Oh bugger! Another un-planned upgrade :-)

Bassjunkieuk · January 2010

Looks like Evans will be getting some more of my money shortly today!
Whilst on the way in today I was slowing up for some traffic lights in Camberwell but they changed as I got near. Gave my usual effort to pull off and heard a odd clunk from my handlebars. Thought to myself that was odd (and a new noise for my bike!) and carried on riding. Got to the next set of lights and slowed up again and once again pulled off except this time something made a definite cracking noise and my left hand almost pulled the hood up!

I pulled over and had a quick assessment and it appears the only thing holding the left side of my drops on, including the STI unit, was the bar tape :shock: Oh sh!t! I still had 3 miles or so to get to work and walking wasn't really an option so I gently nursed the bike in riding on the flats on the LHS and the drop on the right so I still had use of the front brake and shifter. Made it round E&C OK and then on up and over London Bridge. E&C was a bit hairy with 1 brake and a awkward riding position and I suppose I *could* have walked it round, but where's the fun in that!

I reckon I can get a new handlebar from Evans and at least get it fitted (sans bar tape) so I can get home this evening, otherwise I'll either need to get the train when I can take a bike on it or ride home mainly on the flats, with the new handlebar tied to my bag!!

Odd thing is I can't think of any crashes that I've had that landed on that side of the handlebars and didn't think I put that much force on the bars as I rode off.......guess I don't know my own strength! Just glad it happened today and not whilst I was trying to get up that hill yesterday!

UndercoverElephant · January 2010

When you get angry, do you sometimes find you wake up in strange places with your clothes all torn?

oscarbudgie · January 2010

Thats the penalty for Chris Hoy accelerations

Bugly · January 2010

Al or Carbon bars?

Bassjunkieuk · January 2010

Bugly wrote:

Al or Carbon bars?

Alu, they are the factory fitted ones that come on my SCR 3.0, I think carbon bars would have cost more then the bike :-)

Just been to Evans in Spitalfields and picked up a Easton EA50 318 road bar. Security where I'm working have said I can bring the bike in the secure holding area (a bit more light then the loading bay) so I'm gonna have a crack at fitting them. Won't bother with bar tape for time being as I CBA to fiddle with that, just need to bars fitted, STI levers and light back on so I can get home this evening!

jonginge · January 2010

Duude!

Reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9hqUJIwpRc

Headhuunter · January 2010

I live in fear of that happening. I can just imagine myself wrenching on the bars up a hill or them suddenly collapsing under me as I came down hill at speed.

iain_j · January 2010

:shock:

Paranoid now. Wish I hadn't read that. Are there any early warning signs other than "clunk"?

antfly · January 2010

They do say you should replace bars every three years but I doubt anyone does.

gabriel959 · January 2010

Metal fatigue perhaps?

I wouldn’t worry too much though, those bars that come with the Giant SCRs are notoriously sh1te. I can quite happily bend mine and am not a gorilla.

owenlars · January 2010

It happenend to me just outside my front gate; leant on left hand to open gate with right whilst sitting on bike and left hand side of the bar just sheared off. at the stem. Very scary, even stationary, and unthinkable at speed. They were 3T aluminium bars, got new ones and costs of fitting, bar tape etc. The bars were only about a year old.

Bassjunkieuk · January 2010

Ok, just come back from evans....seems my stupid bike has narrow diameter bars!!! The Easton one's I picked up are the "standard" 31.8mm and as such didn't fit in my stem

No worries tho as Evans happily gave me a refund and said that narrow diameter are difficult to find. The chap recommended a couple of shops and said if they didn't have them I'd find a set online.

I popped across the plaza to Cycle Surgery and asked them and lo and behold they had some! £10 cheaper to boot which was nice :-) Sitting down for lunch then I'll have a go at re-fitting them, assuming no one has stolen the only bike with no handlebars from the loading bay bike rack

Once I get home this evening I'll post pics of the busted set!

jonginge · January 2010

Erm. Aren't 31.8 bars normally termed "oversize"?

prawny · January 2010

Ahh good old evans, by standard you were obviously after oversize!

