This Just In

Look closely at that handle bar. Somethin' odd goin' on there!

 Being in the reviewing of product game is odd. There are 'unwritten rules of engagement' and all manner of weird practices. Take for instance these new handle bars I just received for review on RidingGravel.com. 

The company sent these out and with that a note that there is a 'press embargo' on the bars until early March. That said, they are up on their website, they have taken pre-orders from customers, and are advertising the things on social media like crazy. Furthermore, customers that already have the bars are posting their thoughts already on these. So my question is, "What is the point in having a 'press embargo'? I fail to see any point at all in it, but.....I will not name these bars. That said, it'll take you two seconds to figure out what is going on here. 

Now, with that out of the way, I will go back into a bit of history here. It relates to what's on the BMC in the picture. Way back, when Ergon grips were still a pretty new thing, many of us in the gravel grinding community were wondering, "Hey! When are y'all gunna make sumthin' like that fer us? It'd be rad to put sumpthin' like these on drop bars, ya know?" And Ergon was receptive but said that "maybe someday" they'd get around to that. Which is company-speak for "We do not believe we'd sell enough to make it worthwhile". And back around 2006 - 2007? They were probably right. 

But now, in 2021, some company thought that the numbers were there for sales, and well, ya know what? They are right. And I believe you'll be seeing a lot more of these in the future. Just like when Ergon grips came out and people laughed and dismissed them as being too heavy, too goofy looking, and that it was an over-priced product, these are going to be dismissed similarly with similar comments. Too bad. 

But I think they will come around........

Stay tuned.