Posted by: fartymarty
I guess the issue for them is that 16 is an un-tested product and to get it to market takes time. Maybe they could go to someone like Nitto who make the Hunter Smooth Move and see if they can make a 50/16 and Chromag brand it.
It's a shame more companies aren't on the alt bar train yet? I see it as a big thing in the next few years as awareness grows about them.
Since Chromag makes a 8deg FU50 the incremental cost to producing a 16 deg bar would be well understood. There really shouldn't be any manufacturing risks. It just comes down to how many they'd sell and whether they'd recoup their start up costs.
If they made a 12 deg bar that wouldn't be as big a change from their current lineup and might be a way to test the waters without going so far out into left field.
I've been using Alt Bars for over 16 years and I see more chatter about them online today, but I think that's just a function of nerds/geeks gathering more densely. I don't see them on the trail and out of say 100 riders I know in person and ride with [probably skewed towards nerds] I can think of single digit numbers that use them.
If major bike brands started specing them OEM and/or a company like Chromag sold an Alt Bar that might move the needle...otherwise I don't see any wider adoption happening. I mean look at what bike companies care about: batteries/motors, wireless stuff/more batteries, infernal cable routing, making non-motorized bicycles look like they have a motor, proprietary shocks, suspension with batteries/motors, MOAR stiffness, new colours, etc... It's interesting that the main talking points for a new bike launch don't focus on ergonomics really at all.
Now if there was a way to incorporate a battery and a microchip with blutooth into Alt Bars we might get a big bike company onboard! ;-)