Add a Little Flexx to Your Life!
For the last year or so, Cole Townsend from Fasst Co. has been bugging my dad and I to try the Flexx Bars. All I have heard is how great they are, and how they have helped everyone ride so much faster. With the opportunity to ride directly from their shop before the final round of Endurocross, Cole and I made a deal that I would try them out for a couple weeks.
I wasn’t really apprehensive about them, as much as my dad was. He was thinking that it was one more moving part, and when you are out in the middle of the desert, every additional part gives you a new chance to have something fail. Non-the-Less we decided that I would attend the Dirtbike Magazine ride day at Glen Helen, and Cole would set me up with a pair to try out.
Right away they bolted up no problems. We have a custom top clamp to fit the Fastway Steering Stabilizer, and everything seemed to fit right into place. We chose to use the Red Bushings as they were the firmest of the options, and since I was new to the bars, with my riding style that seemed to make the most sense.
Once they were on the bike, they really looked good. They give a good padded cross bar to protect me from hitting the stabilizer, and they fit with a good bend to feel just like the Pro Tapers I have been running since the beginning. One of the first things I noticed about the bars , was the fact that they just took away any feeling of rough ground.
The suspension always does its job, TBT is the best setup out there, but it can’t take away the feeling of chop that we feel when we are on a trail that has been ridden before. Up in the hills above the track at Glen Helen, the bars really helped with the impact of all the square edges. It is like an extra step to help keep the wheel moving forward and your eyes focused on the next part of the trail.
When I got down into the moto sections, the bars really shinned yet again. Although you are supposed to ride them like regular bars, you tend to think about them a bit more every time you make a corner, or hit a jump. One of the things that I liked about these bars on the track, was the sense of control you had when choosing a line out of a turn. They removed the harsh feeling of ruts, rocks, and anything else that could throw your front end where it shouldn’t be going, and the shape and design of the cross bars really help make the bike feel like it is moving in a straight line.
In the air, they were nothing different from the Pro Tapers or stock Rental’s that come with the bike, but the landings were again really a killer aspect of the bars. The extra cush that is provided when the bars flex upon landing really helps to keep your mind on the trail and hand on the throttle. Not one time did I feel like there was going to be hit where I was at risk of losing control.
This last weekend I put them to use in a real race environment and again they left little room for improvement. The bars, and the setup, and the fit were just perfect for my KX450F, and I guess now I really understand why Cole and everyone has been bugging me to try these things out!
I haven’t made it out to the desert yet with the bars, but what I can tell from this little two day test is that THEY ROCK! Everyone who has seen or ridden one of my bikes knows that we pay special attention to the setup and way that we configure the controls. I think it is one of the biggest things I notice when I am on someone else’s bike. After all of the years my dad has out in the desert, I feel like we really know what we’re doing when it comes to bike setup. Cole’s Fasst Co. bars felt like they were meant to go with our setup. Not one time did they feel out of place, and the installation process was a piece of cake. These things have gone through a rigorous testing and development process, and it really shows when you put them on your bike and go.
We have a few more days of desert riding before I commit to using them full time, but what I can say after only logging about 6 hours with the things, is that they are amazing! I raced three events at the Johnny Campbell Christmas Classic, and although I was off and on the bike multiple times throughout the day, I didn’t end the weekend with a single blister. The control and feel of the bars are unmatched, and I really look forward to seeing what they can do to my riding out in the desert! Check out my website for a full update on the Fasst Co. Flexx Bars once we finish putting together the 2012 program.
See you in the Desert!
-Jacob
