Salsa offer a range of weirdly shaped cockpit gear but this is their relatively conventional all-mountain bar. Actually conventional isn’t really the right word for a bar that’s 780mm wide – or 10cm wider than the average trail bar.
The Whammy is made of 7075 alloy heat-treated to T6 standard and CEN safety certified to prove its strength. At 316g it’s not too heavy for its width and a lazy taper through the low riser section gives it a nice wrist-saving spring at the tips without the bike feeling too remote.
The 10-degree backsweep compensates for the fact that your arms are out a lot wider too, while the 10-degree upsweep naturally keeps your elbows reasonably low. Fitting a vast piece of pipe like this to your bike has a big effect on handling.
You’ll be amazed at how close you normally pass to trees, bridge rails and other unyielding trail furniture. You’ll also be amazed how much it can hurt punching these objects at 20mph until you’ve compensated for the wider bar.
You'll need to team it with a short stem (70mm or less) to stop it jackknifing. On the upside, steering stability and resistance to bullying by rocks and other wheel grabbers massively increases thanks to the extra leverage.
