Zoom Mountain Bicycle Handlebars

The Zoom 130 Mountain Bicycle Handlebar wasn't on hand at time of writing. It's made of 7000 series alloy in a 560mm length with a claimed weight in the 130-140 grams region. Black or Ti grey anodized finish.

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"Zoom" as we have mentioned elsewhere is this book is the after market brand name used by the Taiwan parts maker Hsin Lung, now calling itself H. L. Corporation. Hsin Lung has been long known as a maker of bicycle parts used as original equipment on bikes, and seems to have developed some experience and expertise in the quality and workmanship required to sell quality replacement parts. Much of this credit is attributed to Will Herman, an original designer of what is now called the Girvin stem. A part of this experience may have been gained by making the two of the Ritchey handlebars for the last few years. The Zoom packaging says the 150 is made with butted interior walls, from a 2000 series alloy. Remember, most mountain bike handlebars are made from a shorter and thicker piece of aluminum tubing that is machined through a process called "drawing" where the length of the tube is drawn out to a longer and thinner dimension, while tapering or butted the interior walls. We believe, (and this is just a guess), that making the Zoom 150 starts with using the same "blank" piece of tubing that the Ritchey Force Lite is made from, so we further believe the series 2000 aluminum used is really 2014-T6 alloy. Both ends of the 150 have the last 4mm of tubing rolled inward, this corrugation adds some strength to the ends of the handlebar. We cut a Zoom 150 in half lengthwise to make some wall thickness measurements. We found the forward wall of the bulge was 1.66mm thick, the rear wall was also 1.66mm thick. At the bend, 2 1/2" from the bar center the wall front and rear has reduced to 1.59mm. Over the remaining 8 1/4" (210mm) length the wall thickness reduces to 1.11mm at the end. The bar diameter is 7/8" (22.2mm) at the ends, where the tubing is 1.2mm thick, and 1" (25.4mm) at the knurled bulge in the center. This bar is made in three lengths, but just one seems to be readily available in the United States, the one we sell. It is 560mm (22 1/16") long, with a brushed surface treatment making fine patterned lines around (circumferencially) the tubing. This ATB flat bar is made with a 5 degree bend, and anodized in Black or a pale Titanium Grey. Made in Taiwan, it weighs 143 grams.

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There is a second Zoom Mountain Bicycle flat bar we sell, the "170", which is made the same way but is slightly heavier. How can the bar, if made the same way, be heavier, you ask? It's made from an aluminum alloy that doesn't have the same strength properties as the 150 requiring more aluminum (thicker walls) to structurally give it the needed strength. This bar is said to have butted internal walls, and made of 6000 series aluminum alloy. Like the 150, both ends of the 170 have the last 4mm of tubing rolled inward, this corrugation adds some strength to the ends of the handlebar. We cut a Zoom 170 in half lengthwise to make some wall thickness measurements. We found the forward wall, at the bulge, to be 2.20mm, while the rear wall was also 2.2mm thick. At the bend, 3 1/2" (90mm) from the center the wall thickness had decreased both front and rear to 1.63mm Over the remaining 7 1/2" inches the wall thickness tapers to just 1.23mm. The bar diameter is 7/8" (22.2mm) at the ends, where the tubing is about 1.4mm thick, and 1" (25.4mm) at the knurled bulge in the center. This bar is made in three lengths, but, like the 150, just one seems to be readily available in the United States, the one we sell. It is 560mm (22 1/16") long, with a brushed surface treatment making very fine, near polished, patterned lines around (circumferencially) the tubing. This ATB flat bar is made with a 5 degree bend, and anodized in Black, Silver or a pale Titanium Grey. Made in Taiwan, it weighs 165.5 grams.

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