About two years ago or so I was running some Origin 8 Space Bars on some of my rigs. They are a bar that is a pretty similar design to an On One Mary Bar. (Some would even go so far as to say they were a knock off. Can’t say as I’d blame them) Well, they were a great fit for off road with the exception of the fact that they were not quite up to the task of off road abuse. In short, they would break on occasion. So, Origin 8 specifically marks the Space Bar as a non-off roadable bar and if you have one you are mountain biking with, you should cease using it this way immediately. It is a pavement bike bar.

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Well, Origin 8 decided to issue a new, off road certified bar to replace the Space Bar for users that wanted an alternative bar for off road. This is the result. The Space Bar OR. (“OR” standing for “off road”) As you can see, it bears little resemblance to what we had with the Space Bar. Gone is the “W” shape (Or “M”- depends on how you look at it!) and now we have something more akin to another “alt” bar out there, the Misfit Psycles FuBar.

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Here are the particulars on the Origin 8 Space Bar OR

    EN MTB Certified construction
    Designed for off road use
    6061-T6 Tubular alloy construction
    610mm center to center width
    25.4mm clamp diameter
    Shot peened surface finish
    Anodized black w/laser etched graphics
    Sweep is approximately 33 degrees
    Weight- About 360 grams

I noticed that this bar has a very thick wall thickness. It definitely feels beefy. (Yes- and heavy) The clamp area looks better and more defined than it did on my Space Bar, which was an area of concern for me with that design. The width seems a tad on the narrow side to start out with. It might be okay, but I wouldn’t mind extra to play with on a future version. My thinking being that it is easier to cut away material for the end user than it is to add it.

Other than this, it looks to be a great alternative bar. I will get this mounted soon and will report back with a first impressions post soon. Until then check out the Space Bar OR and other Origin 8 products here. http://www.origin-8.com