ENVE SES AR Road In-Route Handlebar review

ENVE has a large offering of premium carbon products, ranging from seatposts to frames, all beautifully made and generally pretty pricey. The ENVE SES AR Road In-Route Handlebar is no exception, coming in at the top end of the cost spectrum and making them among the most expensive road bike handlebars available.

The ‘In-Route’ name refers to cable integration, as with a compatible stem, all cables can be run fully internally for a neater, more aerodynamic design. ENVE lists the suitable stems on their website, with most of the major brands mentioned.

These bars came fitted to the rather nice ENVE Fray all-road bike I’ve been riding recently (paired with ENVE’s In-Route Aero Stem), and the AR in the bar’s name stands for ‘All-road’ too, making them the perfect match for the Fray. As such, I’ve ridden them on-road as well as some light off-road.

Construction

ENVE says that the carbon laminate used to make the SES AR Road In-Route Handlebar is AR-specific for ‘comfort over all terrains’. Presumably, this means that there is slightly more compliance in this bar than in their aero model, for instance.

There are cable ports which allow any wires and hoses to be run either entirely internally through the handlebar and stem or neatly contained within the runnel underneath the bars if integration isn’t possible (or desired). These holes and details are very nicely finished with lovely, smooth edges.

The bars are available in five different widths from 38cm to 46cm in 2cm increments, with the drops 5cm wider than the measurement at the hoods. This is because the bars flare fairly significantly (for road bars), not only in the usual top-to-bottom direction but also in the front-to-back dimension. Therefore, the widest point of the whole handlebar is the final few centimetres before the bar end plugs - the test bars were size 40cm (45cm at the drops). Elsewhere, the bars are a fairly standard compact 76mm reach and 127cm drop.

The tops are flattened for aerodynamics right up to the stem clamping area, making the fitting of things like lights or a computer less than straightforward, whilst the forward bend between the tops and the hoods is quite abrupt.

ENVE’s given weights are 242g, 254g, 260g, 273g and 290g, respectively. As the test bike was fully assembled on arrival with bar tape fitted and all cables routed through both the bars and the stem, I didn’t take it all apart to weigh the components independently. ENVE’s claimed weights aren’t groundbreaking anyway and seem eminently plausible.

The ride

The flattened tops of the bars were a pleasant place to be - comfortable but not overly wide or deep with just enough compliance to take the edge off without in any way feeling spongy. The severe 90° bend to the hoods allowed the full width of the tops to be used and also provided a nice position for the heel of the hand when you're not fully forward on the hoods.

When riding in the drops by the levers, the compact curve was perfect for control and comfort, keeping the brakes and shifters in easy reach. However, the flare meant that it wasn’t ideal for keeping my elbows tucked in for the kind of aero advantage you’d probably be looking for if riding in the drops. My wrists, elbows and shoulders simply didn’t seem to work that way, and I ended up with my elbows sticking out a bit - perhaps riders with greater flexibility wouldn’t find it an issue.

Furthermore, I didn’t really understand the purpose of the additional flare towards the bar ends - by my reckoning, the handlebars were 3cm wider at the ends than by the levers. Sure, wider bars give better control, but generally speaking, on the kind of terrain where I need more control I also quite like having my brakes within reach too, so that extra flare seemed superfluous.

Luckily, the bike came with a computer mount that fitted into the stem faceplate, as otherwise mounting one would have been very difficult, given that there is very little suitable, round, real estate on the handlebar. Ditto mounting lights, bells or any other handlebar accessories. This might be understandable on a race-oriented handlebar where aerodynamics and speed are the priority, but it is a bit limiting on a more all-round bar. I would happily sacrifice a watt or two for a couple more centimetres of 31.8mm bar on which to fasten my front light. Fitting a compatible light to a Go-Pro fitting on the K-Edge computer mount was a possibility, but would limit lighting options.

In the main, the SES AR Road In-Route Handlebar was very comfortable so long as I stayed on the tops or forward in the drops, away from the slightly awkward extra flare. Whether riding with gloves or without, I suffered no problems in terms of numbness or vibrations and out-of-the-saddle efforts didn’t cause any noticeable flex. I am not in the position to comment on the bar’s aero credentials, but it’s always nice psychologically to see as little material as possible hitting the air at the front of a bike.

Value and conclusion

As I’ve suggested above, these are right at the top end of the price range for a separate handlebar (not a one-piece bar/stem combo), and at £440 / $450 a pop, it is very hard to suggest that they are great value, particularly as they are nothing particularly special weight-wise. The shape and flare on the drops also didn’t suit me particularly well, but I can see where they are coming from - trying to offer a premium all-road (as opposed to race-orientated) set of bars that should work well on bikes such as ENVE’s Fray across a variety of surfaces.

I certainly liked the shape of the upper part of the bars and appreciated the extra width that the sharp transition towards the hoods allowed, and I accept that other riders might well get on better with the flare of the drops, too. Furthermore, the bars are stiff and compliant in all the appropriate places, and are beautifully made in terms of quality of finish, but whether that all adds up to £440 / $450 worth of handlebars is another question.