The Bontrager RSL Integrated MTB Cockpit Has a Flying-Car Look [Review]

The Bontrager Race Shop Limited (RSL) cockpit integrates stem and handlebar for a clean, futuristic look and boasts some unique features too. If you show up to the trail with these bars mounted to your bike you’ll quickly receive comments on the funky looks and assumed high price. That assumption isn’t wrong, as a set of these $350. Still, that’s about the price of a carbon stem alone from a weight-conscious competing brand. I tested the shortest effective stem offered at 35mm to fit with my bike’s 480mm limousine reach and cut the bar down to the 770mm hand-span that I’m used to. The carbon fiber tube is marked to be trimmed by a full 40mm per side, but going any further would likely sacrifice the compliance characteristics that Bontrager’s engineers designed it for. There is a small wedge in the front of the bar that integrates with Trek’s Knock Block system, and it can be swapped for the included spacer if your bike isn’t equipped with that steering-limiter headset. There is also a small bolt on t