Not too long ago, two familiar names in the BMX industry, Sean Curran and Mike Brennan, announced that they were making some moves and going all in and launching a brand of their own. Shortly after that news popped up, word about Merritt started floating around. Over the course of a few months, they slowly announced a hell of a team and introduced a few products that these two were working on.
One of those products in particular were some signature bars for the one and only Brian Foster. Once these bars became available, I knew I needed to get my hands on a pair to give a go.
Doing a review of handle bars isn’t exactly something easy to do because either they hold up or they don’t. I haven’t broke a pair of bars in about 10 years so I figured instead of trying to tell you they haven’t broke in the 2 months I’ve been running them, I’d give you guys a closer look at just what make these special. Let’s take a closer look.
Going into things, I knew two things about these bars… Sean Curran knows exactly what he’s doing with product design and with a team that consists of Mike Brennan, Brian Foster, Brad Simms, Charlie Crumlish, Pete Sawyer and Justin Care that they wouldn’t be producing anything that couldn’t hold up to some heavy riding.
Brian Foster’s signature bars are made from multi-butted chromoly tubing that’s heat-treated along with features like a 19mm crossbar and dual radius bends to increase the strength even more. The bars feature a rise of 8.25″, width of 29″, 12-degrees of back sweep, 2-degrees of upsweep, a crossbar height of 5.75″ and crossbar width of 10.25″.
They’ve kept the graphics simple with a simple feather logo (I’m assuming it’s a Blue Falcon feather) sticker on the side.
Brian’s bars come in chrome and black with a weight of 27.5 oz.
Now, I know there’s not really a lot you can do to a pair of handle bars that make them stand out. I’m sure there’s a few other options with similar geometry out there. However, you do know that the quality of these bars is on point because it’s a rider owned and operated brand. I know for a fact that Sean, Mike or Brian wouldn’t be willing to release a product like this if they didn’t have 100% faith that these bars are going to hold up to anything you can toss their way. There’s nothing worse than a new brand starting out and word that their product is shit. That’s not the case with Merritt.
I personally cut the bars down about a half inch or so (I kind of just eyed it up… Experience factor) since I don’t really need anything beyond 28″. Since I have been running the bars I’ve been back and forth between brakes. The reason I mention that is because there’s plenty of room to run a lever even if you cut them down a bit. I plan on tossing them back on here soon… Just been slacking a little bit.
I like the overall feel of the bars. I think 2-degrees of upsweep is just about right for me. I’ve ran 3-degrees before and noticed it felt a little weird on my wrists. This is obviously personal preference so I definitely suggest people try to find what feels good for them.
The bars are available everywhere now and can be picked up for $64.99 – $74.99 on Dan’s Comp. The price ranges due to the cost of chrome being more expensive than black. I’m sure there’s somebody out there that was wondering…
There’s also a handful of shops that already carry Merritt, so if you’re down to support your local shop check out who has the goods here.
If you are a shop or distributor looking to carry Merritt, you can get in contact with them here to find out how to make that happen.
You can find out more about Merritt, their products and their team by visiting their website — MerrittBMX.com
That pretty much sums it up. If you’re in the market for some fresh bars, I definitely suggest you check these guys out. Not only will they hold up great, but you’ll also be supporting a rider owned brand that’s just starting to get their wheels turning.
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