Best Carbon Bars

cannondalerugby5

Hi Thanks for reading

Just about the last bit of upgrading - Bars for my Cannondale Super Six.

At present I have Richey WCS aluminium.

I would like Carbon for reasons of both the weight and the looks.

I am 108 kg or 230lbs.

Two questions is there a danger of the carbon bars being weaker than aluminium?

Which are the best Carbon to go for?

Thanks
Steve

nicensleazy

3T bars are great and at various price points!

Eddy S

The Ritchey bars that you have are pretty good already for aluminium bars. Carbon won't give you very much in the way of weight benefit to be honest (the odd 40 or 50g maybe), especially if you still want quality and strength.

The main benefit with carbon bars is that they will take some of the road buzz out.

It's worth sticking with Ritchey if you like the shape or your current bars - I fitted Ritchey Carbon Evolution bars to my new bike.

Chrissz

Get some of these



Pure sex :!:

Ignore the red hoods - they've gone

blorg

You won't save much weight over lightweight alloy but you should gain stiffness and maybe comfort, although I would notice the stiffness more.

As suggested if you like the Ritchey shape stick with them, I had Ritchey WCS Evolution bars myself but wasn't so keen on the shape myself. Changed them to FSA compact bars after a crash.

cougie

So you are 108Kg - and you want carbon bars for reducing weight purposes ? Jeez fella - you arent going to notice that - some carbon bars are even heavier than their alloy counterparts. And if you get the normal bars, then all the pretty carbon is taped over = so there is no looks benefit either.

Stick with alloy - they're cheap and light and strong - and you dont have to worry too much about replacing them if your bike falls over at a cafe stop.

cougie

So you are 108Kg - and you want carbon bars for reducing weight purposes ? Jeez fella - you arent going to notice that - some carbon bars are even heavier than their alloy counterparts. And if you get the normal bars, then all the pretty carbon is taped over = so there is no looks benefit either.

Stick with alloy - they're cheap and light and strong - and you dont have to worry too much about replacing them if your bike falls over at a cafe stop.

redddraggon

I agree with Cougie, carbon bars are overated and overpriced.

Brian B

redddraggon wrote:

I agree with Cougie, carbon bars are overated and overpriced.

I disagree in a friendly manner

I have the carbon cinelli ram bars and dont even have bar tape on the flats. My bike set up is harsh but the bars dampen the road buzz and have done 140 mile rides and without any real discomfort. Carbon bars make a real difference IMO

redddraggon

Carbon bars don't make any noticeable difference to "road buzz", tyre pressures do.

Eddy S

redddraggon wrote:

Carbon bars don't make any noticeable difference to "road buzz", tyre pressures do.

Next you'll be telling us there's no difference between carbon and aluminium frames :roll:

What do we know eh?

Chrissz

Bollox :!:

If you want some carbon bars buy some carbon bars. They may or may not be lighter. They may or may not cut vibration. They WILL look sexier than some metal tube

stevenb

I have Easton EC90 equipe SLX ergo bars at 195g.
They are very good and are offer at £90 from CRC at the mo...I paid £108 from CRC a few months back.
The comfort is excellent and road buzz is absorbed noticably more than when I had my Felt alloy handlebar...so yes, carbon bars do work.

Just like carbon stems, some are lighter than alloy and vice versa.
I run the ec90 bars with an EA90 alloy stem and it's a great set up for me.
Then again I'm 66kgs so I may not feel the bumps quite the same.

nicensleazy

At the end of the day, as Chris said, if you want them, buy them!

redddraggon

Eddy S wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

Carbon bars don't make any noticeable difference to "road buzz", tyre pressures do.

Next you'll be telling us there's no difference between carbon and aluminium frames :roll:

What do we know eh?

The problem with this forum is that nearly everyone spouts myths and old wives tales, and have insufficient materials knowledge to back anything up.

The other problem with this forum, is that when people buy something they so how wonderful it is to make them feel better about buying it, rather than giving a objective review.

Tyre pressures have more of an effect on road buzz than carbon bars, FACT.

stevenb

I agree with reddraggon there.
I can vouch for my own opinion having owned many bikes/upgraded parts but it's not going to be the same for the next person so it's always difficult to tell someone what they should/should not buy.

Sometimes it's possible that if you can strike up a good repor with your LBS they'll let you try parts. After all, parts should come with your standard consumer rights etc but some items once fitted are not refundable...but then how can you test these things without fitting them.....catch 22 there.

cougie

The OP didn't ask about road buzz - so its irrelevant. He just wanted lightweight and good looks ?

I'm not against carbon as such - I ride a carbon frame - but can't see the point for bars.

dbb

the point of carbon bars is that you can get more comfortable shapes. FACT!

just look at the image in the fourth post.

rake

redddraggon wrote:

Eddy S wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

Carbon bars don't make any noticeable difference to "road buzz", tyre pressures do.

Next you'll be telling us there's no difference between carbon and aluminium frames :roll:

What do we know eh?

