There have been some pretty great products coming out of Easton lately and after getting hands on with the Haven wheels (26 and 29er) we were interested to see how the other Haven components stack up. I got a chance to check out the Haven bars, stem, and seatpost recently and this is my review.

This year Easton introduced Haven bars, stems, and seat posts to go along with the high power wheels intro’d last year. Not only does this allow riders to put together a cohesive look for custom builds but the company is also building on the high quality finishes and materials (uni-directional carbon and Easton aluminum) found on the wheelsets. The upshot: matched graphics and anodizing plus even more ultra-precise machine work .

Haven Carbon bars

The Haven Carbon bars weigh in at a svelte 170 grams which is pretty good considering they’re lighter than some XC alloy bars yet stronger than many DH bars. With a 711mm width and a low rise of 20mm, these are ready for some serious steering. The Haven bars are offered with a clamp diameter of 31.8mm and feature a near perfect 9°degree back bend with a 5° degree up-sweep which leaves my wrists pretty straight on the bar with just a slight inward twist.

Compared to other carbon bars on the market, Easton didn’t waste resin to flash a fancy weave on the outside; instead, the uni-directional fiber construction yields a smooth matte finish.  What makes this bar so light and strong is the taper wall construction which varies the wall thickness along the bar. Also found in Havoc and EA series bars, tapered walls are thicker where stresses are greater and thinner where there’s not as much stress. As an added benefit, the bar doesn’t feel overly stiff. At $160 MSRP, this is definitely a premium cost for a lightweight bar.

Haven stem

The all new, all-mountain Haven stem takes everything Easton knows and tosses it into this lightweight yet strong stem. Using their proprietary CNC aluminum, Easton pulled out all the stops to make this jewel for your ride. The highly machined (both in a out) stem uses Easton’s tried and true 4-bolt top lock technology (where the top edge of the stem and face plate meet), ensuring very little stress on the bar at that point. Easton claims this design has the best stiffness to weight ratio to date.

The stem comes in four lengths to best suit your needs and body style (55mm, 70mm, 85mm, 100mm) with a 0° degree rise (sorry no choice there). Like the bars, this stem is only offered with a 31.8mm clamp diameter. Depending on the length, the stem weight varies from 143 grams and up. With two color choices (either black with mag cap or mag with black cap) you can match up your ride and look pretty smart. $105 MSRP.

Haven carbon seat post

The final item on the list is the Easton Haven carbon seat post. I’m pretty sure many of you are thinking a carbon post on a AM bike is a little crazy – but believe it or not this post is stronger than the aluminum counterpart. Once again Easton went to great lengths manipulating the tubing thickness to get the maximum strength into this taper-walled constructed unit.

Unlike the EC90 post which is totally carbon (minus the bolts), the Haven has an ingenius featherweight alloy top cap that resembles the landing gear support braces on a jet. Using the same two-bolt design allows for an index-free, infinitely adjustable saddle. Weighing in at 240 grams (31.6mm x 400mm), this post is about 50 grams heavier than the EC90 but to put that into perspective, only 10 grams heavier than the lightest post RaceFace has to offer. So I would have to say that the Haven is very light for AM or even for a trail bike for that matter. With three diameters (27.2mm, 30.9mm, 31.6mm)  and a 0° degree set back, this should fit a large selection of bikes out there today. Of course all this high technology has a cost: $140 MSRP.

Installation

Well once the gear arrived from Easton it took very little time to get everything installed. Because the gear is carbon or is being attached to carbon, it’s essential to apply the correct amount of torque. I always use my Topeak D-torq DX wrench to apply the correct amount of force to every bolt. The very last thing I want to do is crush the carbon… that would be bad.

With the stem and bar it’s a matter of following the clear instructions supplied by Easton. Do yourself a favor and pick up a good quality carbon grease while you’re at it, preferably one that does not use “grit” in it to provide friction. A Carbon grease like Motorex is a great idea to prevent slip and it reduces the amount of torque needed to get things tight. The key thing to remember with carbon gear, especially with seat posts, is to make sure there are no metal burs on your seat tube that may scratch or damage the carbon. Double check before installing anything.

On the trail

On the trails I really enjoy the feel of carbon. As stiff as it can be, a properly designed fiber-oriented bar really takes the sting out of the hits and these Haven components are no exception. The 711mm bar with the 55mm zero-rise stem is a perfect width / reach for my 5.5″ Opus Clutch. The shorter stem and wider bar helps me breathe better and keeps me a bit more upright and back on the bike. When conditions get rough I have ample control over the front wheel without going over.