The one's in brum aren't much better you ask a techincal question and they look like goldfish

rjsterry · January 2010

Oh thank you very much BJUK, you've just re-ignited my snapped-bars paranoia. :roll: I still have the original alu bars on my 13yr old steel framed Giant and despite pretty regular and thorough services at the LBS, no-one has ever directly suggested replacing them (and I know for a fact that the mechanics have had them off the bike at least once). Mind you, a look at my pipecleaner arms may explain things. :oops:

MonkeyMonster · January 2010

rjsterry wrote:

Mind you, a look at my pipecleaner arms may explain things. :oops:

You have pipe cleaners for arms - cool. Man you must be centre of attention at kids parties

At least they gave you warning!

Bassjunkieuk · January 2010

Success! New bars are fitted (shortly after my last post but "work" has got in the way of posting ;-))
I just need to purchase some bar tape now and then I'l finish up the job proper tomorrow (or maybe this evening if I sneak out again!)
Got a feeling I'm going to be doing some fettling with the position to fine tune it, however it will certainly be easier riding home this evening with a solid pair of bars!

attica · January 2010

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Odd thing is I can't think of any crashes that I've had that landed on that side of the handlebars

Didn't you ride at speed into a hedge when we were in Wales? Could have started it off, your super strength finished the job off!

Glad you're in one piece

stuaff · January 2010

Good to know you're OK. Wales might just have done something I suppose (my prang was lucky in the sense that there was something in the way of the bike & the ground- me...).

Christophe3967 · January 2010

Attica wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Odd thing is I can't think of any crashes that I've had that landed on that side of the handlebars

Didn't you ride at speed into a hedge when we were in Wales? Could have started it off, your super strength finished the job off!

Glad you're in one piece

Ah, riding into a Welsh bush? Now its making more sense

itboffin · January 2010

Christophe3967 wrote:

Attica wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Odd thing is I can't think of any crashes that I've had that landed on that side of the handlebars

Didn't you ride at speed into a hedge when we were in Wales? Could have started it off, your super strength finished the job off!

Glad you're in one piece

Ah, riding into a Welsh bush? Now its making more sense

tee hee he said bush!

Bassjunkieuk · January 2010

Attica wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Odd thing is I can't think of any crashes that I've had that landed on that side of the handlebars

Didn't you ride at speed into a hedge when we were in Wales? Could have started it off, your super strength finished the job off!

Glad you're in one piece

Well I *might* have mis-judged one corner....

On closer inspection after the bar tape was removed I do have a scrape on the piece of bar that snapped off and the only times I can remember coming off on that side was a couple of wipe-outs on ice about a year ago, but they where both very low speed!

Anyhow the news one survived the ride home, gave them plenty of testing coming over London Bridge and around the diversion on the south side :-)

As promised here's some pics:

And a close up of the snapped section, scary to see how much metal has cracked.....

And finally one of the completed (except bar tape!) repair:

Next up is bar tape, I'm thinking red.........

itboffin · January 2010

That's been going for a while and why not reused that tape, looks okay to me, unless of course you're thinking of tarting up the stead

Christophe3967 · January 2010

Classic

Well guv, I don't understand it... I've only had three crashes. Who'd have guessed?

Reminds me of the famous car insurance claim form - 'I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing my hat, found that I had fractured my skull'.

Bassjunkieuk · January 2010

itboffin wrote:

That's been going for a while and why not reused that tape, looks okay to me, unless of course you're thinking of tarting up the stead

The old bar tape was stuck down to the bars, ended up splitting and tearing as it was pulled off. Besides what better excuse for a bit of tarting :-) Don't think I'll quite make it to IP high levels but it'll be a start....

Cafewanda · January 2010

I vote for red bar tape!

*the fact it's my fave colour is irrelevant

Bassjunkieuk · January 2010

Cafewanda wrote:

I vote for red bar tape!

*the fact it's my fave colour is irrelevant

You'll be happy to know then that I popped to Evans at lunch and picked up some Specialized S-Wrap Cork tape in..........RED :-) Was £2 more then the Trek stuff but its a nicer shade and I think it's slightly more padded. A review on the Evans site from someone said they got some 5 years ago and it's still feeling good and has been re-wrapped - useful just case I balls it up this evening :-D

Oh bugger! Another un-planned upgrade :-)

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