Changing to Carbon bars MTB

[DJR]

Maybe manufactures should start looking at Self Healing Carbon for frames and components 

The tech is used in aero space and now in the new Lambo 

I hope it works better than the "self cleaning" oven I have

[DieselnDust]

Carbon just rides better, I don't have any fancy explanation. My 2 bikes has same fork, both soft fat rubber 1 with alu bar and 1 with carbon and there's a noticeable difference.

 

 

thats because the marketing has worked. The label says it better and we believe it. Carbon looks cool so we believe the benefits

 

my favourite bar: https://shop.hayesperformance.com/collections/protaper/products/protaper-mtb-aluminum-flat-rise-bar

[solty]

Alu feels cold when you touch it. Carbon is warm, like skin, organic, friendly. Touching my bike always makes me feel happy. Just get carbon.

[Me rida my bicycle]

thats because the marketing has worked. The label says it better and we believe it. Carbon looks cool so we believe the benefits

 

my favourite bar: https://shop.hayesperformance.com/collections/protaper/products/protaper-mtb-aluminum-flat-rise-bar

nog als nie 'n marketing gimmick kom try self die 2 as jy dink carbon is net 'n marketing gimmick. ????

[King_Crispy]

No such thing as get back ching.

Just spend the money and go carbon.

Once you go black, you'll never go back.

 

All my bikes are naked carbon...

[Jewbacca]

As DJR mentioned, seriously, don't over torque your brakes and shifter clamps.

 

Most people have gorilla hands and I have seen MANY carbon bars sheer in a straight line there.

 

Brakes and shifters should move if you crash. Seriously. 

 

I personally would prefer to spend my money on other things. From a guy who has ridden a fully rigid bike across many countries, up and down mountains, down most single track etc  the one thing that made a difference was to grip the bars less, have soft hands, ride and direct the bike through a strong core and learn to be light on the pedals.

 

There is no substitute or short cut worth buying which works better than skills. And yes, even the skills of riding corrugated roads.

 

I would actually buy some REV grips. They will be cheaper and probably remove more 'vibrations' than a switch to carbon bars.

[Ashchest]

 

 have soft hands, ride and direct the bike through a strong core and learn to be light on the pedals.

 

 

 

 

I have experienced this again after getting back in the saddle this year  

[RobertWhitehead]

I have had both and theirs not much difference - I just got a good deal on the carbon bar  .

[DieselnDust]

switching from an Al bar to a carbon bar has less benefits than moving from a 3 blade razr to a 4 balde razor to shave your legs

[Rudii]

Can the same arguments for carbon handle bars be applicable to carbon seat posts?

Already have a carbon handle bar on my bike and considering upgrading the seatpost as well but not managed to convince myself yet.

[DieselnDust]

Can the same arguments for carbon handle bars be applicable to carbon seat posts?

Already have a carbon handle bar on my bike and considering upgrading the seatpost as well but not managed to convince myself yet.

 

 

refer to post #25 above

 

The best seat posts are made by: https://www.bikethomson.com/product-category/seatposts/

 

carbon posts may be a few grams lighter and they don't have an ion exchange problem in carbon frames but AL posts don't break as easily.

 

Besides, isn't a dropper the standard upgrade path?

[dave303e]

As DJR mentioned, seriously, don't over torque your brakes and shifter clamps.

 

Most people have gorilla hands and I have seen MANY carbon bars sheer in a straight line there.

 

Brakes and shifters should move if you crash. Seriously. 

 

I personally would prefer to spend my money on other things. From a guy who has ridden a fully rigid bike across many countries, up and down mountains, down most single track etc  the one thing that made a difference was to grip the bars less, have soft hands, ride and direct the bike through a strong core and learn to be light on the pedals.

 

There is no substitute or short cut worth buying which works better than skills. And yes, even the skills of riding corrugated roads.

 

I would actually buy some REV grips. They will be cheaper and probably remove more 'vibrations' than a switch to carbon bars.

 

I have seen someone crunch a carbon bar while assembling a bike before the start of a race. Brought a tear to my eye.

 

I don't know what vibrations people are talking about. With 2t motorbikes you get vibrations from the engines so maybe this thread is for e-bikes? On Motorbikes you tend to just add a lump of weight to the end of the bar to dampen vibration. Usually in the form of metal bar ends.

 

Riding with soft hands as you say is the key here, think of the slap chip rule. You never just pick up a slap chip with all your force, just enough pressure to pick it up, but not enough to crush it. Holding handle bars needs the same pressure and for a lot of riding you don't even need to grip it.

[Christie]

Those REV grips makes sense to me.

 

Re. seatposts: fit one that does not corrode/seize in your frame. The same argument applies wrt damping from a seatpost: its effect is small compared to rear suspension, tyre pressure, the seat itself.

[Jarl Borg]

thats because the marketing has worked. The label says it better and we believe it. Carbon looks cool so we believe the benefits

 

my favourite bar: https://shop.hayesperformance.com/collections/protaper/products/protaper-mtb-aluminum-flat-rise-bar

I got TLD carbon handle bars purely for the graphics. I never read up about it before purchasing so I'm not experiencing any ride improvement, wasn't expecting any. 

[Mawbs]

thanks for the input and as i thought there would be positive & negative comments. One thing i didnt see anyone comment about is the difference in bar height between the two bars with their said specs but i suppose that would probably need to be put on bike and measured.

[Grease_Monkey]

thanks for the input and as i thought there would be positive & negative comments. One thing i didnt see anyone comment about is the difference in bar height between the two bars with their said specs but i suppose that would probably need to be put on bike and measured.

 

Rise is like a saddle, very personal, so no use on anyone really commenting on it - but I will anyway. Typically higher rise bars are found on your longer travel bikes, lower rise on more marathon and XC bikes - all about weight distribution on the bike. I personally have never like a overly tall front end, I generally don't use more than one 5mm spacer under the stem and don't go higher than 20mm of rise. I absolutely hate it when the front end of a bike wanders on climbs because I can't get my weight over it.

 

That said, rather go for a higher rise bar than using lots of spacers under the stem. A higher rise bar with less spacers gives height without decreasing reach, while just using a ton of spacers under the stem decreases your reach as well as giving height, thus moving your weight further back which generally speaking leads to less front wheel grip - not ideal unless that is your goal.