USE say that their Escape GR 12 handlebars are “One of the lightest options on the market. Designed for fast, lightweight gravel adventures where every gram counts. They are engineered with a carefully designed flare that splays outward beyond the hoods, keeping your controls in a neutral, ergonomic position. This helps minimise wrist strain on both gravel trails and roads.” Light, ergonomic and comfortable sounds like the perfect combination. Abby Holder has been putting them to the test and reports back on how she got on.
As soon as I opened the packaging for the USE Escape GR 12 bars, it was obvious how impressively light they are. My kitchen scales registered exactly 200g for the 400mm SL version, which was 50% lighter than my existing aluminium bars. The weight of the bars wasn’t actually the main reason for wanting to try them out though – it was more for the comfort factor. USE say that “Combined with specific carbon layups and AVT technology, these bars significantly reduce vibrations that can cause arm pump and hand numbness, improving both control and comfort.” I’ve suffered from wrist pain on my gravel bike before and wanted to see if the GR12s would help reduce this.
USE describe the SL variant of the GR12 bars as “one of the lightest options on the market. Designed for fast, lightweight gravel adventures where every gram counts. Slightly more compliant than the MAX for improved vibration dampening.” The geometry of the GR12 bars is quite different to my existing ones. My existing bars had a small amount of back sweep and zero flare at the drops. The GR12s on the other hand have a slight forward sweep and the drops are flared at 12 degrees. USE say that the GR12 bars “splay outward beyond the hoods” and this was certainly visible when looking at them from above or from the front.
The GR12s can be set up with brake hoses and gear cables routed internally, but even though this probably looks neater, I decided to run mine along the outside during the test period, as this made it easier to change the set-up and get the position of the controls dialled in perfectly. At the same time as putting on the new bars, I fitted a set of PRO’s Comfort bar tape to add some extra cushioning.
My early test rides were mainly on local mixed surface loops. If I’m honest, when I was riding on the tops or on the hoods, I wasn’t sure there was any discernible extra comfort over my existing bars. The more positive news is that the width and the shape of the GR12s felt right for me, keeping my arms approximately shoulder width apart when riding on the hoods and I liked the slight forward sweep. There was just enough room for my hands on the tops before the bars began to curve.
As the summer has gone on, I’ve completed some longer test rides, most of which included some steeper gradient climbs and lumpier descents. On the descents, I’ve been switching my hand position between the hoods and the drops to see which felt more comfortable. The dropped section of the bars are gently flared and it felt comfortable and secure riding there. The shape of the flare meant I felt in control when riding in the drops for longer while descending - this is particularly beneficial to riders with smaller hands, who might struggle to brake from the hoods for sustained periods. The bumps were soaked up pretty well, but as a lighter rider I’m not sure how much flex the GR12s actually offered. I run 700x50mm tyres, generally inflated to 17-18psi and I have fitted 3.5mm thick bar tape. Without fitting some equipment to log the amount of movement offered by the bars, it’s difficult to say how much comfort the GR12s were adding, compared to that provided by the tyres/bar tape.
Overall, I really like the shape of the GR12 bars. The width, sweep, drop and flare are just right and I appreciate how light they are. In terms of vibration absorption and comfort, I haven’t found it easy to discern a significant improvement over my old bars. I suspect that heavier/more aggressive riders might generate more flex and therefore more comfort, but for lighter riders, my feeling is that the shape is a more important factor than the flex.
The RRP for a set of USE GR12 SL bars is £245 (or the equivalent local currency). You can buy them in many good bike shops or direct from the manufacturer. If you would like to find out more information about them, please head over to USE’s website.