Page 96 - AMB Freelist

with running a softer setup than they recommend.
With the all yellow setup I felt more of a difference with the Fasst
bars. Whilst I’d done a few weeks of riding locked down on two-min- ute descents, once I could go further afield, I went straight to a downhill trail with a 7-minute descent that’s about as chopped up as it gets. Whilst I was still feeling some arm pump in the latter half of the trail, back-to-back riding with a regular handlebar on the same bike proved there was less feedback coming through the bars. The onset of arm pump happened earlier with the regular bars, although I’d already done a couple of laps on the Fassts so this could have been impacted by cumulative fatigue.
The next setup I tried was yellow compression elastomers mated with red rebound washers. You can mix and match a softer elastomer with one level firmer in rebound, and this will give you the supple damping of the softer elastomer and a more controlled return after compressing due to the firmer rebound damping. Swapping from the yellow rebound washer to a red one is immediately noticeable when you do a few bounces out on the street.
The combination of a yellow elastomer with a red rebound washer was spot on for me out on the trail. The supportive damping remained, but the firmer rebound washer meant I couldn’t feel the bar returning as fast as it did with the yellow rebound washer when I pulled up. Whilst this setup didn’t eliminate arm pump for me on long descents, further back-to-back testing with a regular handlebar proved the Fasst Flexx does delay the onset of arm pump on long and rough trails. If you like long descents and suffer from arm pump, any assistance is much appreciated!
The two other setups are blue and black. The blue elastomers are aimed at a weight range under 63kg, whilst the black elastomers are aimed at riders over 86kg, and Fasst claim their pro athletes prefer this setup (which is unsurprising considering how much harder pro gravity athletes push their equipment). I put the blue elastomers in to
feel how soft they are on the street, but I didn’t try that setup on the trail as the amount of movement with my weight was unnerving. I tried the black setup, but it was too stiff for me. It’s good to see there’s a large spectrum of compression and rebound characteristics, so I’d imagine almost every rider would find a setting that’s offering what they want.
I ran the bars with a computer mount out the front of the handle- bars, which fit nicely. If you’ve got an eMTB with a centrally mounted display I’d recommend checking out Fasst’s website regarding eMTB display compatibility. If you’ve got any questions about display mounting for any type of bike you can get in touch with Fasst, and I found their communication to be top notch.
OVERALL:
Overall, the Fasst eMTB handlebar delivers on its claims, which is increased comfort and control on the trails, particularly in arm pump inducing situations. When you consider the alloy bars are over 200 grams heavier than popular Enduro/DH handlebars such as the Renthal FatBar and Burgtec Ride Wide DH, and around quadruple the price for the alloy model, they have to offer something pretty good to be worth considering! If you’re an arm pump sufferer focussed on gravity riding however, in my opinion they make enough of a difference for the weight and price penalty to be worth it.
A nice touch from Fasst is their 30-day ‘Ride it, Believe it’ money back guarantee. As it sounds, this is essentially a 30-day period where if you’re not happy with the performance of the bars after 30 days, you can ship them back for a full refund. One thing to note with this program is you can’t chop your bars down to be eligible for this offer. I think thirty days should give you plenty of time to do some back-to-back testing and make your mind up for yourself!
Will Shaw
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Photos: Edward Kelly