Best known for its saddles, the Italian brand Fi'zi:k is continuing to expand, this time into handlebars and stems.
Pro team AG2R-La Mondiale will be test riding new handlebars, stems and seatposts this season, in advance of consumer options that will be announced later this year.
The riders will test different types and shapes of aluminum and carbon bars. Right now there are two levels of aluminum and two levels of carbon components.
Fi'zi:k was born in 1996 with saddles. The company then launched its seatpost in 2009, and moved into shoes at the 2010 Eurobike trade show. The company already does handlebar tape, and with the bars and stems will have all three contact points covered (hands, feet, derrière).
During the road season the AG2R-La Mondiale riders will test a variety of bar shapes. Fi'zi:k will announce the final consumer range later this year. For now, there are no set models, prices or weights.
Judging from a few pictures we obtained from an AG2R team camp, Fi'zi:k appears to have adopted its three-type flexibility classification of Bull/Chameleon/Snake from its saddle line. The Cyrano handlebar, for instance, is labeled Bull, the company's designation for less-flexible cyclists.
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"The cockpit is a big venture for fi’zi:k," said Gabriele Benedetti, global sport marketing manager. "As we have traditionally done with saddle development, the team will act as our live test lab - no other testing can simulate the wear on products that occurs at this level in professional training and racing."
