Carbon Handlerbars for roadbike

[GregSherwin]

Hi there

i was recently advised by a very knowledgeable source that if you are over 70kg in weight you should not use carbon bars as they will fail at somepoint?

Anyone know any different

I am 90kg in weight

[GregSherwin]

thanks for the reply

the bars are Deda Superleggero but Deda do not provide any weight limits

[LionelB]

84kg using the superleggero.

[GregSherwin]

thanks - and previously had you used carbon bars?

are you using the stem to?

[LionelB]

I use the stem as well on one bike.

I am also using on other bikes ritchey carbon curve (on 2 bikes) and FSA compact carbon.

[wingguy]

Hi there

i was recently advised by a very knowledgeable source that if you are over 70kg in weight you should not use carbon bars as they will fail at somepoint?

That's ridiculous. 70kg is 11st. That's not very heavy by any standards (except perhaps for jockeys). Think about the average weight of the MAMIL who can afford to spend a couple hundred bucks on a handlebar. If 70kg was a sensible limit these things would be out there failing under normal use every day.

[1415chris]

I'm on the heavy weight site +90kg and have been using two 180g bars. On my mtb bike I've got 83g bar. Never experienced a failure. But when something goes wrong don't quote me on this

[mattr]

i was recently advised by a very knowledgeable source that if you are over 70kg in weight you should not use carbon bars as they will fail at somepoint?

I'd find a better knowledgeable source, yours sounds like a bit of a pillock.

At a given weight, carbon bars *should* be stronger and more durable.
And IIRC one manufacturer (Easton i think?) used to recommend changing their lightest aluminium MTB bars yearly, their (even lighter) carbon bar initially had no recommendation, then i think went to 3 years.

Only downside to carbon bars is that they are so exposed if you crash, and after a big slidy off, i'll usually replace the bars as a matter of course. And a €50 aluminium bar hurts the wallet a lot less than a €200 carbon one. (Plus the fact that you tend not to save huge amounts of weight, compared to dropping €150 on something else shiny!)

Disclaimer.- if you buy cheap nasty carbon bars, you're on your own.

[elviento]

Well, then he isn't very knowledgeable. Carbon has been used to handle tasks that involve weights far beyond human body weight. Just a matter of how you make it.

Hi there

i was recently advised by a very knowledgeable source that if you are over 70kg in weight you should not use carbon bars as they will fail at somepoint?

Anyone know any different

I am 90kg in weight

[davidalone]

carbon has some of the highest tensile strengths out there and can handle much more than just 70kg.

now, if you accidentally overtightened your stem and crushed your bars, or crashed in a manner as to whack your bars a good one.... well thats a different story....

[Geoff]

+1. Ride what you like. Maggie rode a carbon bar in Paris-Roubaix and he is your size...

[djconnel]

The key here is "at some point". For a pro riding Paris-Roubaix a set of $300 carbon bars may well be one-use disposable. It essentially doesn't fatigue but doesn't take abuse well so make up your own mind. $/gram weight savings for carbon bars is unfavorable relative to many other options for weight savings, if you compare to the lightest Al bars.

[Miller]

Carbon bar weight saving over alloy may not be huge but the shaping can be more sophisticated and they feel warm to touch rather than cold. I like carbon bars.

Anecdotal evidence, but the only broken bars I've seen have been alloy.

[djconnel]

Carbon bar weight saving over alloy may not be huge but the shaping can be more sophisticated and they feel warm to touch rather than cold. I like carbon bars.

Anecdotal evidence, but the only broken bars I've seen have been alloy.

Once you forget about trying to make them light I agree you can do cool stuff with carbon.

That said, this was my GF's bars, removing her from the lead group on the final lap in her first-ever cross race in 2007:



A potential race podium is a major price to pay for a few grams.

That said, I think carbon bars have improved since then. Those old Eastons had a bad reputation.

[jimwhimpey]

Light alloy bars are general stronger and cheaper and barely weigh more than their carbon equivalents.

I just don't think it's worth it.