This year’s Traka gravel race saw many inspiring tech highlights and my pick of the bunch was Briton Harry Tanfield’s homemade handlebar-top cushioning.
Fashioned from off-cuts of bike-frame protection foam, the goal was simple: to give Tanfield a more comfortable position to rest his forearms over rough gravel terrain, while improving his aerodynamics.
This might not suit everyone, but it’s got me thinking, ‘why on Earth haven’t I seen this before?’ After all, aren't comfort and control on gravel (and even rougher tarmac) things that so many people crave?
Some quick reflection reveals I have seen this idea in different forms, of course, but this so-simple hack deserves its time in the sun – especially in a world where we’re asked to part with more and more cash for complicated ride-smoothing designs.
- Read more: Traka 2025 tech gallery
Ingenuity at play
They say necessity is the mother of invention and Tanfield’s solution is no exception. He was in need of a comfort-improving modification that enabled him to adopt an aero-efficient position for long periods.
“On Friday night [before the Traka], I started raking around the bike bag and got some pipe lagging left in there, quite luckily. I normally use it on my chainstays,” Tanfield told BikeRadar's Liam Cahill at the finish.
“It was really comfortable because when you’re riding in the wind like this, it's much nicer on the wrists,” he explained, while adding that it made it easier to consume gels on the move.
Tanfield was referring to a hybrid puppy-paws like position (outlawed by the UCI), with the forearms resting on the cushioned tops but the hands touching the hoods.
This application was geared towards improving Tanfield's performance, but there’s merit in his approach for all riders looking for more comfort.
Should we all add foam to our handlebars?
Of course, proceed with caution if you fancy giving this a try yourself.
Tanfield has greater experience in this area than most, having emerged from the British track team's skunkworks, where rough-and-ready prototyping is well-documented. While Liam poured some thinly veiled scorn on the application, Tanfield's tapework is neat and appears to have stood the test of the Traka.
I’m not sure my attempt would be so successful, born as I was with a severe lack of DIY talent.
That said, there is a lesson here, in that effective comfort-improving solutions needn’t cost the Earth. Brands could sit up and take note by designing their own relatively cheap padded solutions (aside from thicker bar tape or gel inserts, such as Bontrager’s IsoZone products).
What about foam-padded hoods, or hot-swappable sleeves for handlebars, which could help improve comfort for a specific need without having to wrap or re-wrap bar tape?
As Lachlan Morton has alluded to, brands are scrabbling to develop solutions to the same problems, and the best solution is almost always course- and rider-dependent.
By design, these needn’t be the semi-permanent solutions we often see being developed today, nor do they necessarily need to be as long-lasting – that said, Tanfield’s hack worked for this specific race, and on our passing inspection, he could probably keep it fitted for his next big gravel event at Unbound if he wanted.
Bigging up lateral thinking
For my money, I wonder if the solutions we’re looking for require some lateral thinking – a simple amend, which could bring a great improvement without the need to shell out big money on a compatible suspension fork, new set of tyres or other piece of hardware.
The more complicated nature of integrated bikes makes this a little harder than it once was, but as we saw with Morton’s puncture-repair stashing, it remains possible to set up a bike with your own personal needs in mind.
Tanfield’s home-baked hack is ingenious, and one I hope will serve as inspiration for privateers and brands alike.
