FSA vs. Easton (handlebars help!)

[fa63]

i have a stock c2 cannondale stem. it has the bolts that work with the ritchey...but what im worried about is mounting the hoods and the bolt that needs to be tightened is not a 4mm...its larger. its like the same size as the top cap bolt on the headset...

Just take it easy with the tightening and work your way up to find the sweet spot, and you should be fine. It is stronger than you think so you would have to put a lot of torque on it to do any damage.

[cure]

ok i finally installed it, though it looks very different from what i had before. im a little upset, without bar tape it looks great..but when applied cable routing and then tape, it looked really weird...

i routed cables front and back of bar but at the bends it was quite sharp and when completed, looking down at bars from saddle it seems really square...not a natural bend...maybe because of the cable i routed behind? please suggest or post pics for me so i can get an idea of how i can make this look better...or is it ultimately squared at corners for compact bars?

plus im not too sure if im a fan of the rounded tops, but need to put in a few miles before i can really conclude...

[cure]

Easton:

hey djconnel... just got back from a test ride with new bar. feels great but it feels a little too short...at hoods and tops are perfect but when sprinting in drops i feel i dont has much control when rocking bike side to side...is this due to shortness of stem, too big of a gear...?

btw, in returning i was cleaning my old easton bar...i found 2 cracks at the corners! the right side is cracked more than half way around...see pics...this is real scary as i had no idea or intentions of changing bars or tape for that matter. my bike hasnt been crashed or anything, though my shop did build this but i have no proof of having this issue after i picked it up...this bar was given to me by cannondale as they were selling off all the caad9s at the time...this is good as dead right? no way to save it...garbage???

carbon scares me now...

[djconnel]

Wow -- I can't tell from the photo if it's a cosmetic crack or one which is actually compromising the integrity of the fibers. Others here are much better at that sort of thing. It looks like your crack is on the ramps, while hers was on the edge of the tops, so it's a slightly different spot. But your experience does reinforce the need to untape and examine carbon bars.

[cure]

Wow -- I can't tell from the photo if it's a cosmetic crack or one which is actually compromising the integrity of the fibers. Others here are much better at that sort of thing. It looks like your crack is on the ramps, while hers was on the edge of the tops, so it's a slightly different spot. But your experience does reinforce the need to untape and examine carbon bars.

whats a cosmetic crack? that wouldnt effect integrity of structure? when i was cleaning it and if i rub my nail over it 'dented' with crack....i tried pushing it to hear any noises or if it would actually open up...nothing happened...