Tested: Pembree GCS Bar, Stem, and Grips

Pembree Components is a young brand from the UK, which started out making flat pedals about 7 years ago now. They’ve more recently introduced a range of other parts, including the all-new GCS bars, stems, and grips, all still made in the UK with a focus on sustainable design and manufacturing. After a few months on the trail with the new cockpit set-up, here’s what we think of it.

Initial Impressions

All the Pembree gear shows up in eco-friendly packaging, which was to be expected since the company places a lot of emphasis on sustainable manufacturing for all their products. Most of what they produce is made in the UK, although certain products undergo final assembly in France (Pembree is owned by LOOK since the end of 2024, but continues to operate as an independent brand within the portfolio). 

Pembree’s roots are found in gravity riding, so all their products are made to stand up to serious abuse. The GCS handlebar and stem are both EFBE TRI-TEST GR certified, which means they pass multi-directional stress testing designed to simulate the heavy impacts and significant forces generated by aggressive gravity riding. Visually, the GCS stem certainly looks up to the job, with an imposing profile and lots of “meat on the bones” left by the CNC processes.

The GCS stem features sturdy M6 stainless steel bolts, equipped with washers to protect the aluminum parts underneath. The faceplate is broken into two separate clamps, that are designed to fit with zero gap up top. There are markings on the stem to help align the stem parts with each other as well as the handlebar.

The GCS handlebar comes in two different colors, we received the silver option. It is 800mm wide out of the box, and you can get it either with 20mm or 40mm of rise. The angles are a typical 5 degrees of upsweep, with a slightly less typical 7 degrees of backsweep. The finish features a sort of fine-grained, shot-peen surface texture, with tasteful graphics applied both for decoration and as guides to help with alignment.

The GCS grips come in two sizes, and are made from a single, 20A durometer rubber compound. The shape features two mini-flanges on the inner and outer edges, with a single lockring holding it all in place. The core is tapered for extra comfort, and the rubber features two distinct zones with different patterns: a diamond knurl pattern up top, and angled ribs underneath the grip to provide a little extra purchase for your fingers.

On The Trail

Mounting up the GCS cockpit was devoid of any drama. Being able to break out the 5mm allen for the stem is always a plus in our books, a big bolt feels so much more positive under the wrenches than the more commonplace 4mm version. Everything fit together nicely, it was easy to cut the bar down to our preferred 780mm width and then center the bar in the stem as the printed graphics proved to be very accurate. The stem parts connected near perfectly with some very minor misalignment that you can adjust manually if the OCD kicks in too hard. The grips slip on easily, but the sturdy lockring equipped with 3mm bolts ensures there is no risk of them moving on you.

In action, we quickly got used to the angles of the GCS handlebar. We like a straighter bar on our gravity bikes (the 7-degree backsweep moves you a bit forward and places your elbows naturally a bit wider for a more aggressive stance on the bike), and the tall rise of the 40mm version we tested provides for a lot of confidence in steep terrain. The bar and stem combo is certainly stiff enough to deal with spirited inputs, but not in an uncomfortable way. We’ve noted no slippage of any kind, whether from the stem or the grips.

On the topic of the grips, we tested the thick option. The spec sheet says they are 34mm thick, but they feel a lot thicker than any other grip we have that measures the same on paper. For example, the Deity Supracush is also listed as a straight 34mm grip, while Peaty’s Monarch features a shape that tapers up from 32mm to 34mm across the length of the grip – both feel significantly thinner than the Pembree GCS 34mm version. A Sensus Meaty Paw is 35mm thick, and it just about feels identical to the Pembree GCS 34mm in terms of thickness (the Meaty Paw is a lot longer than the GCS though). Definitely size down if you’re on the fence. The Pembree rubber is soft and comfortable, and we like the angled shape of the ribs on the underside as they add good grip for your fingers without feeling too bulky. One thing to note is that the soft 20A rubber is used for the endcap as well, which might suffer a bit if you frequently throw your bike on the ground or bang your bars on trees.

What’s The Bottom Line?

There was no pressing need for another cockpit brand in the world, but at the same time, it’s fun to have options and the Pembree GCS line ticks all the boxes. The finish is of high quality, the geometry is sorted, and it should all be up for some heavy abuse as well. The fact that Pembree pays attention to the environmental impact of their activity is a plus for the planet too.

For more information head on over to pembree.com.

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 53 // Years Riding MTB: 21 // Weight: 190-pounds (87 kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Nils Hjord and Johan Hjord