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Zipp expands Service Course line with gravel-focused bars

  • Ron 

Zipp’s has released an innovative new all-road bar available in two alloy models, the Service Course SL-70 XPLR and Service Course 70 XPLR. The bar’s moniker, XPLR, exemplifies the desire to explore the world with an expanded definition of cycling on a drop bar bicycle… from paved roads onto gravel, mud, dirt, and even single track.

ZIPP says that the Service Course 70 XPLR and lighter Service Course SL-70 XPLR help you go faster by placing your body, starting with your hands, in an optimal “comfort zone” position for hours of rough riding over mixed terrain. Today’s riders demand a few things out of their cockpit, whether they are doing a two hour training ride from home or a 200+-mile gravel adventure: comfort, control, and the ability to carry what they need.

Zipp aimed to meet these needs by creating a bar with shallow and wide drops, specifically focusing on two crucial metrics—outsweep and flare.

  • Outsweep is created by rotating the drop below the brake perch outward.
  • Flare is created by rotating the entire drop above the brake perch outward

On a modern all-road bike a highly flared bar causes the brake hoods to be laid over toward their sides, creating ergonomic issues when riding on the brake hoods. Zipp’s design team sought to develop a new-generation all-road bar for the hoods-dominant position favored by riders today, with the drops optimized for control in high-speed gnarly situations when the hammer drops.

After extensive research and testing, their design team pinpointed a drop design with an ideal 5° flare and 11° outsweep. The bar’s drop shape features our popular 70mm reach, but the drop is a shallower 115mm. This archives modern fit ideals for all road bikes with the drops a little higher and wider than on a pavement only setup. The result is improved comfort and control—a position that enables you to have your best ride, whether the ride is one hour or 12. Here’s how:

  • With hands on brake hoods, wrists remain in a neutral position for comfort. This is ideal for riders, who’ve long favored this as their dominant hand position.
  • Bar drops provide a wider, balanced, and secure position with drops that are about 6cm wider than the hoods position for technical or intense riding.

The benefits get real when things get technical. The design helps center your weight on the bike so you can more deftly
navigate the road or trail.

For example, when you are riding downhill toward a sandy, gravelly creek bed, you need to be in the right position to get
through that obstacle while holding enough speed to get up the hill on the other side. A correctly designed bar provides
ergonomically optimal access to the brakes and shifters from either the drops or hoods to deliver the required control.

The 70 XPLR also features an ergonomic top with an extended 100mm clamping area for computer mounts, aero-extensions, bags, and whatever else you may need for the long haul.

SERVICE COURSE SL-70 XPLR
40, 42, 44, 46cm
70mm Reach / 115mm Drop
5° Flare / 11° Outsweep
Ergonomic top with 3° backsweep
100mm clamping area on top of bar
Di2® bar end junction compatible
260g ±5% (42cm)
MSRP: $ 110 / € 123 / £ 109
RETAIL AVAILABILITY: September 2019

SERVICE COURSE 70 XPLR
42, 44, 46cm
70mm Reach / 115mm Drop
5° Flare / 11° Outsweep
Ergonomic top with 3° backsweep
100mm clamping area on top of bar
Di2 bar end junction compatible
305g ±5% (42cm)
MSRP: $ 55 / € 61 / £ 54
RETAIL AVAILABILITY: September 2019

Tags: adventure, bars, Brake, downhill, SRAM Corporation, Vehicles, ZIPP
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