Thursday, February 10, 2022

Trek Marlin 7 Handlebar Update - Ritchey Kyote

Taking comfort up a notch with Ritchey's Kyote bar.

I've owned the Trek Marlin 7 hardtail for more than a year. After dialing in the perfect seat, the next step was to gain more comfort in the cockpit. Also, it's become apparent that I can no longer tolerate flat bars for prolonged periods. Priorities were: seeking a comfortable hand position, more forward reach (if at all possible), with more rise - all without compromising leverage required to snake through the woods.

whatbars.com - curvy Ritchey Kyote compared with existing flat bar.
I used whatbars.com to help confirm the bar switch on my Clem-entine so I felt confident applying the same process on the Trek. First, I researched several handlebars before leaning towards Ritchey's Kyote handlebar. The Kyote's price and reputation, confirmed with online reviews and YouTube videos, sold me. Then, whatbars.com was proof that the Kyote bar's forward curves and sweep put my hands along a similar if not slightly forward reach, seemed ideal, all while possibly using the existing stem. 

Voila! The Kyote bar looks like it should work.

Our son talked me through the replacement, even teaching me how to use a torque wrench! We agreed to cut the bar one inch on each end for starters (he did that), then with further testing I may want the bars shortened further. 


I'm pleased with how nice these new bars look on my bike!

There's no question the Kyote bars will be a huge improvement. I'm sure there will be further adjustments once spring mountain biking season rolls around. At least the difficult portion of the project is finished. Currently, we're navigating snowy bike paths on studded tire bikes!