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Klunkedelic – Doom Bars

Welcome back to Klunkedelic! This week we’ve got some bars that most definitely contain some klunk-DNA, but have huge cross-over to other bike niches like enduro, fat, mtb, and backpacking. Doom Bars is a small custom bar maker out of ABQ New Mexico. The man behind Doom is Keaton Haire and he’s agreed to share some thoughts about his handlebars.


What’s the story behind the creation of Doom Bars?

DOOM BARS was founded in 2020 at a time when it was necessary to embrace a little DOOM just to get by. But, even at the worst of times, with some DOOM and a sweet bicycle, the world is your oyster. My work closed for a few months when covid hit the US, I didn’t have any income or much money in the bank, and I found a tube bender at a local used tool shop. Within a few days, I was able to modify the bender enough to start bending bars, and DOOM BARS was born.


I see that you make Chromoly Bars do you work in any other materials and maybe sing us a love song about steel bars?.

All of our bars are 4130 Chromoly. I could sing you a love song about steel, but really it’s just a practical material that works well for what we’re doing. Don’t get me wrong I love steel. It’s an amazing substance. It’s strong and has a nice bit of flex, but nothing is perfect. The fact that it rusts can be frustrating, but such is life. Nothing lasts forever, and there’s beauty in something that shows its age.


I’d describe your bars as #motoaf. Where do you draw your inspiration for your designs and how would you describe your bars?


A lot of our designs are moto-inspired, but I’ve never been into motorcycles so it’s an inspiration that’s a step or two removed. I grew up riding BMX, and got a 24″ wheeled BMX cruiser when I graduated high school. I’ve always loved low-rise BMX bars, and we’ve been sort of playing limbo seeing how low we can go with a bar and still fit a crossbar above the stem. Black Sheep Bikes is another big stylistic influence. I grew up in Fort Collins and my friend Todd Heath started working with James at Black Sheep when we were in high school. Needless to say, I started appreciating the beauty of a bent tube. Todd split off and is making Moonmen bikes, Oddity is in Fort Collins, and James is still cranking away at Black Sheep. Space-age Klunk is thriving in Fort Collins.


If people want to order a custom set of Doom Bars, what does that process look like from a customer’s idea to the finished product?


Most of our bars are made custom to order. We’ve started trying to do some small production runs, and keep a few bars up on the website that are ready to go. But anyone who wants a custom bar can shoot us an email or Instagram message, and we’ll see what we can do. If someone has a specific style or dimensions in mind, we can usually pull off most requests, or we’re happy to make recommendations and narrow down a good design. We operate on about a month turnaround for custom bars.


I personally think that for the most part, everything is going to work out ok. Do you think that we’re all doomed? – or what is your favorite kind of taco?


I’ve generally been a “glass is half full” kinda guy. But, in the end, we’re all DOOMED. If you can embrace the fact that nothing lasts forever, and there’s a lot of horrible stuff out there, then you can appreciate the good stuff: good friends, a sweet bike, and some rad handlebars. I like most tacos. Living in Albuquerque, the real question is Red, Green, or Christmas? I usually go Green.

For more information or to make contact visit DOOMBARS

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