Truvativ Introduces the Blackbox Athlete Series

Blackbox. A mythical word that used to mean "better stuff that you can't have". Well not anymore - SRAM are introducing the Blackbox Athlete Series, which are products that are the direct result of Blackbox rider development. In a month, you can lay your grubby mitts on the bar that catches your fancy!

It started nearly two decades ago with the original RockShox BoXXer and our desire to provide completely personalized support to a special group of riders. The goal was to give our team a clear performance advantage in World Cup competition, and to win races. In this relentless pursuit of the podium, no rider request was too crazy or too costly—the average yearly salary of a pro mountain biker wouldn’t have covered the manufacturing cost of those gen-1 BoXXers.

It paid off. We won races and wrote some of the most exciting stories in mountain-bike history. With our athletes’ successes—and failures—we learned what worked, and what didn’t. Some of those BlackBox technologies have made it to market.

As the sport evolved, the BlackBox program extended beyond RockShox. Across the SRAM brand family, if it could extend the boundaries of mountain biking, the BlackBox team was there to develop new products and technologies.

When our athletes asked for a different kind of handlebar, TRUVATIV answered with the BooBar, a bar designed to meet the demands of World Cup downhilling, as well as the discerning feel of our athletes. And now we’re proud to announce the TRUVATIV BlackBox Athlete Series, a collection of bars specifically engineered to match the demands of each signature athlete’s discipline and riding style—and to enhance each rider’s cockpit interface.

DANNY HART BLACKBOX BAR

Danny Hart. He rides fast and loose. He turns the impossible into the ride of a lifetime. Danny spends countless hours working with his trainers and coaches to get more traction, power, and speed — and how to build the bike that’ll get him there. In the past, Danny used a 5mm space under his direct mount stem combined with a 20mm rise Boobar to lift him to the exact height he wanted, but that setup wasn’t seamless.

Designed by Danny himself, the new TRUVATIV Danny Hart BlackBox bar delivers the 25mm rise that he needs — with no spacers and less weight. We also added two more degrees of back sweep for a total 9 degrees, which moves his weight back, putting more pressure on the rear wheel. That keeps him exactly where he wants to be — on the trail, smashing turns.

Danny Hart Blackbox Bar Highlights:

7050 Al Alloy
780mm wide
25mm rise
5˚ up-sweep
9˚ back-sweep
340g

JEROME CLEMENTZ BLACKBOX BAR

Jerome Clementz. He’s an all-mountain legend whose name is synonymous with mountain bike Enduro. Megavalanche, Mountain of Hell, Enduro des Nations — Jerome Clementz has won them all. Staying at the top means he needs to go even faster with as little effort as possible. Jerome asked us for wider, stiffer, lighter bar that gives him ultimate control without sacrificing the toughness he needs for powerful sprints and descents.

Working one-on-one with Jerome, we created the TRUVATIV Jerome Clementz carbon BlackBox bar — 750mm of carbon fiber perfection. With 5 degrees of up sweep and 7 degrees of back sweep, this signature bar keeps your bike light and strong so that you can rail every turn with precision.

Jerome Clementz Blackbox Bar Highlights:

Carbon Fiber
750mm wide
20mm rise
5˚ up-sweep
7˚ back-sweep
240g

STEVIE SMITH BLACKBOX BAR

Stevie Smith. He rides the gnarliest terrain extremely fast. He’s a brute, strong, powerful and pointed straight down the mountain. Stevie lives in a place where the trees can swallow you whole so his style requires a heads-up approach.

We teamed up with Stevie to create a bar that is high and out in front, giving him ultimate control. His signature 780mm downhill bar features a 30mm rise, keeping his hands forward, his head up, and his eyes focused. It’s the strength, stiffness, and quality you’ve come to expect from TRUVATIV — but with some Stevie Smith baked in.