Teravail launch handlebar, stem and seatpost range

Last week Teravail – best known for their range of tyres – launched a new range of components, covering handlebars, stems, seatposts and bar tape.

Part of the QBP group that includes Salsa, Surly and the stand alone component brand Whisky among their many brands, adding components to the Teravail line up doesn’t make obvious sense.

Teravail claim the expanded range broadens their brand of ‘contact points’ beyond the tyres they are already known for. But both Salsa and Whisky already sell similar components, which hints at maybe a broader shake up in the group. It certainly hasn’t been an easy time for QBP in recent years with several rounds of layoffs already.

That aside, the new components look pretty interesting, offering carbon and aluminium options (to cover different price points) and road, gravel and MTB handlebar options. I won’t touch on the mega-wide and mega-high rise Moto-style carbon Moonstone handlebars though – they’re definitely not my taste.

However, among several options both the Swale Carbon MTB bar and the Feldspar Carbon drop bar look like offering useful solutions for me.

Let me explain.

A pain in the neck

In recent years I’ve suffered from problems with my neck resulting in regular and quite debilitating tension, pain and headaches. Things have been exacerbated over the past four or five months after I managed to stack heavily on Albert Pennyworth at the start of September. I’ve done little riding since, with the predictable effect on my fitness and mileage.

I won’t say I am recovering at this point but things have been helped by a very good physio and careful attention to the exercises I’ve been given. It’s an improving trend but even so, from one day to the next there’s no telling if I will wake up able to ride at all.

In that context, what appeals to me after years of riding fairly traditional handlebars is both the Swale and the Feldspar offer a different hand position to what I’m used to which I think might help my neck.

Interesting handlebars

Starting with the Teravail Swale handlebar which is a ‘flat’ riser bar for MTB riding (or bikepacking etc.). The bar has a 31.8mm clamp diameter that suggests it prioritises a little flexibility over the bigger 35mm size often seen on MTBs. It comes in 18 or 38mm rise options but most intriguingly has a 23° backsweep.

Now, I know what you’re thinking (or at least what DC is thinking). For years he ran On-one Mary bars on all his bikes to the bemusement of many of us. Mary bars have a more extreme 40° backsweep and are much narrower.

I am thinking that the 23° backsweep, combined with a nice compliant carbon construction could be just the thing for my poor neck. To be clear, they are not marketed for ‘medicinal’ purposes, but I think they might suit many riders (especially if you spend long days bikepacking). In my case they really could offer a good alternative to ease my neck.

Similarly, the Teravail Feldspar drop bar handlebar could offer an equivalent benefit to gravel riders, long distance riders and neck sufferers alike. These have a nice shallow drop of 100mm which is great if flexibility is an issue, and a flat, aero top that looks comfortable to rest your hands on. Importantly, the bars have a 20° flare at the drops but a more restrained 12° flare on the hoods.

All in all, they appear to be another bar that seems to offer comfort as well as performance. I would love to try these two options on my bikes.

Bar tape and grips

To compliment the new handlebars, Teravail also offer both bar tape and flat bar grips in a range of de rigeur muted gravel colours.

I like the look of them.

As with many modern handlebar grips, they are available in both regular and large diameters (32mm or 35mm) with a softer thumb-zone mushroom style pattern and single bolt lock-on fixings. This is par for the course but looks as competent as other company’s offerings.

On the bar tape side things are conventionally modern with 2.5mm and 3.5mm thicknesses as well as standard and long (2500mm) lengths available. The tape is gel backed with the emphasis once again being on rider comfort. I usually run with Lizard Skins 3.5mm tape on my gravel bike so this would make a great alternative.

Rounding out the range

Elsewhere in the Teravail range, they also offer a couple of stem models to go with the handlebars. They are on the utilitarian side but offer a 31.8mm clamp area, a choice of 0° or +/-6° rise and lots of different lengths. Something for everyone as long as you favour black.

You can also get all matchy-matchy with carbon or aluminium seatposts, also in black. I’ve not used a carbon seat post before but like the look of this uni-directional carbon version. For bikepackers or gravel riders, you can also have a short travel 27.2mm dropper post but note the cable routing appears to be for internally fed frames only.

So there you have it, Teravails first set of contact point components. I like what I see on the handlebar side and suspect they would suit me well. The components are all very understated in terms of graphics and branding so if you like performance over posing they are well worth a look. If they can help me ride back to fitness so much the better!