RodTi Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 So - anyone have any theories on how often handlebars should be replaced.... Been reading/hearing that if you do serious riding regularly, then once a year/year and a half, would be safest... I'm not nearly a serious rider - ride between 3 to 5 times a week - more lengthy rides over weekends - and don't often do any hardcore st with technical pieces - but do often hare down jeep tracks with serious corrugation, which I guess can place some stress on the bars... Also - whilst my next upgrade will probably be an oversized Skandium bar, I'm currently on a CF bar - which makes me slightly more nervous since the general theory(??) is that CF snaps, rather than cracks/bends - which could be quite ugly on some of the "downhills" I frequent... Any thoughts? Any hubbers regularly replace their bars - and if so, how often? Thanks!
AndreZA Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 If it aint broke, don't fix it. I don't trust CF on a MTB, excpet maybe for head spacers or a bottle cage.
niterider Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Assuming no crash damage, and that its been designed correctly, your CF bars should last a lot longer than Aluminium alloy ones. Al alloys have a definite fatigue life and at some point they will fail near the stem, which is usually the highest stress point. How long depends on the alloy, the design and how much you ride. I've had Al bars fail in the middle of a sprint - luckily I stayed upright. They were cheap bars and only a year old, although they were getting ridden a lot. I'm riding CF now.
Mudsimus Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 I once had a perfectly good but old ITM bar on my Roadbike, and somehow it decided to come apart during a sprint.. Now I change them once a year.
lowracer Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 scratches in the bar can also cause stress risers, causing it to fail prematurely - moral of the story - put in on very carefully
veyron. Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 I have carbon fiber ones. should you change them after a year? Or if you in a crash but they don't snap should you still change them?
Spinnekop Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Carbon Fiber FSA K-wing. Ride 7 days a week. Have been riding them for two years now and still no issues.
veyron. Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Carbon Fiber FSA K-wing. Ride 7 days a week. Have been riding them for two years now and still no issues. Yes I have the exact same one! Would hate for anything to happen to it!It seems very strong
nellie Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Het enige iemand al 'n Hincapie moment gehad a.g.v iets wat fail? (okay...ek weet syne was sy stem of vurk of iets en nie sy handlebars nie, maar steeds)
RockCoach Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 A few years ago my bars (road) snapped at about 65km/h going down Conrad Drive. Next time I hear excessive creaking coming from the stem area I'm going to stop and investigate.
lowracer Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Veyron, spidey dont take chances, just buy a new handlebar annually. Send the old ones to me, i will dispose of them environmentally friendly ... put them on my bike
veyron. Posted January 11, 2008 Posted January 11, 2008 Veyron' date=' spidey dont take chances, just buy a new handlebar annually. Send the old ones to me, i will dispose of them environmentally friendly ... put them on my bike[/quote'] hahaha nice try
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now