Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Tumbleweed Persuader Bar: First Look
Just released, the new chromoly, 800mm (and 840) Tumbleweed Persuader handlebars feature a 30-degree sweep, tons of grip area, and a couple more interesting features. We got ahold of a pair for this first look…
Tumbleweed Bicycles, maker of the Prospector dirt-tourer we tested earlier this year, recently created the Persuader bar. This handlebar is made out of triple butted chromoly steel and features a 30-degree sweep, a 50mm rise, and a 31.8mm clamp. It’s available in 800 or 840mm widths with your choice of a raw clear coat finish or ED-coated black. We got the raw 800mm version to try out; here are photos and details.
On first inspection, the chromoly Tumbleweed Persuader bar seems pretty much invincible. It’s a bruiser of a handlebar that I’d unhesitatingly wield in a bar fight (no pun intended), or the apocalypse. As you may have expected, it’s much more substantial than most aluminum MTB handlebars. But the Persuader isn’t meant to be a bantamweight handlebar. Instead, it’s intended for big trips, loads, and the long term. With that said, it fits comfortably into it’s own cruiserweight class. For example, it’s comparable in weight to the straight gauge aluminum Jones SG Loop H-Bar, which weighs just 15 grams less at 584 grams. And it’s only 74 grams over the butted aluminum, 525 gram Jones Loop H-Bar.
The Tumbleweed Persuader bar has a unique, well-conceived design that maximizes the grip area and the straight sections adjascent to stem. This not only provides multiple hand positions for comfort, the straight mid-section provides plenty of real estate for attaching a handlebar harness or bag such as the Revelate Sweetroll, Ortlieb H-bar Pack, or the BXB Teardrop as shown here. According to Tumbleweed, this design required extra tooling in production to allow for these tight close bends and the Persuader has no forward sweep to interfere with bag mounting.
The Tumbleweed Persuader bar is also one of the more attractive handlebars I’ve had in my possession. It’s coated raw steel finish has a nice patina that shows some tonal variation. And the shape is quite elegant as well. The straight lines and sharp curves give it a retro-but-rugged aesthetic that I think a lot of folks will appreciate. Note that this is a pre-production model; Tumbleweed informed me that the logo graphics—which are also sharp—will be moved down ever slightly in the final production bars so that they better line up—as you can see, they are pointed up a little when properly mounted.
Tumbleweed Persuader Bar Specs
- Width (as tested) 800mm (also available in 840mm)
- Sweep/Rise 30-degree / 50mm
- Weight (as tested) 599 grams (21.1oz)
- Material Triple-butted Chromoly
- Place of Manufacture Taiwan
- Price $125
- Manufacturer’s details Tumbleweed.cc*
*Keep an eye out for the Persuader Bar pre-sale in a few weeks. Bars should begin shipping in 8-10 weeks.
Wrap Up
We’ve only used the Persuader for a few rides at this point, but so far it seems quite special as far as handlebars are concerned. You may have guessed this considering we don’t review a ton of handlebars independently. It certainly lives up to its claims. The straight area fits handlebar packs with tons of room to spare and it also has plenty of real estate for non-traditional grips. As you can see in many of these photos, we fitted it with the massive 205mm long Jones Kraton H-Grips, which provide plenty of wiggle room to change hand positions.
One thing is for sure, the finish, logos, and style behind the Persuader are aesthetically perfect. All in all, the Persuader is a beauty of a handlebar that seems suitable for a reeaallly long ride.
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