In the past, comfort was seen as the lazy brother of performance, a comfortable bike as a sluggish border crosser between mountain and trekking bike. Until the industry learnt to use comfort-enhancing features in such a targeted way that they did not jeopardise the sporty attributes of a bike, but actually enhanced them. Comfort seat posts, flexing seat stays, cushioning tyres - what at first glance appear to be physical disadvantages can ultimately lead to a performance gain through biomechanical advantages.
Many manufacturers are now addressing this question: how can you make biking more fun without compromising on performance? Spank, for example, which has been a major player in the component market for years, has set itself the task of designing the perfect gravity handlebar. Perfect means: stable, stiff, light and direct handling, but still comfortable. To ensure that the task is not too easy, the product managers wrote two further goals into the specifications for their engineers: unlike most high-end carbon handlebars, the new Spank bar should also be recyclable and affordable.
The impetus for this project came from Fabien Cousinie, manager and racer of the United Ride Team sponsored by Spank. Cousinie's hands and arms were constantly going numb from biking. The syndrome known as "arm pump" affects all kinds of people who have to deal with vibrations - construction workers, motorbike riders and carpenters, for example. The constant, high-frequency vibrations lead to numbness of individual nerve cords in the hands and arms and, as a result, to a subconscious misjudgement of grip strength. This makes you grip even tighter, which tires the muscles even faster.
So how can you make a handlebar stiff and light and at the same time absorb the high-frequency vibrations? The Spank engineers used the company's own multi-butted aluminium handlebars as a basis. These were combined with various high-tech foams. After two years Vibrocore a complex, elaborately processed multi-component foam. The Vibrocore filling of the Spank handlebars weighs only 20 grams, but is designed to dampen high-frequency vibrations and make the handlebars more durable against material fatigue. So much for the manufacturer's claims. Various Spank team riders confirm the positive effect on long descents. Still no proof for us. That's why we equipped a Spank Vibrocore handlebar with measurement electronics and tested it extensively in practice.
How we tested the Spank Vibrocore
Shift-up: Founded in 2010, the engineering office consists of two people and works as a consultancy firm for various clients. BIKE carried out the ride tests for the innovation check together with Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet, who is an active cross-country World Cup rider in addition to his engineering profession. Shift-Up has already worked on the E:i-Shock system for the Accell Group with its self-developed sensors. Customers such as SR Suntour and Bosch are part of the customer base and use the measuring equipment.
To the measuring system: In addition to travel sensors, which can be used to record suspension travel on the fork and shock absorber, for example, Shift-Up is developing various triaxial acceleration sensors. In contrast to many other data recording systems on the market, the sensors transmit the data wirelessly via Bluetooth to an iPhone, which makes handling much easier. With the special sensors, the average of the vibrations can already be calculated in the sensor, which keeps the amount of data within limits even during longer test drives. This meant that test laps lasting 17 minutes were no problem and provided sufficient measurement data to accurately compare the three handlebars with each other. The frequency range covered extends up to 500 Hz.
The measurement results: Spike 800: 97.55 %, Spike 800 Vibrocore: 98.41 %, Syntace Carbon: 98.78 %. The lower the number, the stronger the damping. 100 % means: all vibrations/frequencies are passed on unfiltered.
The curves show the acceleration values from the test rides. The blue curve shows the acceleration values from the stem (unfiltered), the red curve shows the acceleration values at the handlebar ends. The damping effect of Vibrocore is therefore very low. www.shift-up-engineering.com
"I suffered badly from arm pump syndrome. Not even an operation helped. That was the impetus to develop Vibrocore. We did intensive testing with Mick and Tracey Hannah. Even in blind tests - with and without Vibrocore - we noticed the more direct feedback with Vibrocore. However, you notice it even more clearly in long-term use." (Fabien Cousinie, Manager/Racer United Ride Team)
Our review of the Spank Vibrocore
Spank handlebars are the result of a great deal of expertise. The elaborate butting makes them comfortable to ride, light and affordable. And the real innovation? The supposed advantage of Vibrocore could not be proven.
Perhaps it takes the sensitivity of a downhill pro or the pre-existing arm pump syndrome to feel the positive effect of Vibrocore. In any case, our test team was not able to feel any difference in practice between the Spank Spike 800 Race with and without Vibrocore and the Syntace carbon reference handlebars. Nevertheless, both Spank handlebars are very comfortable for such direct aluminium handlebars - we just couldn't feel the effect of Vibrocore in the test. That's why we asked the Shift-Up team to prove the advantages at least by measurement. But here too, the results are so close that even the smallest changes in tyre pressure have a greater effect on the rider. The Spike 800 without Vibrocore was the most comfortable tyre, both subjectively and in terms of measurement, even if only by a hair's breadth.
ConclusionOur test rides and our practical impression on normal trails show no verifiable increase in comfort. Nevertheless, we cannot rule out the possibility that Vibrocore has a positive effect on very long and hard descents.
...
Spank Oozy 760 Vibrocore
Price 89,90 Euro
Length 760 mm (can be shortened to 730 mm)
Shape 6° backsweep/4° upsweep, rise 15 mm, weight approx. 235 g
Spank Spike 800 Race Vibrocore
Price 89,90 Euro
Length 800 mm (can be shortened to 740 mm)
Shape 8° backsweep/4° upsweep, rise 5, 15, 30 & 50 mm, weight from 325 g
Spank currently offers Vibrocore technology on two models - the Oozy enduro handlebar (above) and the Spike DH handlebar (below).
This is how Vibrocore from Spank is supposed to work:
Vibrations can also be understood as wave energy with the corresponding amplitude and frequency. These vibrations occur when riding and travel through the bike via the contact points to the rider. Instead of allowing them to travel unhindered through the aluminium casing of the handlebars, the Vibrocore foam in the handlebar cavity is intended to ensure that some of the high-frequency resonance vibrations are broken at the contact surface with the metal and thus dampened. The foam core is also intended to provide additional stability to the handlebars and give them greater vibration resistance. The outer plug (far right, black) protects the closed-cell foam from moisture and dirt.
