TruVativ Descendant Riser Handlebar

Some components are built to look good on showroom floors; some are built to still show up after seasons of enduro abuse. Though they're brand new, one run on TruVativ's Descendant Riser Handlebar was enough to convince us that they're in the latter group. They're made from 7050 aluminum, a material that forgoes the pomp of plastic in favor of the reliability of time-tested metal, and the slight rise and generous length add stability and confidence through corners and across the real chunky stuff.

The bar's rise adds more stability by shifting your center of gravity back slightly, but the length makes cornering easier and steering more responsive by accounting for the slack head tubes that typically define enduro sleds. The combination nets a cockpit that's comfortable rolling roughshod over terrain instead of dicing through it. It retains the big-hit hunger of your 66-degree monster, but it also tidies up the occasionally sloppy steering that we associate with those brutish bikes.