Bar68 - Not a swept back but not a flatty

[Ben R]

Last year around the spring I took a pair of Albatros bars and bent them out.  the shape ended up being pretty sweet, but I ended up dimpling the bars and didn't feel safe to use them.

I was talking to James about the shape and he mentioned to me how they had a "new bar" in the works.

fast forward a few months and he had a pair on his platty.  I got to ride it around and it felt good but didn't really catch my attention as Im into wide(r) bars.  I actually rode it like a total of 4X from other times.

anyways I ended up picking up a pair in last weeks release.  finally got to get them out on a proper ride and not just around the block.

-not a swept back bar but not a flat bar.  the rise feels nice.

-threw in some 20mm bar extension to get the width I wanted.

-they feel great. a tad not as big as the crust Juan martins I was running. the extenders turn it from a "bent out albatross" to a "bent out billie bar".

-the ramps and little extra space in the grip area feels good for climbs.

-will go back to Ergon grips as the angle of the bar and esi grips didn't get along with my arthritic hands.

-was skeptical at first and thought I would end up selling them after one ride but 10/10 they will probably stay on for a while...

surprised it hasn't been brought up in RBW yet.

[Drew Fitchette]

Nice one, Ben!

I ordered these but since I’m in the east coast they aren’t supposed to arrive till Wednesday. 

How long of a stem are you running on the Susie? Was curious to see where these land as far as coming back toward you. 

[Ben R]

ahhhh I guess that's why it hasn't been posted yet is because people haven't gotten them yet.

im running an 85mm nitto fillet brazed 4 bolt stem.  feels about right.  not too close but not too far for me.

[John Paz]

Following! 

Got mine, but need to secure a shorter stem than the 12cm I already have. If anybody has an 8cm nitto 90-190 let me know

John

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[Nick Shoemaker]

Those look great! I've been riding the seemingly-very-similar*  Soma Osprey on my Clem for about 3 years now - I'm totally sold on these sorts of Jones-esque semi-swept bars for bikes that spend a significant amount of time on singletrack. (I ditched the Ergons since this picture was taken and replaced them with ESIs that have been better in every way; stem is an 80mm Dirt Drop)

*I haven't found the sweep for Bar68 posted publicly yet - would be curious to know how it compares!

Specs:

Osprey: 40° sweep, 710mm width, 12mm rise

Jones: 45° sweep, 710mm width, 13mm rise

Bar68: __° sweep, 680mm width, 35mm rise

[Bill Shaw]

Adding the Crumbworks KT bar as it's very similar and hard to locate: https://www.magiccomponents.work/product-page/nitto-x-crumbworks-kt-bar

Osprey: 40° sweep, 710mm width, 12mm rise

Jones: 45° sweep, 710mm width, 13mm rise

Bar68: __° sweep, 680mm width, 35mm rise

KT Bar 39º sweep, 720mm width, 40mm rise 

Thanks,

Bill 

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[Drew Fitchette]

Wills e-mail listed it at 50 degree sweep!

Osprey: 40° sweep, 710mm width, 12mm rise

Jones: 45° sweep, 710mm width, 13mm rise

Bar68: 50° sweep, 680mm width, 35mm rise

KT Bar 39º sweep, 720mm width, 40mm rise

- Drew

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[Nick Shoemaker]

Nice - thank you both for the additions. Clearly a great time to be alive if you're into semi-swept handlebars!

[Tom Powell Davies]

These bars look great! They are also very close to the Velo Orange Granola bar, which I've always loved, and should be added to the list:

Osprey: 40° sweep, 710mm width, 12mm rise

Jones: 45° sweep, 710mm width, 13mm rise

Bar68: 50° sweep, 680mm width, 35mm rise

KT Bar 39º sweep, 720mm width, 40mm rise

VO Granola bar: 60º sweep, 650mm width, 30mm rise 

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[Doug H.]

I will buy your Bar68 if you don't like it. 

Doug

[Bry]

I have one I may be interested in selling for what I paid. Never installed. I realized it may not be for me, I ultimately want the KT bars so if anyone has one for trade let me know!

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[Ben R]

People LOVE the KT bar. I have 3 friends with them and one has 2 sets on two different bikes. 

The semi looking “BMX” style bar bothers me for some reason. I think I don’t like how the rise looks on them?

Another bar that was brought to my attention was the sims works JJJ bar. 

https://www.sim.works/products/sycip-designs-x-simworks-jjj-bar

Doug - If I sell them I’ll keep you in mind. I’m sure I’ll list it here but I wanna give them a ride for a bit. I’m enjoying them.  I do think having to run shims because my stem is a 31.8 bothers me but not enough to fully ditch them already. 

Ben R

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[Drew Fitchette]

I’d add to this list the Moth bar for those who like them wide!

Osprey: 40° sweep, 710mm width, 12mm rise

Jones: 45° sweep, 710mm width, 13mm rise

Bar68: 50° sweep, 680mm width, 35mm rise

KT Bar 39º sweep, 720mm width, 40mm rise

Granola bar: 60º sweep, 650mm width, 30mm rise 

Moth Bar: 60º sweep, 745mm width, 50mm rise

[Drew Fitchette]

Got my Bar68 on my Atlantis yesterday, and took it out for a quick ride to make some minor adjustments. I really enjoy them so far, it's nice as this iteration of the Atlantis has a shorter top tube and it gets me leaning a little further forward. I'm running with a 120mm stem in this picture. Excuse the excess cable lengths as these were measured for Moth bars I had before. 

