Jones Carbon Loop H-Bar: Update

Winter has hit hard early so I have a good sense of how this bar works now.

The Jones Carbon Loop H-Bar has been on my Blackborow DS for a bit over a month now. I was going to wait to post an update on this until after Winter had dropped some snow and cold on us. Well, I wasn't expecting to have had the opportunity so soon to comment, but with a decent amount of snow and frigid temperatures, I have some feedback.

 The Jones Bar in the carbon flavor was also ridden previous to all the Winter stuff happening. That was mostly on wet, greasy trails with some amount of roots, sand, and a few places that are rock strewn. Here I could feel that slight amount of give at times, which was welcomed. But honestly, that sensation one gets when first torquing on this bar is completely unnoticeable once you have a mile or two under your tires.

In the snow, where I usually ride anyway, there is a lot more lofting and slow maneuvering around than when it is dry. Here I was also pleased with the Jones Loop Bar as I was still able to cut a tight turn without the bar interfering with my pedaling and causing me to lose momentum. Lofting the bike's front end was actually made a bit easier since I had a more rearward grip position from which to launch with. So, in comparison to the stock Salsa Salt Flat Bar I had, the bar was an improvement.

Cutting new tracks was easier since I had a more favorable position for doing that.

The more rearward position attainable now with the Jones Loop Bar also provided me with a new option for cutting fresh tracks in about 4 inches of snow and through some moderate drifts. Now I can unweight the front wheel by sort of "standing"in the bike. Basically I am sitting on the saddle but almost completely upright with my hands almost completely unweighted on the bars. It allows me to make minor steering corrections without plowing the front wheel sideways and washing out.

The results have been very encouraging so far, and I cannot wait to try this in even deeper snow. I have actually gotten into about a foot of plowed "car snow" and even there I was making headway far better than I ever had before. So, just from that standpoint, the bars have made a big change for the better in how I can ride the Blackborow DS in snow.

There is also the carbon fiber material, which is great when the temperatures are hovering around zero and the bar doesn't freeze your hands when you grab on anywhere. Oh, and I do use all the different hand positions available here for riding. It's great from that standpoint as well.

So far, so good. I'll update again when and if things warrant it.