I really love the fact that even on those long rides my hands don’t get fatigued thanks to the combination of the natural vibration dampening of the bar and optimal bend. Over the duration of the test the bars, stem, and seat post never came out of adjustment or slipped in any way. Even with rocks and debis flying about, the finish never got damaged despite an over the bar experience (or two).  I did a bar tap or two on some saplings on a tight trail but nothing that caused too much alarm. The wider bars are definitely a good choice for an amazing amount of steering control.

I would like to thank the folks at Easton for sending down the gear for review.

Wheels are what make a 29er a 29er and despite early reports, big wheel bikes aren’t just for cross-country riding anymore. So it makes perfect sense that component manufacturers are looking to beef up 29er wheel options for more aggressive all-mountain riders. Easton is leading the way with 29-inch versions of the venerable Haven series and over the last couple months I’ve been using and abusing the 2011 Haven 29″ wheelset.

Materials and Tech

The Haven 29″ rims are made from Easton’s proprietary aluminum alloy and are UST/clincher style which makes them perfect for rolling without tubes. In fact, Easton recommends using UST or tubeless-ready tires exclusively for best results (in my experience, finding 29er UST tires can be difficult but I suspect that will change). With a 21mm internal rim width, the Haven 29″ wheels can handle tires up to 2.5″ which is perfect for aggressive AM applications. I got a tight fit with both UST and tubeless-ready tires and didn’t burp a tire once over hundreds of miles of often gnarly singletrack (including the infamous Snake Creek Gap course – twice).

UST and tubeless wheels are often heavier than standard wheels due to the required rim strip but the Haven 29″ wheels do away with the need for a rim strip entirely, saving precious grams. The wheelset officially tips the scales at 1785 grams which, for burly 29er hoops, is downright airy. That’s just 65 grams heavier than the old XC Ones from Easton but if you factor in the weight of tubes (say, 200 grams each) you’ll end up SAVING more than 300 grams (assuming you’re able to run the same tires).

photo courtesy eastoncycling.com.

The Haven 29″ wheels are laced with Sapim black spokes (24 front / 28 rear) in a 3-cross pattern for maximum durability and stiffness (more on that later). The spokes are regular straight-pull spokes which makes the wheel easy to true and maintain. Every wheelset is hand-built by Easton using a proprietary “acoustic method” to check for true. Needless to say, mine showed up ready to roll. The hubs feature silky smooth cartridge bearings and sport distinctive machining and Haven graphics.

Axle options include standard 15mm through-axle and 9mm quick release configurations PLUS a 20mm version that’s new for 2011 (which I’ve been testing). And unlike many 29er wheelsets available today, the Haven 29″ wheels can also be configured with a 12×135/142 rear thru-axle (in addition to the standard quick release option). Clearly these wheels are ready for aggressive 29er AM and Trail bikes.

On the trail

I like testing mountain bike wheels over an extended period because it’s important to see how they wear over time – do they need constant tuning, how do they hold up to big hits and crashes, etc. As I mentioned in a previous 29er wheel review, I’ve destroyed two 29er wheelsets in the past couple years so it’s important to me to find big wheels that are lightweight yet durable enough for everyday abuse. I started testing these wheels mid-way through my 29 trails in 29 days challenge which allowed me to put on a season’s worth of mileage in less than 2 months.

First things first: these wheels are stiff, exactly what you’d expect from an AM wheelset but not necessarily from set of 29er hoops. And that’s a good thing – these stiff wheels offer precise control through turns and dodgy rock gardens and send big hits right to your suspension system rather than bending (and potentially fatiguing/breaking your spokes and rims). I was able to land 3-foot drops to flat landings with nary a ping or bend on my hardtail, something I hesitate to do with XC-specific wheels. To date the wheels have stayed true and flat-spot free – zero maintenance required.

The freehub pawl system offers quick engagement in my experience which is great for navigating skinnies and low clearance sections where power and wheel control are key. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I’m not a big fan of super-clicky freehubs and along the spectrum I’d say the Haven 29″ hub is medium-clicky.

Overall impressions

Just looking at the Haven 29″ wheels you get the impression that this is a high quality product – from the hubs to the rims to the spokes, everything just looks and feels solid and well-built. My cassette slid on with ease for a solid fit, the thru-axle sits tight, and even the rear quick release lever is better than most. Yeah, the hubs are a little blingy and the rim graphics are over-sized but the neutral tones balance the overall look and feel.

At just 1785 grams, these UST/tubeless-ready all-mountain wheels should get the attention of the XC riders out there. And 29er AM and Trail riders can rejoice that the venerable Haven 29″ wheels are ready for black-diamond duty. At $925 MSRP for the set (front and rear wheels can also be purchased individually), the Haven 29″ wheels aren’t the cheapest but they’re easily some of the most versatile you’ll find. As Easton says on their website, “Yes, they’re that good.”

