Strengths: Stiff, Comfort, Internal Cable Routing, Flat Top Section, Composite with Clearcoat
Bling Factor
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
The Electa handlebar is a masterful piece of Italian design and worksmanship. Comfort for the hands is taken to the next level with it's flat top section with internal cable routing to it's perfectly designed drops. Every position on the bar is comfortable. The clearcoat composite layup is stunning and in direct sunlight gives the cockpit a real bling factor. In full out sprints or stomping up the hills the bar is as stiff as they come with the muted feel of road vibration. I ride without cycling gloves (except for crits) and have no numbness...and I find that the clearcoat is not slippery at all (no sanding anywhere here).
Weaknesses: No textured clamping area. I had to sand mine so I would not over tighten the clamps. Prior to doing this I had trouble shifting my Campy shifters due to point loading and distortion of the backing plate on the Campy shifters. Took me 4 days to figure this out! These bars are shiny and slippery...sand them before use! One of the most expensive bars out there right now. If I had to do it over again I probably would have gone with the Deda Newton bar. No graduation marks in the clamping area. Wish it had a little more room in the anatomic bend for large hands. I'm a 10.5-11 hand. Tape wrapping takes more time due to trying to get a flat approach to the hoods.
Bottom Line:
The bars I special ordered had to come from Italy because the Red flame version is not available in the US. The are gorgeous to look at. The clearcoat is stunning. 31.8mm stems are find to use even though these bars are 31.7mm. I mounted Campy Record shifters on my bar but keep in mind these bars are designed for riders that spend most of there time on the top of the bars or on the rubber part of the hoods. If you like to ride on the top by the bends and close to the hoods you'll most likely have trouble like I did. The issue is design in this section of the bar cause a slight ramp and drop. However this is easily fixed by cutting up three one inch sections for each side. Place these three small strips to fill that gap between the top bend and your hoods and you will have a flat approach. I spoke with Deda USA about this and this issue is built in by design. Once this was done I can honestly say these are the most comfortable carbon bars on the top I have ever used. They are extremely stiff and have a nice long straight section in the drops to allow for a good sprint.
Has anyone ridden with a Deda Electa bar? There aren't any reviews of it yet that I can find, but it seems like a really nice blend between round bars and wing-type bars...
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