The folks at Easton are no strangers to the world of gravel that’s sweeping the bike industry. They were quick to get involved with the emergence of the new category by launching their AX range of products back in 2017. Initially, the range only included an ARC wheelset adapted for gravel use and the Easton EC70 AX handlebar.
Since then the range has grown to include a dropper post, dropper levers, chainrings, wheelsets and a range of handlebars. With a long history of developing reliable carbon and aluminium cockpit components, we thought Easton would make for a quality match for out lightweight Open U.P. gravel bike.
Easton EC70 AX Handlebar
One of the first products launched in Easton’s gravel range was the EC70 AX handlebars. Made from the brand’s second-tier carbon, the EC70 see 16 degrees of bar flair, and they tipped our scales at a measly 232g in a 46cm width. With all that, the price tag isn’t offensive at $329 AUD.
If you’re keen to shave a few more grams, Easton also makes an ultra-gucci EC90 version of this handlebar, which shaves off around 30g with an RRP of $380 AUD.
On both gravel and road, we’ve found the EC70 AX bar to be comfortable with its 16º flare and 80mm reach. This flair from the hoods to the drops has become more or less the goto for gravel bars — in fact, Shimano designed its new GRX 12-speed levers around a 16º flare — and on the front of the Open they put you in a comfortable positing to attack more technical terrain.
The EC70 AX bars utilise Easton’s Taperwall technology which is said to reduce weight while maintaining a suitable level of stiffness. After putting almost 300km on the handlebars in a mixture of road, gravel and even some pretty wild singletrack, we haven’t found any situations where the bar is harsh or uncomfortable.
Despite their damped ride quality on rough terrain, Flow’s resident gravel enthusiast Jono hasn’t experienced any noticeable flex when wrenching on the bars climbing or sprinting.
Easton EA90 SL Stem
To compliment our EC70 AX handlebars we thought it’d be only fitting to use an equally lightweight stem. To do this, we opted for a 100mm Easton EA90 SL weighing in at 110g.
The EA90 SL is Easton’s top-of-the-line alloy stem, and features the addition of titanium bolts over the regular EA90 model. The EA90 SL stem also comes with its only nifty Garmin stem mount to keep your cockpit uncluttered. The EA90 SL stem retails for $249 AUD
Easton EA90 Seatpost
Rounding out the Easton pars on the Open we’ve got the EA90 seatpost. The alloy zero offset seatpost for our build weighed in at 259g, only 50g heavier than the carbon equivalent.
The post features angle adjustment bolts which makes micro angle adjustments easy, as well as a single bolt for clamping the rails. Setting up our saddle was hassle-free and remarkably un-fiddly compared to some clamping mechanisms.
