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I was always one of those cyclists who had never been fully sold on the benefits of carbon fiber. That is, until just recently. I kinda get it now. I love my carbon mountain bike bars and wheelsets; they have made a big difference in the performance and ride quality of those bikes. So, I was stoked when Teravail offered to send me some of their new cockpit parts. I’ve always been a big fan of the brand; I use their tires on all of my bicycles, and I was happy they were expanding their offerings to include cockpit parts.
When the time came, I chose to review the Feldspar Carbon Drop Bar, the Stratum Carbon Seatpost, and the Radia Bar Tape. I received these bike bits in late November 2025, and almost instantly installed them on my Wilde Rambler SL. So far, I’ve got a little over 200 miles clocked on the parts, and except for the tape, they’ve all been pretty great.
OK, let’s get right to the meat of it and start with their new gravel-specific drop bar.
The Feldspar Carbon Drop Bar
Retail: $280
The Feldspar Carbon review bars are 46cm wide.
Features (From Teravail)
Unidirectional carbon fiber construction
Flattened top section for a comfortable grip and compliance on rough roads
Multi-stage flare: 12 degrees at the hoods for comfort, 20 degrees at the drops for maximum control
Reinforced clamping zones to ensure compatibility with all of your favorite drop bar controls
68mm reach, 100mm drop
Tested to our rigorous MTN Drop Bar standard — suitable for singletrack detours
No Back Sweep…
Right away, I liked the look of the Feldspar bar. I was a tiny bit worried about the fact that it had no back sweep, though. Here’s the deal. I’ve grown to love about 5 degrees of back sweep on my drop bars. This amount of backsweep is really comfortable for me, especially on longer rides.
When the terrain gets tough, like it can on a gravel bike, the 5 or so degrees of back sweep make my hands feel like they are in a more natural position, which gives me the feeling of having more control.
This “need” for back sweep started back in 2017 when my current bike at the time, a Diamondback Haanjo EXP, was spec’d with a bar that had about 5 degrees of back sweep. I fell in love with that bar.
Over the years, my experience trying different drop bars is pretty vast. Until I tried the Teravail Feldspar, my favorite bar was the Velo Orange Nouveau Randonneur bar (5-degree back sweep).
I’ve used that bar exclusively for many, many years; it’s so good. The Tumbleweed Big Dipper was another bar with a 5-degree back sweep that I used for a bit, and it comes in a distant second to the Velo Orange bar.
Flat Top Instead of Back Sweep?
I move my hands around a lot when I ride a drop bar bike. And, when choosing the Feldspar Bar, I thought that maybe the flat top of the Feldspar would allow me to have my hands in a similar position to how they are on a bar with a back sweep.
I was kinda right about that. The flat tops of the Feldspar are wide enough to mimic a bit of a back sweep. I was surprised that it worked that way. I mean, 5-degrees is not a lot, so I think it’s easy to fool my hands into thinking the Feldspar has a bit of a back sweep.
The Feldspar’s lack of back sweep wasn’t nearly as big an issue as I initially thought. As the flat tops performed exactly as I expected. When compared to my Velo Orange bars, I found very little difference. And, the lighter weight and damping qualities of the Feldspar Carbon more than made up for the lack of a back sweep.
Ride Quality
That being said, I found the bars instantly comfortable. They have an amazing amount of damping ability when stuff gets a little rough.
I was especially excited to try the Feldspar’s multi-stage flare. They start at 12 degrees of flare at the hoods and gradually get to 20 degrees at the drops. Although hardly noticeable when looking at the bars, it was very apparent when using the bars. I really love the way it feels.
The numbers are great on the Feldspar as well. When compared to my Velo Orange bars, the shallower drop of the Feldspar (100mm vs.128mm) felt perfect on my Rambler. The reach numbers on the Feldspar were significantly shorter than the Velo Orange bar (68mm vs. 85mm), and felt just right.
These bars are obviously lighter when compared to the aluminum Velo Orange bars. But that’s to be expected. What wasn’t expected was how much more I ended up liking the Teravail Feldspar Carbon Bar.
So far, my impression of the Feldspar is that it might be my new favorite drop bar. For me and my usage, the Feldspar is a total winner. At $280, it’s competitively priced for a pair of carbon bars. I would have zero issues with suggesting you try a pair out on your favorite steed.
