Carbon/Compact Handlebars question of their advantages

dru

A quick general question about the advantages of carbon stem and handlebars.

1. Weight saving

What are the other advantages? is it just bling or bragging factors - or are they stiffer and change the handling properties of a bike (if the latter is true, could someone comment on how exactly they properties change?)

I'm asking as I'm looking to get a set of compact handlebars and if there where significant advantages then I'd look at a carbon set if the right ones came up at the right price.

Many thanks,

Dru.

redddraggon

The only weight saving you'll get is in your wallet.

Get some decent alloy bars and stem is my opinion - e.g 3T, will get you a decent set of bars and stem for around £90

gkerr4

weight saving isn't really an advantage - you will find that most alu bars are lighter - the advantages are..

vibration absorbtion - carbon is said to transmit less vibration than alu bars. - I'm not sure about this and think your tyre pressures make much much more difference.

the main benefit is the shape that can be created through carbon rather than bent alu tubes.

I 'upgraded' by bars to cinelli neo morphe earlier this year - best money I have spent on my bike to be honest. they have shaped hand hold parts - little 'egg' shaped bits on the top curve, wing shaped 'tops' and then designed to allow three fingers under a campag shifter hood and then the drops have a 'pistol' shape which is so nice to use - I think they can shape them to provide some real ergonomic advantage.

oh and finally - they look ace!

dru

Ah ok,

Currently I'm looking for a set of compact drop handlebars and as they all seem to be 31.8mm rather than 26mm I'll need to get a new stem as well - so really just looking at my options.

(I've got some profile T2+ aerobars which have the shims on so I can use these on both sizes.

Incidently - If I go for the shallow drop handlebars they have a shorter reach - does this mean I'll need a longer stem than the one I'm currently using?

redddraggon

Most carbon bars will recommend that you don't clip "clip-ons" onto them. The only exceptions I can think of are the Zipp carbon bars.

a_n_t

mine or just soooooo damn comfy compared to normal "round" bars.

fungus_the_muffin_man

I know they won't, but I'd be always concious of them breaking when puttiing the weight down onto them when out of the saddle and climbing hard.

dru

ok, so moving away from Carbon and sticking with alloy - and more specifically the 'compact' bar setup, can someone please comment if I will need to get a longer stem over my normal setup because the compacts have a shorter reah to the hoods - or should this be more comfortable as the bars will still be the same distance clearance to my knees?

redddraggon

Whether or not you get a longer stem is upto you and your preference - what you said is right about the reach and knee clearance - so which would you rather?

dru

Well, with my current setup my knees are clear - so I guess the question is whether riding the hoods about 3cm closer to me will un-settle my setup and posture. I guess that I'll have to get one and then see what happens

then tinker about and then sell the surplus to requirement stuff.

gkerr4

Dru wrote:

Well, with my current setup my knees are clear - so I guess the question is whether riding the hoods about 3cm closer to me will un-settle my setup and posture. I guess that I'll have to get one and then see what happens

then tinker about and then sell the surplus to requirement stuff.

3cm change would be a lot for changing bars! - you'd have to have very long reach bars now and be changing to very short reach ones.
what model do you have at the moment and what ones are you looking at getting?

dru

the ITM bars I have at the moment have a reach of about 85mm

The compact bars I'm looking at have reach of only 80mm


OH - errrrrrr - wait a mo...... thats only 0.5cm isn't it not 5 cm's....... :oops: :oops:




Ok, forget it they will be fine

cjw

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

I know they won't, but I'd be always concious of them breaking when puttiing the weight down onto them when out of the saddle and climbing hard.

Don't worry... been using carbon bars (and seatpost) on my MTB for 3 years and no problems. They get a hell of a lot more stress then standing up and pedaling on a roadie - just imagine dropping off a curb - 2ft high with the bar taking your weight when you land

flanners1

Love carbon bars after staying away from them for years have carbon on all my XC MTBs Easton and Ricthey WCS's and on all my road bikes: ITMs, FSA and Ritchey. I think they do improve comfort and look very nice to boot. Noticed a massive difference on putting a set of Monkey risers on my C'Dale MTB which I use to cycle to work on.

Of course it could all be in my head....but that's ok as well

neeb

carbon stems - complete waste of money, unless you really want them for the look.

carbon bars - they do definitely feel different from alloy ones and IMHO improve the feel of the bike quite noticeably, although this is probably a subjective thing. I don't know if it's that they necessarily absorb more shock or just that they vibrate at a different frequency, but mine have a much more taught, lively feel than any alloy bars I've ridden. Also if anything I would be more worried about an ultralight pair of alloy bars failing than carbon ones, fatigue is definitely an issue with aluminum.

Don't worry about 5mm difference in reach, you can easily gain or lose a centimeter of reach by positioning your levers differently and/or tilting the bars.