Vision, along with its sister brand FSA, has always made bars with a unique look. It pioneered the small rise up from the centre clamp section-style, angular ergo bend drops, and were also among the first to introduce the idea of compact drop bars.
The Metron certainly pulls together new ideas, the bar having an 80mm reach (the distance you have to stretch to get your hands comfortably on the bar) and a 125mm drop (the distance to the lowest part of the bar), so far so compact. The difference over others is that the drop also swings outwards, so our 44cm bar measures 44cm at the hoods, but widens by 10mm down in the drops. That’s enough to ensure more than enough wrist clearance when sprinting.
The profile of the drop is interesting too; from the top bend to the hood position it’s round, but get into the lower portion of the drop and the cross section becomes triangular with the flat side slanted outwards.
In use this proves to be a very comfortable gripping point, and one that slightly rotates your wrist out and pulls your elbow inwards to create a more aerodynamic riding position. It’s a simple trick but one that works well.
The flat top section is angled forwards at 10 degrees, and the ovalised shape is designed for an ergonomic fit, with a nod to aero shaping too.
When riding on the tops, the slightly open hand position feels more natural than a straight bar
When riding on the tops, the slightly open hand position feels more natural than a straight bar and, importantly, more comfortable.
Whatever the combination of ergonomics and aerodynamics at play, the bar is extremely comfortable in the way that it dulls road vibrations. We took a test bike that felt quite firm and noisy up front with a standard alloy bar. After fitting it with the Metron, that was completely cured.
Weighing just 242.5g for our 44cm test bar, Vision’s Metron 4D is suitably lightweight, and we found the unique shaping worked for us. Whether that’s enough to justify the high price is another story...
