[AlexJK]

Well, i got one to replace the no-name 25" bars on my Vagrant. I love the finish, i'm happy with the bend, and EXTREMELY happy with the 30.5" width, and i'd glad that i dropped about 3/4lb with them, but... There is a noticible amount of flex! It says on the box that it's designed to absorb impacts, but i was reading reviews on the bar and all said that it was a stiff bar (damn non-clydes). Now, it says on the box that it should flex a bit to absorb impacts, but this is a new feeling to me! Should i be worried? Do most wide bars flex like that?

 

[daway]

How big of a guy are you? I'm 220 lbs running Sunline V ones at 29.5 in, I haven't noticed any flex from them at all. Seems like it would be an unnerving feeling though...but maybe I just can't tell haha.

 

[AlexJK]

i'm just under 230, whats the wall thickness of the sunlines at the end of the bar?

i was a smidge worried when i pulled the 777 out of the box and noticed how friggin feather light it was

 

[Iceman2058]

Don't worry, they're supposed to be like that (I mean, you can barely feel it while riding along, right?). I've taken a good few hard landings on mine already (OK so I'm only 200lbs, but still), and they do flex a bit, but they don't keep on flexing, if you know what I mean... ;-)

To me it sounds like normal behavior (especially compared to a 25" bar where you would probably not really feel it in the first place), but I've not ridden much else in terms of superwide bars, so can't really tell you if they're any different to the Sunlines, for example...

 

[BWVDubya]

Post pictures of them on the bike Alex

 

[aenema]

I have ridden Sunlines and Funn bars at 30 inches and noticed no flex at all. Checked out a bike with the Atlas 30 inch bars and they were really flexy. I could torque them around just standing over the bike. Didn't really ride them but they made me queasy just thinking about putting loads on those. I mean, we are talking about aluminum here, a material not reknown for its ability to repeatably bend.

I honestly don't get the benefits of a flexy bar. We want our forks stiff so they don't deflect on us and we have them so they absorb impacts. What is the point of a stiff fork if the bars are going to have play in them and what is the point of play in the bars if we have suspension? Personally, I want everything going into my hands. I want to feel what my bike is doing and I want to feel like it is solid and in direct response to me. Vague'ness is not a desirable trait in my book.

 

[SHIVER ME TIMBERS]

big guys and flexy bars don't match....every time they flex they are weakening...one day they will break

 

[AlexJK]

Post pictures of them on the bike Alex

Anything for you! for now, a celly shot will have to do, my mom took the camera to Hearst Castle.

i can't really feel the flex while riding around, but i can deffinatly flex them just standing over the bike. i just rode about 15 miles total, and they were great!

i kinda think i need to quit worrying and friggin ride

Pics in a sec

EDIT: verizon is being a b*tch....

EDIT #2: found a micro SD adapter

 

[AlexJK]

damn cat knocked the bike over right after i took this one

i need to turn down the brightness

this finish on these things is amazing! the i'm pretty sure they powdercoat them? i was adjusting the brake lever position and i dropped my multitool on them, i got all mad that i had scratched them before i checked to see if they were scratched... not a single blemish

 

[Ojai Bicyclist]

Sure the stem is in complete contact w/ the steerer tube? I see no spacers, that is definitely not the stiffest setup.

Also, the 777s don't flex as noticeably as the Sunlines in my experience. They feel pretty stiff to me. Part of it is that you're going from a 5" narrower bar so these will by nature have some extra flex.

 

[AlexJK]

theres one spacer in there, i've had a few people ask me if i had one in there

 

[sittingduck]

Aluminum + flex = fail soon.

 

[AlexJK]

thats what i was thinking... hmmm... whatever happens happens i guess

 

[aenema]

I hope you don't regret those words. I saw a bar fail on the landing of a 20 foot gap. Brutal man. I have horror images of that jagged aluminum stub pointing right at a forearm or bicep as you come crashing down with a grip still in your hand but no longer attached to the rest of the bar.

 

[AlexJK]

i hope so too! i'm trying to dial back my weight so that should help

 

[AlexJK]

it's kinda wearing on me... whats the average wall thickness of a DH bar?

 

[AlexJK]

i'm gonna go dirt jumping tomorrow and see how they hold up... nothing extreme, but dirt jumping none the less. e-mailed spank to see what they will tell me.

 

[nostrangertodanger]

bought exactly same bars for my roomie (210 or so)...bent them pretty easily and quickley with a canadien manf. who wouldn't warranty them...bummer bought sunlines

 

[davec113]

If you notice them flex, it's going to break sooner or later. I wouldn't keep them. I don't notice my Sunlines flex either.

 

[davec113]

whats the wall thickness of the sunlines at the end of the bar?

My Sunlines are .070" wall (measured w/ a .001" dial caliper) at the end of the bar.

Copied and Pasted from Sunline's website:

Lightweight DH strength at 260g (19mm rise) and 277g (38mm rise) in 711mm width and 311g (19mm rise) and 357g (38mm rise) in 745mm widths

The Spank 777s weigh 280-318g according to Spank.

The Spank is made of "Super 6 Alloy".... likely 6061-T6, it's cheap, strong... but weak compared to the more expensive 7075 T6 Aluminum the Sunlines are made of.

Ultimate strength is something like 42 ksi vs 75 ksi. Stems are also commonly made of 6061, you're probably better off using a 7075 stem, like the Sunline DM....