Carbon bars and stem - advice needed

ashleymp777

I'm due to take delivery of my new road bike anytime soon but I want to upgrade the stem and bars that it'll come with. Question is, is with what manufacture? Ritchey seem to be the most popular choice but is there something else I should consider?

Budget wise I don't want to go mental.

Any help gratefully appreciated!

Monty Dog

You won't go wrong with Ritchey, FSA, Deda, Easton, 3T, Pro- all reputable makes. TBH there's not much difference between them and I'd base your choice on your preference of bar shape and even down to aesthetics i.e. co-ordinate with your frame. Also its quite difficult to justify the price premium for carbon bars - IME aluminium bars are just as light and still and cost a third of the price - bear this in mind if you're planning on racing.

cougie

+1 with MD there.

Bugger all point in using carbon for a stem. As to bars - Personally I wouldnt either - v little difference in weight and the replacement cost is far higher than alu.

Some people swear by their ultra stiff carbon bars. Some people swear it takes the buzz out of the road. I doubt I'd notice.

motdoc

You wont get a bar like that in ali.
They are swweeeet.
Agree about stem, pointless to get a carbon TBH.

Berk Bonebonce

I've always bought 3T aluminium.

Personally, I wouldn't rush out and buy new bars and stem. Get a feel for the bars and stem that your bike comes with, because you might decide to go for bars of a different width or with a different bend, just like you might decide to go for a different length stem.

waterford45

I have specialized fact sl carbon bars and like them. they are flat on the top and comfortable on the drops. on rough road surfaces they are more comfortable compared to a similar shape itm bar i was using, so as far as I'm concerned they are worth it. lbs, who i didn't buy them from, incidentally, advised having the bars and stem from same manafacturer.

wildmoustache

Carbon bars come in shapes you can't get with alloy and have a far nicer feel IME ... ie. a non-metallic feel. This makes a big difference to the riding experience IMO. Can also save a smallish amount of weight.

Obviously you pay more this. Depends on preferences and budget.

sherer

I must admit I do like the look of some of the FSA carbon bars and stems but not sure if they are the lightest out there or if they are worth it performance wise

wildmoustache

LoL at the weight concern.

It's nice to build a light bike of course. And if you're doing a project superlight bike then FSA is wholly inappropriate for sure.

Weight impresses the noob and non-cyclist no end ... we've all seen countless noobs fumbling around Evans picking up anything that moves and "weighing" it in their arms.

But remember that rider plus bike and gear might typically weight 80,000g - 90,000g and we're talking here about 30 or 40g either way?

Wouldn't comfort be more important to performance?

clx1

If you have your heart set on carbon bars and stem you probably won't want to hear this. I have two bikes, an Enigma Echo and a Colnago CLX, they both have pretty good spec. Campag groups and Zipp wheels.
One of them has FSA Carbon bars and Stem(£350) the other has FSA Alloy Bars and stem(£165).
There is absolutely no benefit from having the carbon, I've tried to convince myself that the carbon irons out some of the road bumps but I know I am just kidding myself. My dream bike is a Colnago C59, Campag Super Record and Zipp 404 wheels, If I ever get to build such a machine I definitely won't be wasting precious funds on carbon bars and stem.

wildmoustache

CLX1 wrote:

If you have your heart set on carbon bars and stem you probably won't want to hear this. I have two bikes, an Enigma Echo and a Colnago CLX, they both have pretty good spec. Campag groups and Zipp wheels.
One of them has FSA Carbon bars and Stem(£350) the other has FSA Alloy Bars and stem(£165).
There is absolutely no benefit from having the carbon, I've tried to convince myself that the carbon irons out some of the road bumps but I know I am just kidding myself. My dream bike is a Colnago C59, Campag Super Record and Zipp 404 wheels, If I ever get to build such a machine I definitely won't be wasting precious funds on carbon bars and stem.

You could equally say there is absolutely no benefit to a C59 over other high end but much cheaper frames.

As I've set out above, there is a benefit to carbon bars if you prefer the feel of them over the metallic feel that alloy gives. Contact points mean comfort which is important.

rolf_f

wildmoustache wrote:

As I've set out above, there is a benefit to carbon bars if you prefer the feel of them over the metallic feel that alloy gives. Contact points mean comfort which is important.

wildmoustache

Rolf F wrote:

wildmoustache wrote:

As I've set out above, there is a benefit to carbon bars if you prefer the feel of them over the metallic feel that alloy gives. Contact points mean comfort which is important.

Bartape ... yes it's good stuff. Though like many I don't apply it that far beyond the bend in the bar as I like having different textures to grip onto and like having a narrower section (without tape) down the middle for gripping while climbing. Plus carbon bars come with a wider variety of different shapes of tops to suit different tastes ... why cover that in tape?

So, to repeat again ...

rolf_f

wildmoustache wrote:

So, to repeat again ...

Yes, indeed - to repeat again. Contact points mean comfort (applies irrespective of shape) which is important. So get them covered up with a bit of bar tape like most folk do.

As a matter of interest, why don't you put the bar tape on the top of the bars and leave the drop section uncovered?

rake

gel pads solve any comfort problems. plus if you wanted to you could bind something under he tape to achieve any shape of grip you require.

clx1

wildmoustache wrote:

CLX1 wrote:

If you have your heart set on carbon bars and stem you probably won't want to hear this. I have two bikes, an Enigma Echo and a Colnago CLX, they both have pretty good spec. Campag groups and Zipp wheels.
One of them has FSA Carbon bars and Stem(£350) the other has FSA Alloy Bars and stem(£165).
There is absolutely no benefit from having the carbon, I've tried to convince myself that the carbon irons out some of the road bumps but I know I am just kidding myself. My dream bike is a Colnago C59, Campag Super Record and Zipp 404 wheels, If I ever get to build such a machine I definitely won't be wasting precious funds on carbon bars and stem.

You could equally say there is absolutely no benefit to a C59 over other high end but much cheaper frames.

As I've set out above, there is a benefit to carbon bars if you prefer the feel of them over the metallic feel that alloy gives. Contact points mean comfort which is important.

You are quite right about the C59, although I think that you are buying a legendary brand which is likely to hold it's value better than most mainstream brands. I bought the carbon bars and stem for the bling effect and because I liked the shape of the bars, I don't regret it but in my opinion they are no better in performance terms than the alloy equivalent.

ride_whenever

the best thing about carbon bars is that they feel silghtly warmer, which is a massive boon in such unpleasant climes.

cougie

I guess if you tape the carbon bars all the way - then you cant see the pretty carbon that youve paid all the extra dosh for.

For me - bars are consumables anyway - so alloy is fine.

I'd be surprised if there was a difference in temperature between an alloy bar and a carbon bar - assuming the alloy was wrapped. And would anyone ride their carbon bars in THIS kind of weather anyway ? I cant even get my bike down the drive its so icy - let alone out for a ride.