Flexx bars by Fasst Co.

Thought a few Husky riders might be interested in this.

Off-roaders want to be comfortable. Off-roaders want to be in control of their bikes. Off-roaders would like it very much if they didn't suffer fatigue and pain. Fatigue and pain will take comfort and control, beat the crap out of them and toss them off a cliff.

Seats, bars and pegs… the parts where you as a rider “attach” yourself to a motorcycle, all have an effect on your personal level of discomfort.
I build custom seats for a living, so I get to talk to a lot of people, nearly every day, about seating comfort, and their bodies relationship with their seat, bars and pegs.
With some customers, I may even suggest a different bar bend, or peg or bar riser… something that will make the body relationship with their bike better, to reduce fatigue and improve control.


Flexx handlebars by Fasst Co.



I resisted Flexx bars for as long as they’ve been around… I really did. To be honest, I didn’t put much stock in the concept, and the price kept my beliefs in steady check.

At first, I thought I wouldn’t like them. Bars shouldn’t move… says me. After the first hour into my first ride with Flexx bars, I was a believer… a convert, a disciple.
Bars should, in fact, move. At least these bars should… and because they do, you get less hand and arm abuse. Less abuse translates into more comfort and less fatigue. Less fatigue means you enjoy your ride longer and with better control.



I’ve been riding for nearly 4 decades, so I have my seat, bar and peg relationships pretty well sorted out.
Those 4 decades have not been too kind to me physically however.
Among other things, I have carpal tunnel, tendinitis and arthritis. I’ve broken my hands, wrists and arms so many times I’ve lost track.

In the past few years, things have gotten worse.
I sold my ’03 640A because it was too much of a porker to try and maneuver thru typical Western Washington single-track.
I bought a nice, light Sherco 510i Enduro for the simple reason that less weight equals less fatigue… and I was getting fatigued way too soon into a ride.

Now you’d think, replacing a 400 lb wet 640 KTM with a 250 lb wet 510 Sherco, that I’d be good to go… but, such was not the case.
Sure, I could ride harder, faster and longer before the pain set in, but the pain would set in eventually.
Getting old is a sure thing, letting old age slow you down any sooner that absolutely necessary is unacceptable.

The concept and price of Flexx handlebars started to look more and more reasonable every day. I spoke with the Fasst Co. guys and ordered up a set with crossbars to clear my Scott's damper.

They have an excellent selection of pullback and rise choices. In fact, they have a better selection of pullback angle choices than I've ever seen from one maker… if you’re like me and don’t like a lot of pullback, Fasst Co. is the way to go.
(By the way, these guys are real live riders and stone fanatic enthusiasts… so no worries about them not understanding your needs)

Flexx bars are like a small, short travel rear suspension on either end of your handlebars. (That’s my description… if you got a better one, lets hear it) A suspension that is fully adjustable for rise, “spring” rate, compression and, if you buy the optional “rebound elastomer kit”… even rebound damping.

The part you grip moves up and down… relatively in line with the forks.
The handguard mounts use the handlebar "axles" as their pivot points as well, so your handguards float with the bars.



The Flexx bar elastomers run from softest to firmest - blue, yellow, red and black.
As I did get the optional rebound kit, I started out with the softest elastomers available… blue for compression and yellow for rebound.
I loved this set-up… nice and super absorbent on compression but not so soft on rebound that I wasted energy when I needed to give the bars a tug to clear a log or other hazard.

Today, I just got back from a ride with yellow elastomers in both the compression and rebound positions... one step "firmer" than the first elastomer set.
I liked that set-up as well, but it was a bit harsher to my wrists than I could take (but, still leaps and bounds better than any conventional bar), so chances are I’ll be going back to the blue/yellow combination.
If I was younger, or my arms less hashed, this is probably the set-up I’d stick with, but I personally need that little bit extra shock absorption that the blue compression elastomers provide.

If you run a GPS, Fasst Co. is working on a number of prototype mounts, with everyone from pro rallye racer Jonah Street to the owner’s father in-law testing them. As I already had a EE generic mounting kit, I simply modified it to put the Touratech cradled 60CSx between the crossbars.



