Qadson how about a ride report on the trick new flexy handlebars?

[qadsan]

Last week I was asked here on TT about the Fasst Flexx bars I purchased to try out, so I thought I'd give a quickie ride report now that I've finally tested the various elastomers.

I went with the 14 degree bars and liked the bend, but really liked the way I could adjust the rise. They also work with my Scotts stabilizer and a cross bar pad can be optinally mounted over the cross bar if you don't mind the stabilizer being covered. The bars are definitely heavy duty, the quality is good and the guys as Fasst were also great to deal with. The install was simple, straight forward and there were no surprises. My GPS even mounted up just fine!

My first ride was with the medium elastomers and I had a slightly negative impression only because I expected a lot more from the bars when compared to my Pro Tapers. I initially thought the medium elastomers felt sightly harsher than my Pro Tapers, but that changed by the end of the day. I wasn't sure if I was just getting used to them or if they were actually growing on me, but they felt different enough that I wanted to continue playing with them. On my next trip out, I tried the firmer elastomers and they were definitely not for me. I immediately noticed the harshness and arm pump set in much quicker. Then I switched to the softest elastomers which most people don't like (most seem to prefer the mediums from what I read). These felt great initially in terms of being less harsh, but they felt too spongy for my simple trail riding needs. I simply tightened the adjuster nut down a bit more to further compress the elastomer and that seemed to do the trick for me. The bars felt OK in studder bumps, but they felt great on most trails, in the whoops, rocky trails, etc. They still felt a bit spongy on jumps and I'd probably switch to the medium elastomers if I was doing much jumping, but the soft elastomers were my overall favorites for my type of riding when they're cranked down a bit. I don't think everyone can justify their price, but I really wanted to try them out after hearing several glowing reports from CRF & YZF riders and now I'm glad I bought them. They're not for everyone, but they do come with a money back guarantee and I don't plan to send them back. So far, I think they're the best set of bar I've tried out, but they don't come cheap.

[irondude]

Thanks for the ride report.

How about a picture?

[qadsan]

If you're a member of the Yahoo XR650R group, you can see a picture of my bars at this link...

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/xr650r/vwp?.dir=/&.src=gr&.dnm=Fasst+FleXX+bars.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/xr650r/lst%3f%26.dir=/%26.src=gr%26.view=t

I don't normally have my GPS mount on my bike, but I put it on for the picture. If you need some more pictures or different angles, let me know and I'll send them to you via email.

[irondude]

nice!