Syncros was the first to develop and market the ATB handlebar extension. These may singularly be most innovative handlebar development for Mountain Bikes in recent history. The original Steerhorn set was made in 1986 to provide a hand position variation for someone suffering from wrist tendonitis. It didn't take long to realize that by laterally rotating the wrists, the rider was able to increase the power available for climbing and sprints. The curved part of the extension proved useful over awkward terrain, by providing another hand position and reducing stress at the hands and wrists. Naturally because you lean a little farther, you also gain a bit of aerodynamic advantage. Steerhorns are precision machined aluminum. Steerhorns employ an internal clamp system, with a rounded shoe that presses against and grabs the handlebar as the set screw in the tail piece is turned clockwise. The Comp Steerhorn is made of two pieces of aluminum, one of rod, the other of tubing. The handlebar fastening clamp is made from aluminum billet in rod form. It is turned on a lathe to create the "ball", (that will fit over the handlebar end), and the tail piece that has the cinch bolt assembly built into it. The lathe on the fastening assembly includes reducing the diameter of the rod above the "ball" so the tubing grip section slides over it, supporting the tubing prior to, and after it is, TIG welded to the fastening assembly. The fastening clamp is drilled at the top through the ball piece into the tail section, to hollow, reduce weight, and create the recess for the "shoe" that holds it to the bar. The ball is then drilled at an angle from the side, (so the Steerhorn will angle in toward the tire slightly), to fit the end of the handlebar.
Finally the tail section is drilled and tapped for the set screw. The set screw threads upward pushing a concave internal shoe tightly against the handle bar. The grip section of the Steerhorn is made from aluminum tubing bent in an arc and cut in half at the mid point to make two grip tubing sections. Each 4 inch long half is then TIG welded using clean, pulsed welds to the fastening clamp, creating a "ski bend" style grip that turns up toward the end. The Steerhorn is then epoxy painted, in a textured Black color. This represents some of the best of manufacturing techniques. Steerhorns are made of lightweight 6061 T6 heat treated aluminum, and the pair of them, with the included grip end and bolt plugs, weighs just 160.5 grams. Syncros warrants them to be free of defects in materials and workmanship forever. In the "Grips" section of this guide, you can learn about the Syncros Steerhorn grip kit.
The Pro Bighorns are a variation on the Comp Steerhorns and use the same fastening clamp with an 8 inch long tubing grip section. The tubing section is TIG welded to the fastening assembly so that it arcs smoothly inward toward the front tire, and upward at a 17 degree angle toward the end. The Bighorns are epoxy painted Black, with the Syncros logo screened on their front. Bighorns come with four caps, two to cover the set screw, and two to cover the grip tubing ends. The weight of a pair of Bighorns, with all four caps is 218 grams. There is very limited availablity of these bar ends.
Too new to review Syncros L-bend version of the Pro-Horns are made of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy with a miter cut grip tube welded to a cinch assembly. It has two grip tube sections welded together at an angle like the Control Team Issue ends or their derivative the Specialized Dirt Rodz.
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