The Stratum Carbon Seatpost
Retail: $100
The Carbon Stratum Seatpost that I have in for review is in the 27.2mm diameter, with an 18mm offset.
Features:
Unidirectional carbon fiber construction with a forged aluminum head
Two-bolt adjustable head
400mm length
Available in 27.2mm, 30.9mm, and 31.6mm diameters
Available with 0mm or 18mm offset
Tested to ASTM 3 / ISO MTN
Aluminum vs. Carbon
This seems like a no-brainer, but being a large cyclist, carbon seatposts have always been a little scary to me. I’ve always used aluminum seatposts, with the Paul Components Tall & Handsome being my favorite.
When comparing the two, the carbon Stratum Post is obviously going to be lighter (but less than 50g difference). But will it hold up to my size and riding style? So far, indeed it has. The fact that it has been tested and approved for MTB usage definitely helps with my peace of mind.
I love the two-bolt adjustment with the dial wheel for that front adjustment. It made finding the degree of saddle tilt easy-peasy. And the post is aesthetically very pleasing. Teravail uses the same handsome, low-key branding as they’ve always done for their tires. It’s a very good-looking post.
Ride Quality
What really kinda rocked my world is the amount of trail damping the Stratum Carbon post had. My Rambler is an XL, so I don’t show a lot of post, so I thought the carbon’s damping qualities wouldn’t be that noticeable, but it really is. Very much so. I purposely have stayed seated on some rough sections of familiar trails where I would normally stand through them, and was pleasantly surprised.
Not to mention the lighter-weight post means an overall lighter bike. Which, in turn, means a bike that can climb more quickly. So there’s that too. I might even be so bold as to say that the days of my not trusting and using carbon fiber bike parts are at an end (at least when it comes to known brands).
And for $100, it seems like a total bargain for what’s been, so far, a quality carbon seatpost.
Well, I think I’m on the carbon fiber train, and I don’t want to get off.
Teravail Radia Bar Tape
Retail: $43
The Radia Tape that I have in for review is the 250cm length in the Dune color.
Features:
Non-slip outer layer for grip
Gel backing for added comfort and easy installation
Available in 2.5mm or 3.5mm thickness
Available in five colors
Available in extra-long 250cm length for bars 46cm and wider (Obsidian and Dune colors only)
2.5mm thick tape, 200cm long = 83 grams; 250cm long = 102 grams
3.5mm thick tape, 200cm long = 90 grams; 250cm long = 118 grams
Rubber bar-end plugs included
I’ll get right to the point and say that thick bar tape isn’t my jam. I’ve tried many different brands of thicker “gravel-specific” bar tape, and I just don’t like the way it feels. I need to wrap more of my hands around the bar. It feels right to me. I even use unpadded gloves when I ride, whether it be gravel or mountain biking. I like to make full, positive contact with my handlebars.
Look, this isn’t a negative dig on the Teravail Radia tape; it’s my feeling for all extra-padded tape. I actually think the Radia Bar Tape is a really nice example of padded bar tape.
In Use
The Radia Tape stretched over the bar easily and consistently, making wrapping the Feldspars a breeze. The tape looks nice, with a low-key aesthetic. I wasn’t a huge fan of how the Dune colorway looked on my copper colored Rambler SL.
Another thing I wasn’t keen on was the fact that the 250cm length was only available in the Obsidian and Dune colorways. So if you have bars that are 46cm or wider, these two colors are your only choice in the Radia tape.
While out riding, I found the grip to be outstanding. The bar tape almost had a sticky quality without actually feeling sticky, if that makes any sense at all. In just two or so rides, the tape was getting a bit darker where my hands would be – kind of like leather wearing in. But I feel that would be easy to keep clean with good ol’ soap and water.
All in all, I think the Teravail Radia Tape is a good quality tape that wraps well, has great grip, and has some cushion to remove some harsh trail and road vibration. It looks as if it will last a long time. And I like that it’s washable. At $43, it seems a little bit pricy. Especially when the greatest bar tape in the world is only three dollars more.
If 2.5mm of padding is something that you want/need in your bar tape, then look no further than the new Teravail Radia Bar tape. It is high-quality bar tape that I’m sure will last you a long time.
Check out more details, and all of the other good quality bike parts Teravail has available at the link below.
Teravail.com
