Does the lightest and strongest downhill handlebar come from the Basel region?
The company Ceetec is committed to quality and perfection. Their lightweight and extremely robust products enjoy a growing user base from the endurance disciplines. Occasionally, Ceetec products have also been used in the enduro sector, often in conjunction with Flowrider Racing. This also provided the initial spark for the "Phenum" project in summer 2019.
The desire for a lightweight and extremely robust carbon downhill handlebar led to a closer collaboration between the two companies. Marc Wohler from Flowrider Racing had precise ideas regarding width, rise and offset, while Ceetec carried out the design, CAD and production work.
Test bench at the limit
An important aspect at Ceetec is test bench testing to guarantee the durability and safety of its components. And these were even more important for a safety-relevant component such as a handlebar, which is also used downhill.
Ceetec's in-house pre-test already revealed that the Phenum C1 handlebars should be able to withstand significantly more than some competitor products from well-known brands. The final durability question was then answered by a renowned testing institute from Aachen. First, the C1 downhill handlebars were subjected to 1.4 million load changes at around 420 newton meters. Instead of the handlebars breaking, individual support components of the test stand broke. Even the other two million load changes at the maximum possible test load of the machine could not harm the same handlebars - three stems, however, had to believe it.
Details of the Phenum C1 DH
In a 3K or UD carbon finish, it has seven degrees of backsweep and five degrees of upsweep (bend backwards and upwards) as well as 25 millimetres of rise. The clamping diameter is deliberately set at 31.8 millimetres. With a width of 800 millimetres, the commercially available version weighs just 212 grams. This means that the handlebars are not among the record holders, but Ceetec also emphasizes that this is not the goal with all of its components - durability and safety clearly take precedence.
The "Phenum C1 DH" can certainly be described as a strong piece of Swiss precision work or affectionately as a modern Baslerstab (the shepherd's crook in the Basel cantonal coat of arms) made of carbon, which brings its sheep safely and precisely maneuvered to their destination.
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.