Save Your Hands? Spank Vibrocore Bars

Relative Stiffness

Some mountain bikers always want more stiffness.

How much more? All the stiffness. 20% more on top of the 20% more than last year. The stiffness brigade may not be crazy enough to think Giant’s Overdrive-2 is a good idea but almost. I don’t have both feet on that bandwagon.

Spank Spike vs. Spank Spike. One is a standard Race bar and the other is a Vibrocore version filled with a low density foam.

Why are we talking about stiffness? This is ostensibly a look at a pair of identical looking Spank Spike handlebars. But, I think the best way to highlight what I’m talking about is to reference two other cockpit choices that are more commonly talked about. Both carbon. Chromag’s BZA and Easton’s Havoc. Both bars are 800mm wide and have 35mm clamps.

The Chromag, which I’ve ridden on the ThunderVolt, has got to be the stiffest bar on the market. Combined with Chromag’s 35mm stem, the front triangle of Rocky’s Thunderbolt frame with Shimano’s XTR wheels, the reasonably stiff Fox 34  fork was the flex point in the system. Comparatively, the Easton Havoc carbon is actually very forgiving.

I’m not saying one is better. I know impressive riders who swear by one or the other. But it’s a notable difference on the trail.

Aluminum Bars

I’m with Cedric Gracia in my preference for alloy bars, or more accurately some alloy bars, over carbon. I perceive the ride quality to be better and I take less of a sh*t kicking. Particularly on shorter travel bikes. Nothing scientific, but I went into it in greater detail in my Renthal 35mm Fatbar review.

In addition to riding the Spank Spike Race and Spank Spike Vibrocore bars in a rotation on multiple machines I also used the 35mm Fatbar as a point of comparison – albeit with a Renthal’s stem as opposed to my 31.8 NSB Overlords.

I bring all this up in introducing the Spank Spike bars because their relationship to the Renthal parallels the Chromag BZA vs. the Easton Havoc. The Spike, with its 31.8mm clamp, is the stiffest aluminum bar I can recall using.

And that is entirely by design.

Both the hollow Race version and a foam-filled Vibrocore model of the 800mm wide, 31.8mm clamp, are equally the stiffest aluminum handlebars I can recall using; that’s by design. I ran both bars on the NSMB Nomad during my OneUp Shark test period.

Spank Spike

Spank’s ‘Super-6’ aluminum is a specially blended, highly magnesium-silicon enriched, work hardened alloy… It is ideal for the creation of thin walled, super stiff handlebars.”

Spank’s theories behind the Spike bars is straight forward. To start off with, they sponsor elite gravity racers and riders. Stiffer handlebars mean more precision. When Spank claims the Spike line is “super stiff” they aren’t messing around.

For folks like myself who suffer from vicious arm pump on longer crunchy descents an extra $20 (USD) and 30-grams of weight, over the Race model, buys the Vibrocore version of the Spike. As tested by the likes of Tracey Hannah and Brett Tippie these bars are meant to combine that massive amount of stiffness and “to combat the debilitating effects of hand-arm numbness and arm-pump” while also providing “vastly enhanced fatigue life”.

They may use the term “carbon killer” in their marketing…

The Race and Vibrocore bars are identical in dimensions. The gloss vs. shotpeen finish and slightly different graphics are all that separates them externally. The finish on both bars has held up very well.

Geometry of the bars is identical with an upsweep of 4° and a backsweep of 8° across the sizes.

Spike’s Spank 800 Race bar is 800mm wide, has a 31.8 clamp, and is available in four rises: 5mm, 15mm, 30mm, and a massive 50mm. All models run with an SRP of $80 (USD).

The Vibrocore version retails for $20 more and forgoes the 5mm rise option. It’s available in 15mm, 30mm, and 50mm rise options. Suggested retail is $100 (USD).

Premise & Methodology

The SRAM Eagle-equipped Transition Patrol Carbon is one of the most fun bikes I’ve ridden. Before Tim rolled off to give the Eagle X01 drivetrain a wicked whooping I enjoyed it with both the Spike Race and Spike Vibrocore bars.

I laughed. I was reading an intelligently crafted – if baseless – critique of Spank’s Vibrocore marketing. Something along the lines of buying a can of spray foam and filling a handlebar to get the same benefits. Chuckles aside, Spank makes some bold claims about the damping effects of their “complex foam core”.

The joke is actually on me because when I pitched the idea of a bar-to-bar test to gauge the potential advantages of Vibrocore they were gung ho.

Both Spike bars have done duty on the Intense Primer in dirt and in snow.

I do not have access to a bunch of machines that prod, prick, smash, tweak, twist, twiddle, or thwack handlebars whilst creating data. Even if I did, I’m not an engineer of German descent.

My plan? Ride both bars back-to-back on as many different bikes as I could get my hands on. Notice any difference in ride quality. Write about it.

Vibrocore Claims

Vibrocore is a complex, low density, foam core that Spank injects into bars. It is purported to do everything short of providing a sensual post ride forearm and hand massage. No one is claiming it is ‘suspension’ but the idea is to reduce hand fatigue and arm pump by damping “vibrational energy”.

In Spank’s own words:

The result is a handlebar that feels incredibly strong and rigid, AND acts to reduce impulse and vibrational fatigue… Vibrocore™ handlebars enhance tactile sensitivity between rider, bike, and terrain, while reducing fatigue.”

Reynolds’ Blacklabel wheels firmly transfer pedaling loads but don’t deliver a MMA level sh*t kicking like some of the carbon hoops I’ve ridden. The Spank Spike Vibrocore claims, and delivers, a similar ride quality.

Vibrocore Realities

The Spank Spike bars are the stiffest aluminum handlebars I’ve ridden. They rival most carbon bars. It is notable out of the saddle twerking the bar around. It’s notable smashing down rocky trails. And in the case of the Race version its notable in my hands under those conditions.

The difference between the Vibrocore and Race bar was noticeable particularly after long descents on shorter travel bikes or hardtails. On the Nomad I didn’t really notice the benefits during a ride but I always felt less fatigued afterwards on the Vibrocore version. For long shuttle or bike park days on the big bike the combination of stiffness and relief could be ideal.

The difference between the Race and Vibrocore versions of the Spank Spike isn’t aggressive enough to be noticeable riding on soft snow. Rock strewn trails are a different story.

Looking for the stiffest bar available but not wanting to feel like you’ve been beaten with it? The Spank Spike delivers. It is definitely worth the extra 30 grams and $20 compared to the Race model.

Choices

The ideology behind Spank’s bars is nicely summed up as they differentiate their Vibrocore bars from the competition:

…competitors have been forced to design unwanted flexibility into their bars”

Spank has definitely spent a lot of time thinking about their in-house produced aluminum handlebars.

Vibrocore Spank Spike bars are monstrously stiff but also quite comfortable to ride. Anyone looking for the stiffest possible cockpit without the budget, or acceptance of carbon bars, to purchase a Chromag BZA would do well to consider them. The fact they are 31.8mm is also a bonus given my collection of stems.

On shorter travel bikes, and hardtails, I prefer the ride quality of the aluminum Renthal Fatbars. I take the ‘ride quality’ of those bars to be by design as opposed to a bit of flexibility that is unwanted. On longer travel bikes with big tires, the Spank Spike Vibrocore was excellent, and certainly an improvement over Spank’s Race bar.

More on Vibrocore here.

How do you like your stiffness served?