiction to bar ends and realised leverage is king in keeping your wheel tracking through the rough stuff.
PNW took that thinking to the Coast bar, with two options – 480mm hood to hood as tested here, and a massive 520mm for the longer-limbed. Out at the ends is where things matter in a drop bar, and PNW has gone for a short reach (65mm) and a short drop (105mm). This means you don't have to move your hands far at all to change positions for better braking, grip, comfort and so on, and if you do need to get in the drops for braking or to be a bit more out of the wind, 105mm isn't likely to overly extend your lower back.
There's a 20-degree flare at the ends, which adds another 40mm either side past the hoods for the ultimate fast, low control if you need it. The flare also means you can have your forearms headed straight down to your wrists, for better support if you are spending a long time in the drops – maybe battering into a headwind on a long straight.
In the centre of the bar there's the 31.8mm-diameter clamping area, which measures 120mm wide. This gives you a whopping 40mm either side of the Coast stem for lights, computers or whatnot.
There are some subtle graphics that allow you to align things perfectly, without leaving the bar looking like a science project. You don't get any guide markings on the hoods' curve for aligning your levers, though, so Mk I Eyeball it is.
On the front of the tops there's a slight indentation for cable outer and brake hose, and when wrapped with reasonably chunky bar tape it measures 31mm diameter. For those wanting more comfort, that leaves room for a second layer of tape without making the tops too fat once wrapped.
PNW recommends shortening your stem by 10mm for every 20mm you add to your bar. I was running a 440mm Genetic Driser bar for a year, paired with a 100mm stem. The change to a 480mm Coast bar with 80mm stem felt easy, with no issues, and I now have about an acre more to plant gadgets on.
Wide benefits
There's an awful lot going on in your wrist, with eight bones and six tendons in a small space. A drop bar has a multitude of positions on offer, favouring varying quantities of control, grip and comfort. Calling out any one over the other is a bit of a mug's game, as individuals, riding styles and terrain will all influence priorities, but for me the Coast in its 480mm guise was a transformation. I'm 6ft tall with long arms, and shoulders that measure 440mm across the protuberances. Traditional roadie thinking says I should be happiest on a 440mm bar, but the Coast proved that wrong.
Whether climbing, descending or on long, flat runs, I felt comfortable and in control. Once trails turned rowdy the feedback to the bar and propensity to deviate from chosen course was markedly reduced – something I could scarce believe was afforded by a mere 20mm extra either side.
Having XL-sized hands I could do with a second layer of bar tape underneath to increase grip on the tops, but that's more about my personal ergonomics, and in opting for a narrower diameter PNW has given me that option.
With width comes leverage, which can then be a drawback if it leads to bar flex and fuzzy steering feedback. Suffice to say, the hefty 31.8mm clamping area and materials didn't give any notable sensation of flex, even under wrenching climbs or bombed descents. In Craigvinean Forest above Dunkeld there's a long gravel road descent that averages 7% and hits over 15%, with predictable sweeping turns of varying sharpness. My first outing on the Coast bar was later than anticipated, leaving me descending in freezing air through semi-darkness with a meagre 'be-seen' light doing next to nothing to aid navigation. Local familiarity with what was coming up and supple 55mm tyres biting into the surface certainly helped, but what led me into temptation was the sense of control the Coast afforded. Hitting 57kph in semi-darkness should be pant-filling, but the Coast kept things under a level of control and gave my brain confidence to deal with more pressing issues of physics than steering.
Another benefit of being w-i-d-e is the ability to carry luggage up front in a bar roll, and you'll be hard-pressed to max out the storage space afforded with the Coast. The wide clamping area also helps here for fixing straps.
> Buyer’s Guide: 23 of the best bikepacking bags
PNW is – I believe – the first bike component manufacturer to offer a lifetime warranty on its entire range of alloy components. Lifetime warranties are usually reserved for high-end carbon components, so this is a good thing for consumers, and a sign that PNW is confident about quality. The T&Cs exclude normal wear and tear as well as impact damage, as you'd expect. How exactly you calculate 'normal wear and tear' on an alloy handlebar or stem I'm not sure, so you should be good forever, basically.
There's an excellent roundup of the current wide-bar herd over at off.road.cc – and as you'll see from the prices, the Coast at £70 is one of the cheapest wide bars. Indeed, £70 is a cracking price for any drop bar. Factor in the lifetime warranty and it's very hard to look past the Coast for your gravelly-bikepacking needs.
