Oh boy here we go again. The old carbon vs. everything else debate.
Who else feels a bit dodgy riding with carbon bars?
My new Cannondale has a set of FSA SL-K's.
They look lovely and suit the bike. But when I ride the bike I can feel a slight flex when I apply downward force.
About 10yrs ago I had a set of Nuke Proof carbon bars shatter on me with no warning.I went straight over the bike and onto the road. Luckily there was nothing coming but I damaged my wrist quite badly.
When reading my manual Cannondale state carbon gives no warning and has a limited life span when compared to alloy.
Handlebars take a lot of abuse and come under immense pressure. So I,m thinking of swapping them out with a set of Ritchey WCS bars.
Ok it may add a few grams but it could also save my life.
You just never know when are where they carbon bars could fail. :nono:
They look lovely and suit the bike. But when I ride the bike I can feel a slight flex when I apply downward force.
About 10yrs ago I had a set of Nuke Proof carbon bars shatter on me with no warning.I went straight over the bike and onto the road. Luckily there was nothing coming but I damaged my wrist quite badly.
When reading my manual Cannondale state carbon gives no warning and has a limited life span when compared to alloy.
Handlebars take a lot of abuse and come under immense pressure. So I,m thinking of swapping them out with a set of Ritchey WCS bars.
Ok it may add a few grams but it could also save my life.
You just never know when are where they carbon bars could fail. :nono:
1 - 20 of 52 Posts
Anything else carbon I can handle failing. But not the bars.
Bar failure can result in serious injury or death on the trails or roads.
Bar failure can result in serious injury or death on the trails or roads.
I have no problems with carbon bars.....I am 210-215 geared up and have been running carbon bars without problems for 5 years. From Easton EC 70 to EC90 to Answer Carbon to Salsa Pro Carbon......hardtails and full suspension.
Then again I ride a carbon mountain and road bike as well.......so obviously I have no concerns with carbon.
Then again I ride a carbon mountain and road bike as well.......so obviously I have no concerns with carbon.
I know carbons come a long way since when I first had a pair .
But geared up i,m about 252lbs. And when off the saddle putting pressure down on the bars i,m a bit worried.
But geared up i,m about 252lbs. And when off the saddle putting pressure down on the bars i,m a bit worried.
I found my carbon bars (fsa k-force xc) were much stiffer than alloy ones (although the alloy ones were quite cheap), depends how much theyre flexing, if it feels like a hell of a lot then maybe it might be a good idea not to use them. Apparently in most cases carbon will actually flex more than aluminium when it breaks anyway.
Like I mentioned I,ve had a bad experience with a set failing on me years back.
It made me very wary of carbon bars.
It made me very wary of carbon bars.
That was 10 years ago!
If you have noticed most bars back then were weave, now they are UD.
Also, Easton gives a lifetime warranty on their Carbon Handlebars, 3 years only on their Alloy bars.
AMEN.
If you have noticed most bars back then were weave, now they are UD.
Also, Easton gives a lifetime warranty on their Carbon Handlebars, 3 years only on their Alloy bars.
AMEN.
I wouldn't worry mate.
I wiegh 230+ geared up & i'v only ever used carbon bars even for racing with bar ends.
My current set up is a Syntace f99 with ti bolts & a race face SL with extralight bar ends. Ther is some flex when I'm out of the saddle, some of this can also be attributed to the stem.
From what I'm lead to believe the FSA's are a pretty good set of bars so just get out & ride fella.
I wiegh 230+ geared up & i'v only ever used carbon bars even for racing with bar ends.
My current set up is a Syntace f99 with ti bolts & a race face SL with extralight bar ends. Ther is some flex when I'm out of the saddle, some of this can also be attributed to the stem.
From what I'm lead to believe the FSA's are a pretty good set of bars so just get out & ride fella.
Yeah mine were rubbish weave . I hope they are better these days.yellowbook said:That was 10 years ago!
If you have noticed most bars back then were weave, now they are UD.
Also, Easton gives a lifetime warranty on their Carbon Handlebars, 3 years only on their Alloy bars.
AMEN.
I weigh 250+ lbs with all my gear and am extremely happy with my Answer ProTaper carbon handlebar. I too was worried that a carbon bar would either flex too much or break so I upgraded to 31.8 diameter. No problems what so ever and it feels just as stiff as my old aluminum Truvativ L.E. bar.
I'm 165lbs and the flex on my carbon bars freaked me out too much. I'm not extremely worried about them breaking, I just couldn't stand how much they flexed.
Concerned with flexing ? Concerned with Carbon?
Why is this being posted in the WW forum?
Pasting an article that has technology from 8 years ago is hardly relevant.
If you fear the carbon get a solid steel bar that should alleviate any worries.
Why is this being posted in the WW forum?
Pasting an article that has technology from 8 years ago is hardly relevant.
If you fear the carbon get a solid steel bar that should alleviate any worries.
I love people who post questions and then make it immediately clear they have already made up their minds.
To each his own. If you don't like carbon, no one is forcing you to continue using it.
The SL-K bars are carbon wrapped aluminum...KleinAttitude said:My new Cannondale has a set of FSA SL-K's.
They look lovely and suit the bike. But when I ride the bike I can feel a slight flex when I apply downward force.
About 10yrs ago I had a set of Nuke Proof carbon bars shatter on me with no warning.I went straight over the bike and onto the road. Luckily there was nothing coming but I damaged my wrist quite badly.
When reading my manual Cannondale state carbon gives no warning and has a limited life span when compared to alloy.
Handlebars take a lot of abuse and come under immense pressure. So I,m thinking of swapping them out with a set of Ritchey WCS bars.
Ok it may add a few grams but it could also save my life.
You just never know when are where they carbon bars could fail. :nono:
I would think if a set of quality carbon bars gave way on anyone today and they were injured; they would at least be awarded a new bike of their choice free of charge
250,235,255 whew ,you guys should be discussing the strength of forks.....and knives and spoons,hate that plastic stuff ,ss is the only way to go
Sounds like peace of mind is what he is looking for,not saving a few grams,or a few dollars for that matter.
I say if your are more confident in "non-carbon" then do it, its your rig not ours.
PS: I ride carbon bars on all my bikes.
I say if your are more confident in "non-carbon" then do it, its your rig not ours.
PS: I ride carbon bars on all my bikes.
1 - 20 of 52 Posts
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