Thanks to the folks at Easton for providing the Haven 29″ wheels for review.

HAVEN on earth and good will toward men! This is the Easton product I was most excited to test after Interbike and a few weeks ago it finally arrived.  The Easton Haven wheel set is a truly new design from the ground up and at $849.99 MSRP is meant for the 5 to 6 inch Trail / AM crowd.

The Haven is the first UST wheel that Easton has produced for mountain bikes. With an internal 21mm cross-section and a 22mm section depth (see diagram below), this is a wheel that will hold up to abuse while remaining true for a very long time. I love the fact that this wheel set is just 1650 grams, only 35 grams heavier than the 19mm internal rim width Crossmax ST wheels and a full 105 grams lighter than the 22mm Crossmax SX. This low weight makes any long climbs you might encounter a little more bearable.

The 2010 Haven is maximized for QR15 wheels but also includes a QR9 adapter. For those of you with a 20mm through-axle, be patient – it’s coming soon (just don’t tell anyone I said so). Unlike Mavic wheels, you don’t need a special spoke tool to adjust tension (not that you’re going to need to do that for a while). Instead, Easton uses an innovative spoke nipple that is both threaded internally and externally and screws into the eyelets in the rim.

Looking at the Haven hubs you can see Easton added a little bling for an awesome look on top of nearly flawless performance. This time around Easton profiled the flanges and cut a neat pattern in the center of the hub, an interesting way to shave off extra weight while adding visual interest. Keeping in tradition with the Havoc and XC-One wheels, the Haven wheel set also has the ultra quiet, highly efficient 3-pawl freehub and internally cut carrier body which makes for a feather-light, quick-engaging cassette.

Wrapping these wheels with a set of WTB Prowler 2.3′s and a set of ultra-light tubes, I was off to the trails. I chose the Prowler tires because I wanted to get a feel of the wheels with familiar rubber. From the start I could tell the new design didn’t mess with the characteristic smooth, solid feel of an Easton wheel. These wheels proved to be very fast rolling with quick acceleration and allowed military-GPS precise changes in direction. I found the Havens stiff enough to prevent unwanted flex without being overly harsh.

While riding and hitting rooted trails and rock gardens, I heard the wheels complain just once with a twinge from a single spoke settling in but that was about it. I cannot stress enough how light and responsive the Havens are. Climbing up a long ski slope these required very little energy compared to some other wheels I have tested in the recent past, making this a truly perfect wheel for those bikes in the 5 – 6 inch travel range. I dare say that you will probably see these popping up on some production mountain bikes soon enough.

Changing over to a set of Maxxis High Roller UST tires, I hit the same trails looking for any performance differences. This time around, mounting the tires was fairly easy using an air compressor at home. If you don’t have access to an air compressor, you can use a floor pump but I recommend using a lot of soapy water when attempting to place a set of UST tires on these rims. Once the tires were on I was off to the trails once again.

I did feel a few differences with the UST tires but mainly due to the tire’s characteristics rather than those of the rim. The slightly lighter setup gave me a little more gas on the climbs and the ability to run at 35psi rather than 40 psi without worry of pinching gave me a bit more traction.

Overall these wheels are easily in my top 5 favorite sets that I’ve ridden thus far. For the money I would have to say these are a steal so check them out and get yourself a pair. I really doubt you will be disappointed with the Easton Haven wheelset!

Specs from Easton:

I would like to thank the folks at EASTON for providing the HAVEN wheels for review.

Swinging by the very impressive Easton / Bell / Giro both I met up with a good friend of mine, Sean Coffey, marketing brand manager for Easton, for a tour of the 2010 goodies. For starters all the bars, stems, and seatposts received face lifts with fresh graphics and hot colors. The new Havoc stems sport wrap around graphics and are offered in white and the EA70 bar and stem now come in white as well. Speaking of bars, here are a few of the Monkey lite carbon series below, now in 750 and 711 mm widths.

Now while walking around the booth I also came across a truly awesome gem of a product which is the Haven all-mountain wheel set. You really have to see these wheels up close in person to truly appreciate the beauty. First off, the over-sized graphics on the side of the rim along with the bronzed gold color really make these stand out. The Havens also mark the first UST wheel set for mountain biking from Easton. The Haven, like the XC One and the Havoc, also use straight pull spokes to keep uniform tension and increase wheel performance.

When you have a chance, take a visit to the Easton website and check out the products for yourself. If all goes well I should have full reviews of these fine products very soon.

Cheers!