Carbon handlebars for MTB

[Pacman777]

I have a Giant Anthem X1 29er.  I thought of upgrading to carbon handlebars to try and prevent my teeth from rattling loose when going fast over rocky ground/corrugated roads.  Has anyone done this with favourable results?  And how big a difference does it really make?

[MrJacques]

It should help, but you should probably also check your fork's air pressure and rebound settings.

 

And softer grips can help as well. Something like the silicon ESI grips.

[Rocket-Boy]

It should help, but you should probably also check your fork's air pressure and rebound settings.

This^

I have the same bike and unless the suspension is set to the climb settings I can handle corrugations without feeling like Im going to lose my teeth.

[anybody seen george?]

I had carbon bars on my XTC, have allu on now. Makes now difference for me, but I have found that allu bars are more durable when I buy a piece of ST with blood and tears.

[Dirkitech]

for what it is worth, i went from an alu handlebar fixed front fork to a front air suspension fork and a carbon handlebar- i didn't notice any difference in the handlebar material on any terrain.

[Rick Sanchez]

for what it is worth, i went from an alu handlebar fixed front fork to a front air suspension fork and a carbon handlebar- i didn't notice any difference in the handlebar material on any terrain.

Also looking at getting myself some carbon bars. How durable are these? Don't want to spend a lot of money if they are going to break when I fall...

[Guest Omega Man]

Also looking at getting myself some carbon bars. How durable are these? Don't want to spend a lot of money if they are going to break when I fall...

It's not so much them breaking when you fall but they DON'T break when you fall. And from that day forth you'll be worried that the little carbon strands are slowly breaking under load until eventually..... SNAP!

[Spinnekop]

Been riding with carbon bars for years now.  No issues yet.  Light ones...heavy ones...expensive ones...cheap ones......
Not a big enough difference on the rattling side though.

 

As suggested, have a look at your front shock setting and tyre pressure.  20psi should do the trick for the tyres.

 

[arendoog]

Don,t !.One fall ,and they were brand new .These are better and weigh the same

[Dirkitech]

Also looking at getting myself some carbon bars. How durable are these? Don't want to spend a lot of money if they are going to break when I fall...

Durability wise, I'd say they are strong as can be. I had a bad fall last year where the stem wasn't tightened after a service and on a  steep drop, was sent flying and... you can imagine the rest. The bar survived without a problem, though.

I think if a crash is hard enough a handle bar will break whether it is carbon or alu, but the carbon is definitely strong and if you can get over the paranoia of your carbon <insert component here> being cracked, its awesome to have.

Whats more, I find that the epoxy (or whatever) finish on the carbon handlebars are more grippy than the grooves cut in aluminium bars- so thats a nice bonus. in my experience the finished carbon bars grip the grips better than alu.

 

Been riding with carbon bars for years now.  No issues yet.  Light ones...heavy ones...expensive ones...cheap ones......

Not a big enough difference on the rattling side though.

 

As suggested, have a look at your front shock setting and tyre pressure.  20psi should do the trick for the tyres.

 

 

this too, not a big difference on the rattling side, but may be noticeable depending on your previous setup so a carbon handlebar ought to either make no difference or a slight peace of mind convenience as it did for me.

[cadenceblur]

A buddy of mine hit a pole (don't ask) at 40km/h,his carbon bars took the impact , it survived.

[LazyTrailRider]

As with most things, it's not as much about material as it is about quality. There is no reason a high-quality carbon bar has to be any weaker than its alloy counterpart.

 

That having been said, carbon is not going to make much difference to the frequency of vibration you'll find on most MTB rides. It's good at damping really fine high-frequency stuff like you'll find riding on the road (to some extent), but don't be fooled into thinking it's going to make rock gardens or corrugated dirt roads feel any smoother. I've ridden with literally dozens of carbon and alloy bars over the years on many different bikes and have never been able to tell the difference. 

[The MTBer]

A friend of mine had carbon handlebars and over the time there was fatigue, he jumped a log and then the handlebar snapped and he broke both his arms.

[udxcob]

Personally i dont trust carbon on a mtb bar

[camelman]

I have carbon bars on both XC hardtail and dual suss bikes. They definitely help. It helps my ego and makes me think I go faster. Other than that they will not help one little bit on rock gardens, maybe mute some chatter when you go dirt roady-ing on an endless district road. Otherwise spend 1/4 of the money and fit tubeless to run lower pressure, service your fork or fit those foamy grips.

 

Otherwise if you want to stroke your ego like me, fit those carbon bars by all means.????

[pista]

A buddy of mine hit a pole (don't ask) at 40km/h,his carbon bars took the impact , it survived.

Your buddy is a brave man if he still riding with them ????