Review: Deity Blacklabel 25 Bars

Warning: I am not reviewing the latest-and-greatest overbuilt 35mm diameter, featherweight carbon handlebar. No thanks. Give me something I can feel. Give me something that talks back to me. Something I don’t have to constantly paste, torque, and coddle every night. Something that, due to my artless, amateur riding, will bend before it breaks and will leave me some leftover scratch for more cinnamon bears!

Give me an aluminum handlebar from Deity Components.

Originally available only in a 15mm rise, this year Deity expanded its flagship Blacklabel line to include both a 25mm (reviewed) and 38mm rise. All three options come as a 31.8mm clamp diameter, 9º bend x 5º upsweep, and a spacious 787mm (31 inch) width ready to send your downhill game up to the next level. The 7075 T6 custom-butted aluminum comes with Deity’s trademark two tone bead blast and mirror polished anodized finish, illustrating the component company’s impeccable attention to detail and quality. What’s more, you can get the bar in black, red, green, blue, or purple!

DEITY-25BACKLABEL9 — Photo courtesy of Deity Components

For reference, I mounted the Deity Blacklabel 25 bar to a Thomson Elite X4 50mm alloy stem atop a 160mm Pike RCT3 set at a 66º headtube angle. Taking into account my e*thirteen 27.5″ wheels aren’t the stiffest set out there, it was evident how the wider bars improved the handling over my previous 750mm carbon bars. The added leverage reduced the effort in correcting for the occasional climbing wheel flop, and made lofting the front wheel a breeze during slow speed technical riding.

In terms of hand position, it was spot-on for me. What else can I say? Hand placement and reach is such a personal thing, you either like it, don’t, or adapt. I was surprised to learn how much of a difference the bend and upsweep angles make. Before committing to the Deity Blacklabel, I demoed a different brand with the exact same dimensions minus 2º in backsweep. It could have been all in my head, but I found that I much prefer the 9º over the 7º sweep. The take home: if you like your hands where they are now, aren’t looking to change spacers and/or stem, and are looking at a new bar, take note of your hand placement and look for something that puts you in the same spot.

The Blacklabel series was built for downhill and is the go-to bar for the Gstaad-Scott Factory Team, but I had no problem assigning them to the lesser demands of trail and all-mountain riding. At 787mm, the width could be an issue for some in tight woods, but I find the chances of clipping a tree far too small to miss out on the enhanced descending stability that wider bars offer. Plus, it’s far easier to cut down an existing bar than to keep buying wider.

While not necessarily unique to the Deity bars, rather more inherent to alloy in general, there’s a certain rawness in feel that many prefer over carbon. Carbon fiber is thought to provide a smoother feel over repetitive small bumps and reduced energy transmission referred from the trail, resulting in a “quieter” ride. Riding behind carbon bars for the last two years, I find that distinction very subtle and probably more of a concern for weight weenies and those suffering from chronic arm pump looking for every possible solution. Additionally, make sure you dial in your fork’s compression setting(s) and sag before thinking carbon bars will really make that much of a difference. Either way, an alloy bar should be judged on its own merits, and I personally liked (really, really liked) the slightly less bridled feel of the Blacklabel bar.

Compared to bars of similar dimensions, at 315g the Deity Blacklabel 25 falls on the lighter side of the weight spectrum and looks most like the Chromag Fubar OSX, only cheaper and 7mm wider. Considering its outstanding performance, high quality finish, and competitive weight, if you are looking to get serious about expanding your cockpit and your downhill confidence and adhere to the buy-nice-or-buy-twice code, I recommend Deity’s Blacklabel 25 handlebar without reservation.