How do you find the difference between a pricey set of bars and a genuine upgrade? Ben tests the Enve M6 Carbon handlebars to find out.
At £170 at retail, the Enve M6 carbon handlebar is far from cheap. If you’re looking to upgrade the parts on your bike though, it might offer a genuine performance upgrade. Ben finds out which category the Enve M6 carbon handlebar falls into.
Key features:
- Carbon fibre trail handlebar
- 31.8mm clamp
- 780mm width
- 190g
- 7 or 25mm rise
- £170.00 RRP
- Enve.com
Sometimes people spend a lot of money on a product, based on the brand, status and reputation and because they want to have ‘the best’ on their bikes. Often these ‘premium’ products offer little discernible performance gains over kit at half the price.
The M6 from Enve is not one of those products. It is eye-wateringly expensive and a little bit showy, but it offers a genuine upgrade in comfort and control over most bars on the market.
Sold as a trail bar, I have been using it on trail and enduro bikes for about 6 months and haven’t shied away from uplifts, senders and gnarly trails. Right from the first ride I could genuinely feel the difference. The Enve M6 replaced a high end set of 35mm clamp carbon bars that I had found harsh and fatiguing. As soon as I fitted these and hit the trails I was taken back by the feel they give you.
People often talk about carbon products having a balance of stiffness and flex and how you need just the right amount of each and the guys at Enve have nailed it with these bars. They are super comfy on all terrain and never felt vague or flexy. They feel precise and yet somehow have a level of comfort that reduced fatigue on long, rough tracks.
What do we think?
£170 is a lot to shell out on bars, but these are a genuine upgrade that you will feel straight away and on every ride you do after. Highly recommended.
We love:
- Comfortable amount of flex
- Reduces hand and arm fatigue
- Enough stiffness for trail precision
Could do better:
- The price tag might put most off