Scooter bars are probably one of the most complicated parts you can buy so we’re going to go fairly in-depth here. The main driver of what bar you should purchase is what compression system you are running.
COMPATIBLE PARTS: Clamp or Compression System, Grips, Bar Adapters
GRIPS - All grips work with all bars. However, there’s a catch. The inner diameter of steel bars have a different inner diameter than aluminum bars so make sure that the grips you purchase in conjunction with your bars come with the appropriately sized bar ends. Many grips today come with both size adapters so they can be run with either size but many do not so please check before purchasing.
SCS BARS - SCS bars are bars that do NOT have a slit. SCS bars will be compatible with an SCS compression system and SCS forks. The outer diameter of your bars, whether standard or oversized, must be compatible with your SCS compression system. Most SCS compression systems come with a shim, which makes them compatible with either standard or oversized diameter bars. Remove the shim from the SCS to use it with oversized outer diameter bars; keep it in to use with standard outer diameter bars. If you’re looking for the most reliable compression system that will keep you dialed at all times, you should run SCS.
HIC BARS - HIC bars are steel oversized bars with a slit. They require an HIC compression system, an oversized double clamp, and HIC forks. Please note that, while aluminum bars have an oversized diameter, they have a standard inner diameter and will not work with HIC compression. The HIC shim will screw onto the top of your HIC forks. The additional width of the HIC shim on the forks is what necessitates the oversized inner diameter of the bars. A double clamp with a shim (or an oversized double clamp without a shim) will compress your oversized bars with a slit around your HIC shim/forks. You should run HIC compression if you want a lighter setup than SCS.
IHC BARS - IHC compression is also known as integrated headset compression. IHC compression works with steel bars with a slit or aluminum bars with a slit. The important note is that your bars must have a slit to work with IHC compression. IHC bars require a double clamp with a shim and that’s pretty much it since the compression is integrated into the forks. You must use IHC forks with this setup.
IHC to HIC Conversion Kits
Most manufacturers are selling COMPLETE SCOOTERS with IHC compression. When you want to run HIC bars but you have IHC forks, there’s a cheap alternative to picking up new forks, bars, and a compression system. Pick up an IHC to HIC conversion kit, which just replaces your IHC shim with a wider one so you can run HIC.
SCS Conversion Kits
If you are running IHC or HIC compression and get tired of tightening your clamp bolts frequently, you may want to convert to SCS compression. With IHC and HIC compression, the slit in your bars allows the double clamp to compress them around the bars. The downside to the slit in the bars is that the bolts in your double clamp frequently come loose and allow play, which requires frequent tightening. SCS rarely, if ever requires, tightening because it compresses the forks and bars independently. If you have bars with an oversized or standard INNER diameter and want to convert to SCS, you can purchase the appropriately sized SCS bar adapter. The adapter inserts into the bottom of the bars to negate the flex of the slit, converting your HIC or IHC bars to SCS. If you convert your bars to SCS, you will also need to purchase SCS forks and an SCS compression system. Final note – once you insert that bar adapter into your bars, you are most likely NEVER getting it back out so be sure that you want to convert to SCS.