Surprise potholes hiding in the shade… G-outs at the bottom of a steep, ugly hill… Forest Service roads with bike and body juddering washboard surfaces that haunt the inside line of corners.
Single-tracks filled with (or so it would seem) all the baseball, football and basketball sized rocks in the universe.
Flexx bars will absorb much of the impacts those “fun” surfaces are known to provide… making many of the hits more of a minor annoyance than a life-flashing-before-your-eyes, wrist snapping, butt puckering experience.

Something that’s hard to explain is the added confidence you get for attacking a road or trail. I can turn my pace up a notch or two if I'm in the mood without being overly concerned about what obstacle is hiding around the next turn.

As far as I’m concerned, a steering damper off-road is more a requirement than an option. If you've never ridden with a real, adjustable steering damper, you have no concept of how much better riding can be.
Now that I’ve ridden with Flexx bars, and I know how much better riding can be again... I'll never go back to one-piece bars.
The point is, Flexx bars work… and they work so well that the price I once thought was too much is now a very reasonable expense for the benefit they provide. A proper bar bend, a tremendous reduction in impact related fatigue and injury... and the surprise of improved confidence at a faster pace.

If you’re an off-roader or adventure rider who likes to push it, but is tired of the upper body fatigue and pain your enthusiasm produces… bite the bullet, spend the money, get a set.

Really.



Ciao,
C

Wow C are you a writer, that was a very good read my friend. I will have to look into a set. I thought the bars would make riding harder not easier. I was wondering what control you could have on a bike if the bars were moving; sounds like more control. Thanks for the detailed report.

Hey do you think it would lessen the vibes that come thru the bars? Oh if you don't mind what did they set you back?

You can buy just the bar end if you damage one, so it's cheaper than a whole set, but just the bar end from them is as much as a set of bars from some manufacturers so it's not like it's cheap. I crash more often than most I ride with and have found my flex bars take a crash better than any other bars I've owned. As for vibration damping, pretty noticable on my 500, not so much on the buzzier end of things with my 125.

Cool thanks for the feed back guys.

What everyone else said.


If you have the means, Flexxbars are worth every penny.


I've had mine for over 3 years and my elbows and shoulders won't let me ever go back.


paul

Thanks for the link. I went to the site and man they have a lot of bars! I don't know what bars would suite me. I like the bars that come on my 09 TXC 510 as far as bend and height. I will need to give them a call and see what they have that's close to stock.

Are the 12* woods set up similar to the stock Husky's?

I thought this was going to end with " I loved them so much, I bought the company!"

Nice write up!

I know exactly how you feel DD.
People need to think more along the lines of premium suspension components than trying to compare them directly to other handlebars... that's how I overcame the cost. Well, that and my arms were going to fall off if I didn't do something.

If you got evil arm pump, stiff wrists, tendons trying to fly out of your arms... these bars will take the edge right off and give you more riding fun in a day without paying such a painful price for it.

C

Thanks John... I used to write lots of tech articles for Harley-Davidson Motor Co, among others. I ain't Hemingway, but I ain't too bad I guess.

I felt the same way. After you start riding for awhile, the sensation becomes, ah... normal.
I started with the softest elastomers... lots of movement. I went to the next firmest, thinking that maybe the movement was excessive. It's not like there's a pre-established specific setting for everyone, you just play with it until you like it for you.

I think I may go back to the softest set-up because I really liked the impact absorption, and the movement was almost fun... hit a sharp edged pothole and the bars suck it up.

It's actually very cool... you start looking for stuff to hit.

Oh yeah... they supposedly lessen the vibes, but as my Sherco is smooooooth, I can't offer a comparison of any value. On the price, I think they were $340 something. With the handguard mounts and the rebound kit, they run around $400 OTD.

C

Yes indeed WoodsChick.

A little bit of dampened movement to suck up the sharp hits that would otherwise be transmitted into your arms and upper body... makes a world of difference. That's about what it boils down to.

C

You will probably end up with a 12 degree (54mm) sweep or pullback.
10 degrees is good for folks that have limited lateral wrist movement and 14 degrees is too much, at least for me. The 14 degree bend seems to fill the needs of quad riders nicely though.

Take a look at the Pro Set-up page... that might help you in narrowing things down.

C

That one made me smile.