I've recently bought myself a Ritchey WCS bar and would like to know what are the best ways to lighten it up a bit.

I am thinking of cutting away a bit of the drops (say about 1cm).

I have also seen on a Bontrager that holes are drilled near the ends. Is this wise to do, and is there a special technique that should be used?

Any advise and engineering knowledge appreciated.

You can cut a bit of because you don't really need the end of the bar.

The Richtey bars have very long drops (compare them to ITM the bar!), you can cut off 1.5 - 2 cm if you want!

I don't think drilling holes in de ends of the bar wil weaken it significantly, you don't excert any force on it there.

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Whow! That's a pretty damn nice garage door!

1 cm is about 4 gr...so if yu cut away 2 cm at both ends...its aprox. 16 gr...not so bad.

With shorter bars you can put more bartape on the bars. If you stretch it at the bottom you can really wrap it thick at the top where your hands are most of the time.
I don't spend much time in the drops and if I do my hands are up towards the front so I can keep a finger on the brakes.

Messing with your handlebars is dangerous and stupid. If you want a lighter handlebar buy a lighter one. Not trying to be rude, but seriously, its VERY dangerous, just looking out for my peeps!

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MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT! HUH!

But it's not dangerous to cut off a bit

Thanks for your concern Supalite.

I won't modify the bars at crucial stress points. I just think that the ends of the bars are fairly safe to tamper with.

I see the drillings on the Bontrager bars are in a X shape across the diameter (O). I think if it's in a + shape it might be more likely to bend downwards if you put a lot of presure on it. But the drillings would be quite close to the edge, so the chances of bending it should be minimal. Drillings would be from ring finger to your pinkie, if you place your hands on the ends of the bar.

Go for it man. You have nothing to loose but weight!