Update: P17 Bar Project

Where are we at?

We thought we would have the project launched in March. We are sorry. We missed Unbound and the big targets in 2026. The reason? The initial samples didn't meet our expectations and needed to have the mold remade to ensure we got the right dimensions and that the product passed our safety testing.

We thought we would have the bars launched in May. The product just took longer.

We thought we would have the product launched by mid-June. QC issues reared their head, but we have some bars that we expect to start shipping this week.

What were the major challenges?

The three big challenges for a project like this were always going to be manufacturing, safety, and QC

Manufacturing challenge: The shape

This bar was always going to be tough to make. The shape of the bar is designed to maximize contact area between the rider and the bar while being narrow and using NACA or nearly NACA profile shapes as the base. This means defined edges, something that carbon doesn't like. The manufacturer said they could do this--but they had issues which caused delays. As they had issues, we made tradeoffs. Hose entrances we wanted to be large and easy to use, and hose nuts that could pass had to get smaller. The hose entry near the lever needed to be reshaped, which made routing more difficult and required tools for installation. 

We didn't like having to make tradeoffs and compromises, but at the end of the day as we watched more and more bikes launch with geometries that were challenging for small riders, we felt motivated to keep going.

Safety: TBIS or ISO? Mountain or Road?

There was also the open question of what standards do you use for safety? Should we stick to Road (Racing) or Mountain bike testing? In the end we went with the higher values.

We also face the question of whether we want to go with the TBIS testing protocol championed by industry leaders as a more rigorous option or do the minimal ISO testing. We opted for the former.

As an example, this is what this means vs. an ISO tested Road (Racing) drop handlebar:

Test	Force Applied	Cycles
ISO Road Bar
Out-of-Phase Loading	280N	100,000
In-Phase Loading	400N	100,000
AProto Bike P17
Out-of-Phase Loading	280N then 330N	100,000 then 100,000 more
In-Phase Loading	450N then 500N	100,000 then 100,000 more

We basically did the ISO testing and then repeated it again with values 117% of the force for out-of-phase loading -- a motion simulating the kind of forces a typical drop bar faces climbing out of the saddle.

For the in-phase loading, it was the same story, but we started using the Mountain bike test value and escalated it again to 125% of the force—simulating the forces you face when descending over rough terrain.

In other words, we did 2x the cycles at values peaking at 117-125% of the standard.

The factory called this level of safety testing far above anything else they had done. They called it over-the-top. We know how we break stuff racing gravel. To us, this seemed like the right thing to do. It also caused delays, as we had to redesign after the initial samples failed testing. It's part of the process, but one that took time.

QC: Still a work in progress.

This one almost brought us to tears. It's hard getting a box of parts you think are ready to sell, only to realize that the already difficult hose routing would be made even harder by rough finishing inside the bar. We experienced that sinking feeling, and it was horrible.

On one hand, it's par for the course. We made one heck of a weird-shaped bar. We knew it would be hard to manufacture. It was never going to be as clean as the inside of a carbon rim. It's not going to look like a bike frame's HT junction. It will look like where the brake calipers are. 

But it still needs to be clean where it counts, so we don't love where we are, and we plan to keep working at it. The bars you buy in the first batch are fully functional. The ones that don't meet our requirements are being sent back to the factory to be cut up and studied. We want to be better, and we expect to improve.

The samples passed our over-the-top safety testing. We also strongly believe that the bars in this initial batch are ready to fly over some gravel roads.

What is next?

The upside of all this is that our suppliers' character is showing as they continue to work with us. In large part, we tried to pick a supplier that we believed would be there when the challenges came. They are fulfilling their end, even though I don't think any of us are making money off this first batch of bars, and we have less stock than we wanted.

We expect to start selling bars in the next couple of days and get them out to customers next week. The lessons we learned from this project are priceless, but we still want to sell the heck out of these.

Thanks for waiting. And see you out there. Hopefully on our bars.