Best road bike handlebars 2024 — fine-tune your bike's front end for comfort and performance

Prime's Primavera Carbon Aero Handlebar is a great upgrade option at an attractive price. The drop is slightly shallower (122mm) than on the previous model with a more ergonomic shape that's excellent for sprinting, and the price is still very good.

The Primavera Carbon Aero Handlebar's key features include easily-accessible drops, an aero top section, huge holes for internal cable routing, and space around the stem clamp for a computer mount and light.

Tester Liam writes: "The shape gives a tight and stable hold on the bar that really helps you get planted and the road buzz that can hamper stiff carbon components isn't present here. Even with gloveless hands resting on the bare carbon of the aero top section, I don't feel much buzz."

This bar offers a 16° flare of the drops, plus a 20mm rise to the tops. This rise will come in handy for those looking for a more upright position for long rides on or off-road without getting a new stem or – for anyone who has maxed out their steerer tube – a new fork.

The tops are 'semi-aero palm friendly' as Genetic puts it, meaning even extra-large hands get plenty of grip with just a single layer of bar tape. Cable-run indentations on the underside of the tops help to guide and minimise the feel through the bar tape.

The flare makes for confident handling at speed through the rough stuff. The end of the drop section is straight for a palm's width and immediately above that is a pistol grip for all-out efforts where you need access to the shifters and brakes.

Value is pretty darn good when you compare it with what else is available – especially given that if you need to raise your bar you don't need to fork out for a new stem.

All in all, the Genetic Driser-16 is a cracking handlebar for more adventurous riding, and with the 20mm rise and wide tops it may well suit you for less-rigorous pursuits as well.

Although the RRP is £54.99, this handlebar is available for under 50 quid.

The Schmolke Roadbar Oversize Evo TLO is an astonishingly light carbon-fibre handlebar that offers a good level of stiffness although the price is going to send all but the most dedicated weight-savers diving for cover.

Schmolke is a German brand that has supplied bars for the likes of Jan Ullrich and Erik Zabel in the past. All of its products are made in Germany. The TLO – it stands for 'The Lightest One' – is made from T1000 carbon fibre and it comes with a reach of 76mm and a shallow drop of 126mm.

The top section of the bar is slightly squashed in profile, fitting beautifully into your palm when you're climbing, and it's easy to arrange things so that you get a flat or just slightly angled platform from the shoulders to the hoods of your levers.

The drop bends smoothly with a generous amount of rearward extension at the end, allowing you to shift your hands backwards if the road ahead is clear and you don't need immediate access to the controls.

The Schmolke Roadbar Oversize Evo TLO sits about mid-table for a high-end bar in terms of stiffness, offering plenty of confidence when you're out of the saddle or cornering hard while, on the other hand, also helping to damp vibration over rougher road surfaces. It's a decent balance.

If you want to use clip-on aero bars or Di2 internal wiring for a bar-end junction box, models are available with the necessary strengthening (which adds 8g of weight in each case).

The Pro Vibe Aero Alloy Handlebar is comfortable to hold with the six-degree flare allowing for a narrower position when on the hoods while retaining maximum control when you have your hands down on the drops. It’s not the lightest bar out there, but it is high quality and will save a heap of cash over carbon alternatives. On top of that, it features internal routing and looks the business.

The Vibe Aero isn’t a traditional round tube bar. Instead, the tops are flattened, but they’re not so wide that you can’t fit your hands around them when climbing.

The balance between stiffness and comfort can be a tricky one to get right, but it’s something that the Pro bar does brilliantly. Yanking on the hoods when sprinting up sharp climbs reveals no discernible flex, nor is there when you are braking hard.

It’s the same when your hands are down in the drops. This is a proper racer’s bar, and they love to sprint. You do get some buzz from rough roads, but it’s really not bad.

The Pro Vibe Aero is a really good buy. It looks excellent, performs admirably and is a great shape for both racing and training.

The Ritchey Comp Venturemax XL is a fabulously wide, ergonomic bar that’s brilliantly suited to long days, rough trails and wide luggage. At a great price and with very comfortable drops, it’s a winner on all fronts.

Measuring 615mm at the drops, the Ritchey Comp Venturemax XL is one of the widest drop handlebars around. There’s also a 4.6-degree backward flare on the tops, to help reach the hoods. It’s made from double-butted 6061 alloy and weighs 350g.

The drops are just over 10cm deep so they’re easy to get into and out of – important for long days in the saddle. The ergonomic upward curve of the drops fits perfectly into the palm of your hand.

The width and comfort mean you get loads of control from the drops – perfect for hardcore descending over surfaces.

Another benefit of this width is that there’s a huge 46cm free inside the hoods to carry luggage.

If you want oodles of extreme terrain, high- and low-speed control, super-comfortable grip, loads of luggage space, and all at a sharp price, the Ritchey Comp Venturemax XL could be the answer.