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Seems like Minnar was on a similar plan for years. Worked for him.

Fixed it

just why??!

I would venture to guess that Eli saw how his dad's bike brand went and decide it is probably not the best place to hang his investment after he retires from racing.

TLDR, done w/ discussion answer: b/c bikeorexics/fashion-victims. I was unfortunate enough to aquire a 1991 Klein Rascal that came with a one-piece bar/stem combo. It was a terrible, one-size-fits-none concept back then & still is now. Most of the fashion victims buying Scott's "innovative" crabon bar/stem combos on cable-touristed, Nino-wannabe rigs haven't been around long enough to remember people laughing at the stupidity of this Procrustean design the last time it came around.

When TURNERBIKES comes out with their new dw8link endur-bro and e-bikes, they will be so revolutionary that we will forget about unwanted standards such as the integrated headset.

I feel attacked.

I swear to god, Jay-Sun, the only thing I want for Christmas is to watch you to slap some wheels on that thing and blast some ruts. #sharkbike

bike companies always have that one dude...listens to Chicago, has a chip foose car poster in his cubicle, watches slightly too much football or wrestling or whatever...sometimes they're just Germans... These creations don't look good at all. Not ever. And don't go too far, because at the other end of the spectrum is rasta spokes guy. Over-chonked ano stem guy. Bike dudes are dorks!

Or this...

They are the mankini of the cockpit world

I just won’t put carbon bars on a bike that I intend to ride. Period. Testing and results and compliance don’t work on my life experience. When a carbon bar breaks: it’s a season ender. Can’t risk it. they do look good from certain angles and really horrible from others. But looks sell and don’t sell everything. Lately I’m into my high ass bars too. So the combos available don’t even come close to aligning with my #stackgoals ……

Setting aside any aesthetic bias of what I know functions well for me I definitely think these combos look really good on modern high end carbon bikes. Especially when paired with wireless everything and full internal routing. If you had asked me in the 90s to draw what I thought future bikes would have looked like I’m sure I would have included integrated bar/stem combo. I also love the way a well executed integrated road combo looks. Ultimately the context is important. Looking at a Contra or similarly industrial/steampunk bike this design would seem out of place and a more...

I can see how this works for road bikes, and maybe even when paired with a specific frame model. But given the wide range of head angles, if you put the same bar/stem on different frames, you would end up with different roll angles. I realize there are a lot of people who wouldn't notice, judging by some of the handlebars setups I've seen out on the trail. But for high-end users, how would an aftermarket version possibly work for multiple different frames?

I'm in the minority obviously, but I'm into it. I'm frothing for some on my road and gravel bikes, where they look especially good. I have an FSA KFX SIC integrated setup on my XC bike. I admit, I think it looks really dope from certain angles and awful from others. But I've used it all season and find it comfortable and unobjectionable. It's lighter than all but the lightest separate handlebar and stem combos, and in my mind a light one-piece system seems less sketchy than a light two-piece setup.

PM see PM do is my short answer and we can probably just blame Scott and call it a day. While not purely aesthetic I do think the primary driver is how good integrated systems look from concept to final product. It’s hard to deny that the path of continued integration results in cohesive product design that has visual appeal to a wide range of potential customers. From a brand prospective this is a pro that really doesn’t impact the core user who ends up changing out all of the touch points immediately based on hard earned personal preference regardless...

don't XC riders want some fit customization though? everyone has different torso lengths, arm lengths, shoulder widths, riding styles etc.

I've been running an integrated bar/stem combo for about 2years now on my hardtail. It's a non-brand import, that I went to guinea pig for the hell of it. (Somebody's gotta ) I made the call that actually my bar/stem roll rise and sweep hasn't changed for 10yrs, so why not. I like the hammerhead look, and weight that is ridiculous. As a long-term user I'm not 100% sold on them. I hate to say it, but they are too stiff! Switching between my other bikes you can feel way more vibration feedback through them into you hands. I'm 90kg...

I live in West LA, which is heaven for rich people riding $15000 road bikes. Pinarello, S-Works, Colnago, etc. I'm gonna say 75% of the people I see riding road and XC mountain bikes worth more than $10000 have a one-piece handlebar/stem combo, and of that group I'm gonna say 60% of them have a TERRIBLE looking bike fit. Like, painful to even watch them ride by. Stiff shoulders, crunched necks, lots of weight on their hands and wrists. It's bad. I think bike fit is very close to being the number one performance parameter for cycling, right after "do...