The problem with this forum is that nearly everyone spouts myths and old wives tales, and have insufficient materials knowledge to back anything up.

The other problem with this forum, is that when people buy something they so how wonderful it is to make them feel better about buying it, rather than giving a objective review.

Tyre pressures have more of an effect on road buzz than carbon bars, FACT.

yes but lower tyre pressure will slow you down like, at the end of the day thats a FACT.
i wont buy carbon bars because its hell of a cost for more worry and solves no real problem for me im hard categorically. but carbon does absorb a lot of road buzz and thats objective not a wives tale.

redddraggon

rake wrote:

yes but lower tyre pressure will slow you down like, at the end of the day thats a FACT.

You don't seem to know what the word fact means.

Tyres at a higher pressures are only faster if the surface is perfectly smooth, what you say may be a "FACT" for track riding, but it isn't for real world riding.

ajb72

Check out Zipp's range of bars - simply the niceset carbon weave I have ever seen. I loved my Zipp Contours, only took them off as needed wider bars, they were super light as well.

To add my 2 penneth to the debate, I replaced the Zipp's with Ritchey WCS pro logic II's, and I have not noticed any additional buzz or discomfort at all. I do miss the bling though!

rake

redddraggon wrote:

rake wrote:

yes but lower tyre pressure will slow you down like, at the end of the day thats a FACT.

You don't seem to know what the word fact means.

Tyres at a higher pressures are only faster if the surface is perfectly smooth, what you say may be a "FACT" for track riding, but it isn't for real world riding.

thats true on some parts of road ive noticed it myself. but overall its slower because most roads arent that bad all over. only in patches i find. aaaright' massive.

Wheelspinner

3T bars are indeed nice to look at and ride, but these are also good:



Not bad value too when you consider these are a full carbon stem and bar

CarbonCopy

Wheelspinner.Those Pro EVO STEALTH are nice,i have been considering using them on my new build,but damn its quite a heavy combination i was quite shocked! :oops:

Wheelspinner

CarbonCopy wrote:

Wheelspinner.Those Pro EVO STEALTH are nice,i have been considering using them on my new build,but damn its quite a heavy combination i was quite shocked! :oops:

Heavy?

A 3T Ergonova Team full carbon bar weighs 203 gm for a 42cm. A matching 3T ARX Ltd full carbon stem weighs 118 gm for a standard 100mm unit. Total = 311 grams. These are comparable in design and performance, but together cost considerably more than the Stealth usually does, at least at my LBS.

The Pro Stealth weighs 350 grams according to the manufacturer, whether that's correct or not I don't know. But a difference of 40 gms is hardly worth grumbling about, especially when you are possibly gaining stiffness from the monocoque construction over the separate bar and stem?

I considered both these options, but picked the bar/stem from 3T so I could fiddle with the position and angles of bars and stuff, which you can't do with the Stealth.

But it sure looks good!

desweller

Bargain.

There is a long thread about these somewhere.

dombo6

stevenb wrote:

I have Easton EC90 equipe SLX ergo bars at 195g.
They are very good and are offer at £90 from CRC at the mo...I paid £108 from CRC a few months back.
The comfort is excellent and road buzz is absorbed noticably more than when I had my Felt alloy handlebar...so yes, carbon bars do work.

Just like carbon stems, some are lighter than alloy and vice versa.
I run the ec90 bars with an EA90 alloy stem and it's a great set up for me.
Then again I'm 66kgs so I may not feel the bumps quite the same.

I totally agree. I'm about the same weight, 65kgs, and just bought these for my steel/carbon Lemond, coupled them with an Easton EC70 carbon stem. Tape is Fizik microtex so no Specialized Bar Phat pipe lagging to deaden the bumps.

The absorption of road buzz was incredible - felt like a new bike. These replaced Ritchey Pro Logic bars, themselves a quality alloy bar.

At the price CRC are offering them, ie £90, they are an absolute steal and worth every penny. Sadly the red carbon is taped over but still manages to peek cheekily through the perforations in the black tape. They may however seem slightly flexy to heavier, stronger riders, but as I'm built more for climbing than sprinting that's not an issue for me.

As for longevity, my Easton carbon riser bars on my mtb are 7 years old and still going strong.

Squillinossett

DesWeller wrote:

Bargain.

There is a long thread about these somewhere.

I have thse bars for sale, as I bought them and dont fit my hands!

If you fancy them let me know as I will pop them in the post for £35.

AidanR

44 or 46?

CarbonCopy

Wheelspinner
How cheap is cheap for those Evo Stealth bars?.I`m sure i`ve read the actual real weight of them is closer to 420 grams.Which is quite heavy really.

I wonder how the FSA equivalent fairs up in the weight and price bracket against the Evo Stealth?.

blorg

For what it's worth FSA is pretty notorious for lying about the weight of their components. Have a new pair of FSA bars, must weigh them before I stick them on the bike.