The numbers that surround the Syncros Gain carbon riser are all pointing in the right direction for it to be another fit-and-forget component.
Briefly, it has an oversize 31.8mm clamp diameter (fast becoming the standard on modern bars and stems), along with a 640mm width, middle-of-the-road 25mm rise, a healthy nine-degree sweep and a relatively svelte 180g overall weight.
In fact, pairing Syncros’s FL stem with the Gain carbon riser actually gives you a trail bike front end that wouldn’t be out of place on a cross-country race bike.
The only fly in the ointment is the price, which looks steep next to Control Tech’s £40 scandium bar, which we reviewed last month.
The Syncros bar is fitted to one of our trail bikes and is doing very nicely, and we’re confident about slapping Syncros carbon finishing kit on hard-hitting bikes. We’ll keep you up to date on how it fares in 2008.
If you decide that you don’t want a carbon bar, you could always give the 240g 7075 alloy version a try. Choose from 630mm and 660mm widths, and 25mm/40mm rises.