Verdict
An excellent way to get more control and comfort for rougher rides, with lots of space for bar toys
Make and model: PNW Components Coast Handlebar
Size tested: 480mm Flare: 20°
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?
It's for people wanting to go for a wider, more comfortable bar for better control, ergonomics and luggage carrying.
PNW says:
DROP IT... WIDE
A few years back we started playing around with wider bars on our mountain bikes. Trendy? Yes. Beneficial? Absolutely. Turns out the same benefits extend to Drop Bars which is why we designed the Coast to give you more stability, further control, and extra comfort on your gravel or city bike.
WIDE AND WIDER
The Coast leverages the known benefits of wider mountain bike bars, featuring 48cm and 52cm options - because like any good burrito, width is important.
CONTROL FREAKS
A wider bar with shallow drop not only provides ergonomic relief to the wrists and neck it also makes your bike more stable. This helps when you're moving from the hoods to the drops and allows you to get more playful with the bike (while having less "oh s***" moments).
DON'T FORGET YOUR STEM!
For the full benefits of wider bars we recommend pairing the Coast with a shorter stem. As a general rule of thumb, for every 20mm of increased bar width we recommend shortening your stem by 10mm.
REACH, DROP AND FLARE
65mm Reach - A short distance designed in tandem with the shallow drop, and exaggerated flare, makes switching body positions easy and keeps you feeling fresher on longer rides.
105mm Drop - This is a shallower drop number than traditional road bars - it's for when being aerodynamic isn't everything but being comfortable IS.
20° Flare - Combined with the shallow drop the 20° flare means more comfortable riding positions for your wrists and ease when moving from the grips to the hoods and back again.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Tech Specs:
Material - 6061 heat treated alloy
Color - Dual finish sandblast/polished black anodized
65mm Reach - Works with shallow drop and exaggerated flare to make switching body position an ease
105mm Drop - Shallow Drop for when aero isn't everything and comfort is
20° Flare - Combo of shallow drop and 20° flare provides more wrist comfort while moving back and forth between grips and hoods
Clamp Diameter - 31.8mm
Weights: 480mm - 346g / 520mm - 357g
Lifetime warranty
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Lovely material and finish.
Rate the product for performance:
10/10
It gives huge dollops of confidence over the roughest ground.
Rate the product for durability:
10/10
Unless it cracks, a bar is going to be durable for life... and PNW offers a lifetime warranty.
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
7/10
Not light at 330g, but given the length and use case it's not surprising.
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
10/10
The ergonomics are excellent, for long or short rides.
Rate the product for value:
8/10
The price of £70 is very good – most wider bars that rate this well are closer to £100. And it has a lifetime warranty.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It makes you into a faster, more comfortable rider.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
It's all about the width! But the shallow drops are great too.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
This is an excellent bar. Really, the only things I could mark it down for would be a lack of lever alignment markings, and maybe the cable/hose channel could be deeper to hide the bulge in the front of the tops. But some people like that feeling under their fingers.
Age: 47 Height: 183cm Weight: 77kg
I usually ride: Sonder Camino Gravelaxe My best bike is: Nah bro that's it
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, general fitness riding, mtb, G-R-A-V-E-L
The quote you included literally disproves your own point....
Breathability is measured in g/m2/h. But it's mostly fibs - don't expect to come away dry on the inside, however many hundred pounds they fleece you.
You're quite right - the cyclist was doing things that don't seem at all safe to most people. The first one - they were riding a bike in traffic. ...
That said, they may be somewhat related - the fewer people there are paying for licenses, the less money's available to invest in quality journalism.
Is everyone getting the new auto-response? I've only done about a dozen, since June this year, but my response has always been the same....
How is that even possible? It's a suburban street - traffic cannot proceed too quickly because of the road layout and parked cars; it's a modern...
Yup, sales of new bikes are way down, so out comes the latest highly unnecessary gadget to attract buyers back into the stores. ...
Hi Neal, ...
They're a bit hit and miss - sometimes they've got a decent article, but mostly it's clickbait rubbish. However, you will never find a more...
I have a set of these mudguards . That the rear mudguard is short is a blessing, as it makes it easier to manouvre the bike up on its back wheel. ...