Fake Ritchey bars are rubbish

[Butterbean]

I lost my love affair with carbon a long time ago. Sure, it looks pretty, but I don't think it should always be used where manufacturers tell us to.

 

I keep all of my seatposts, stems, and handlebars Alu. Just makes me stress less while out on the road or trails.

[eddy]

This is exactly the reason normally given as to why road pro's still ride alloy bars on their very expensive carbon bikes.

And to get their bikes up to 6.8kg

[sakkiebomskok]

Im taking a wild guess here so please feel free to tell me im wrong. But isnt carbon like a peace of wood is the sense that its layers and pieces. Because it is pieced together it could have a bad spot like a piece of wood could have a bad spot. Where alu is fluid molded so it can,t really have that weak spot. I guess thats where quality control comes in. Where is @Bogusone to help?

[Loose cog]

Said in my best Indian accent: "What is carbon fibre?"

[BrandonF_]

The real focus point here is,..The Fall, Aka the inevitable..., so in other words, if You are OK, Everything is OK ☺

[BMXER]

Correct, torqued to 5Nm.

Can't say I have ever torqued my shifters nor leavers that tight. They must move in a fall.

['Dale]

The real focus point here is,..The Fall, Aka the inevitable..., so in other words, if You are OK, Everything is OK ☺

Yes x 1,34552,77

[Eldron]

There are a few hours left of Friday so I'm going with...plastic smashtastic:

 

http://www.bustedcarbon.com/

[Alex L]

having a 20 year background in motorsport here is my 2 cents worth.. the problem with these commercial mass produced carbon parts is the materials used.. poor quality low modulus carbon fibre, cheap unstable resins used to bond the fibre. poor production techniques used and lack of quality control.. and then when you do buy a genuine quality part that is almost unaffordable it is advised that you replace the part every three years.. carbon is extremely stiff for its weight but has poor impact resistance characteristics.. normal fibre glass is far more impact resistant than carbon fibre but 5 times heavier...from what i have seen i will not have a carbon fibre framed bike or use any carbon parts on my ride.. aluminum for me thanks.. i am 105 kg and my current dual sus full ally weighs 12kg.... its light enough for me.. for all the 65kg racing snakes out there carbon may be the answer.. but beware

[kosmonooit]

carbon does that under stress unfortunately 

 

 

elaborate?

[DuncanCT]

I had a similar problem with Ritchey bars I bought online from Bicicletta. Fitted xt brake m785 levers with a Ritchey torque key. Before I hit the torque limit, (5nm) I could hear cracking noise. (see pictures) Not sure if it was just the clear coat or more structural cracking but I returned it and was warranted. The second time I fitted them, I didn't get near the torque limit and have been riding ever since.

 

I think the design of the xt m785 brake lever aren't idea. They have two bands that create two stress points instead of a single broad clamp.

 

All that aside you would think when you design a bar you need to account for high stress points for the stem, shifters and levers.

 

 

[Wimpieva]

Clipped a tree at 35km/hr in Sabie (and did a few unplanned meters down the mountain) and had another bad fall in Nigel (flat, fast in the dust, do not know what happened).  Both occasions could not walk properly for a few days! Ritchey carbon bars still going strong! Used the torque wrench every time I work on my Santie!

[Rouxenator]

Carbon? No son - you need metal. 

[Wimpieva]

Carbon? No son - you need metal. 

Maybe a brain and better eyes? 

[TheJ]

.

[TheJ]

Never torqued anything on my bars ever in 20 years. Not the stem at the steerer or bars either. If you tighten it and it is tight enough to withstand a reasonable knock without moving, its tight enough. The steerer clamp gets the wheel between the knees test. If it passes that you are sorted.