[Huston]

Drew,

Lot's to like about your Atlantis, including the Bar68.  But, I have to give you extra credit for what looks like a Crystal Fellow (S65) stem to match your seatpost.

--Huston

Lexington, KY

[Drew Fitchette]

Thanks Huston! 

It's about as flashy of a bike as I've built, but I adore the matching Nitto stuff. I've got the same seat post in 27.2mm for my Saluki too. 

- Drew in ATL

[Aaron Richards]

I also got the bar68 bars and plan to use them on a future project. I am curious however if anyone knows of a similar bar but rise in the 8-10 cm range. The nitto hi-rise B483AA would be ideal however I would like more width. 

Aaron

El Cerrito CA

On Mar 4, 2026, at 1:25 PM, Ben R <ben.r...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Ryan M]

I'm on the hunt for a set of Bar68s for my first Rivendell build (51cm Appaloosa in Lime Olive). Missed the original drop. If anyone is interested in selling, please let me know – I'm located in the Bay Area.

Ryan

[John Paz]

Nice! How do you like the 12cm stem? Do you think shorter would be better? 

John

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[Drew Fitchette]

John - I definitely think their suggestion for stem lengths on the site/newsletter is accurate. My atlantis is a 2018 56cm with shorter reach than the current frames. If I had a newer 55cm I’d probably run a shorter one(80-90mm). 

I also have a long torso, so this puts me in a nice slightly leaned forward position. If I moved these to my 56cm Susie I’d go with an 80mm. 

[Richard Rose]

LOTS of good stuff regarding the “68” & similar handlebars. All of the usual suspects listed with one BIG omission IMHO. The “Albacore” handlebar commissioned by Hope Cyclery from Philly based LekerLeks. I recently visited Keystone Bikes in Philly & they have several of his bars in stock/on display. His shop is close to Keystone - so MUSA!

Albacore is 785 wide with 50 degree sweep & about 20 rise. 22.2clamp size which is part of the secret sauce according to me. Two advantages; the bar has a subtle flex & it works best with a 22.2 stem though it comes with shims to go to 31.8. But 22.2 gives one all the excuse needed to get a Paul Boxcar stem. No brainer.

This bar/stem defines my Gus. Thus equipped the Gus is a “Mountain Bike”. None of this hillibike nonsense.:)) The beautiful forward bend transitioning to the backsweep is very useful & comfy & works so good with the stubby stem. I know the bar is WIDE! It’s perfect for singletrack. That said he makes the “Albalite” which of course is narrower. He also makes whatever you want. They are not heat treated aluminum so not lightweight. But he is now making them in titanium & selling those for just $222.00 - insane for Ti!

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 7, 2026, at 7:44 AM, Drew Fitchette <drewfi...@gmail.com> wrote:

John - I definitely think their suggestion for stem lengths on the site/newsletter is accurate. My atlantis is a 2018 56cm with shorter reach than the current frames. If I had a newer 55cm I’d probably run a shorter one(80-90mm). 

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[Tom Powell Davies]

Looks like here is another option, for people who like the bar68/Granola bar shape, but want to go wider!:

https://global.bluelug.com/wilde-buckaroo-bar-nickel.html

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[David Ross]

I'm running custom Doom ti bars on my Gus and I couldn't be happier. I'm also running a 50mm BMX stem, although I've also run a Paul Boxcar on a previous pair of 22.2 bars. I would note that, for anyone doing serious off-road riding, running a stem with shims is far from optimal. No matter what you do, you'll never get the bars as secure as a bar will be with an appropriate stem clamp diameter. Also, the BMX stems have a huge amount of clamping surface, which I believe also helps prevent bar spin. The only reason I can probably get away with such a short stem is that I'm at the lower size for someone riding a 57cm Gus. 

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[Ben R]

That’s my biggest fear running shims with the b68 since I ride pretty much all dirt.  Nothing super crazy but still weirds me out a tad. 

I guess at worst if I get freaked out I’ll go back to the Juan Martins.  🥲🫠

Ben R

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[Richard Rose]

That’s interesting. I am decidedly on the small end of getting a large (57?) Gus to work but work it does. My Boxcar is of the 35mm variety. I love the bar/stem combo. Additionally, I despise shims. But I had to resort to using them on my old 26” MTB converted to a rigid single speed. They have not slipped on me yet but they do worry me. I like to see a pic of the doom equipped Gus.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 16, 2026, at 4:40 PM, David Ross <dros...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[David Ross]

This is my current set-up. The bars are custom Doom titanium that are basically a blown up version of a Rivendell Albatross. They measure approximately 700mm in width. I have another Doom bar that is steel and is basically the same geometry as a Crust Ortho but with tighter bends and more useable grip area. They're heavy, but they are unbelievably comfortable. As an aside, I'm still running a fully steerer as I expect to have to raise my bars as I age. 

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[David Ross]

I forgot to mention that I built a simple visualizer that allows me to plug in various bars and see what my reach will be. I have pretty severe neck issues and am working on a new build that will likely either have another set of custom bars or stock bars that I'll modify by cutting down a bit. 

[Polipop]

I made a curve profile comparison of some 40-45º sweep back handlebars.  Currently, I have VO Klunker bar on my A. Homer Hilsen and I like it so much.  It felt really good, stable and made the ride a lot more fun.  So, I'm considering Bar68 as well because it have the same dimensions.  But being in Asia, I guess I will have to wait and cross my fingers hope that Blue Lug will have a secret batch from Nitto for sale.