Does anyone use the T7 touring handle for XC?
I’m thinking of getting a KH29, which I’ll use during the dark months when normal trails become tediously hard - because they are soaked and it’s pitch black.
The KH29 will be used on lighter trails + gravel roads (rougher trails + KH24 w. Gazz3.0 will still be my #1 choice). Will the T7 be more bad than good for that situation?
I use T7 on my 29"
I commute daily to work on 29", ride on snow (which is made possible from T7, or handle), do some XC, and long rides.
I also ride at night, added a tail light and helmet mounted light.
The T7 helped me on rough gravel trails and roads cause I needed speed to power through it.
For me the T7 is the second most important addon to my 29", first being KH Freeride seat.
Get ready for fun
I would not recommend the T7, or any type of touring bars for off road riding. It is used primarily for distance riding on paved roads and gives you something to hold onto for added comfort and also to allow the rider to “push up” and relieve some pressure off your crotch area.
Unless the “XC” riding you mention is non-technical and mostly smooth, I would not use it, just as I would never mount it to my 24" KH MUni. The T7 has some fairly sharp corners where it branches off into the handles, and I sure wouldn’t want to UPD onto that part of it! 
You must have missed that part :o
I have one on my 29er. Personally I think even on easier trails it really sucks. Even on bumpy fire roads it is way worse than the stock KH seat handle (and gets in the way of using that).
It is nice on road though.
Joe
I would not suggest the T7 for anything where UPDs could be frequent and find it doesn’t really help much when going slower
I love my T7 for road riding and is a great help when spinning fast but it doesn’t help much at all in slower speed situations. I have caught my leg on the sharp corners during a failed attempt to rolling hop a log on my 36er and I can tell you it hurt. I find I hit my knuckles on the bar if I am using the seat handle for jumping and have bent the rails really pulling up on the handle. If it wasn’t for the sharp corners and was a bit further from the seat handle it wouldn’t be too bad, hopefully these are things that will be fixed in the next version of the handle.
The T7 is invaluable as a touring bar but not well suited to MUni, even the light stuff.
I like the T7 for XC muni, but not mostly because of its merits as a muni handle 
In fairness, I haven’t actually done much XC since fitting the T7, thus limiting my experience… I think my comments may still be useful, though.
Good points:
It’s good for XC because XC rides are often longish and non-technical. It’s therefore helpful to have the handle to lean on during flat sections, carry gear and bottles, mount lights on, etc. All the things you’d use the T7 for on the road.
“meh” points:
The handle isn’t designed for really technical stuff; I sometimes quite like to pull on it to help me crank over steep sections of riding but it’s probably not as good as the seat handle for really getting the power down. It’s a nice handle but not necessarily an improvement on the seat for really tough stuff.
Bad points:
Adds weight to your uni, although this is probably not so bad for non-technical stuff (other than making the pedalling harder work - you gotta lift that extra weight!).
Several people have noted that the sharp edges could be a problem… UPDing on road, I’ve never hit those edges with my legs. I did once have an accident (whilst side hopping my 36" up a steep grassy bank) where I landed on the corner with my body - it was very painful and I developed a little haematoma that took ages to go away. Ouch.
For what it’s worth, I’m not too worried about hurting myself on the T7… experience UPDing (mostly on road) suggests that I very rarely catch myself on it and it is incredibly useful. However, I’ve heard rumours of a T7 with more curves and less pointy bits to be released at some point - this might help allay those fears at whatever point it is released (I’m sure UDC will tell us in their own time).
Thanks a lot, I guess I’ll skip the T7 to begin with and see what I end up really using the KH29 for.
By the way, does anyone have a picture of a KH24 next to a KH29?
29" and 20"
Here’s 29 and 20" picture.
Here is 29" with T7bar
No issues with my T7
On all the riding with my 29" with the T7 I’ve had no issues.
For udp’s the uni usually falls forward so the horns presented no problems.
I mounted rubber hand grips to help protect the bar in the case of udp.
For really technical stuff and hopping I use the handle not the T7 bar.