Would carbon bars take the sting out of my alu frame?

rodgers73

I did a long distance ride lately and, despite shifting my hands around a lot as I went, I ended up with sore palms. I have an alu framed bike (Spesh Secteur Sport) and the bars are alu/alloy.

Would changing to carbon bars help my sore hands by taking some of the sting out of riding or is the answer something else entirely? (Gloves? Riding position?)

pinarellokid

gloves are a must,, take it from there

snoopsmydogg

Might be worth trying different bar tape too

cougie

Bars too low ?
Tyres too hard or too narrow ?

andy_wrx

Carbon bars could be even more rigid and buzzy than alloy.

Depending how the carbon is laid-up and the bar is constructed, it could be more/less stiff, more/less vibration-damping, than a differently made bar.
Similarly, bars made of different grades of alloy are different.

rodgers73

Looks like there's no quick fix then!

SenseiSpud

As said, gloves are a must. I also recently got the specialized bar phat gel pads to go under the tape, made a big difference to me. Still have to shake my left hand out now and then, but a big help overall.

ugo.santalucia

no they won't

smidsy

I found a carbon seat post and double taping the bars made mine more comfortable.

SenseiSpud

smidsy wrote:

I found a carbon seat post and double taping the bars made mine more comfortable.

Yeah, I changed to a carbon seat post a couple of months ago. Was pleasantly surprised at the difference it made.

rodgers73

Any reccommendations for good seat post then?

snoopsmydogg

might be a bit of a numpty question but how can a carbon seat post help with numb hands?

OP why not try adjusting your setup slightly? flip/raise the stem, possibly move your seat forward a little before spending on what you might not even need.

SenseiSpud

snoopsmydogg wrote:

might be a bit of a numpty question but how can a carbon seat post help with numb hands?

It won't, lol. Just comfort in general.

ads2k

I've got all Syntace stuff on my Cube. Changed the seatpost to a P6 Carbon Hi-Flex and the bars to Racelite Carbon CDR's and has made a world of difference in my option.

Wrapped the bars with Fizik gel pads and tape while I had the opportunity as well, so quite a few changes from standard really but looks great and feels nice to boot.

Bars.

http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=1831

Stem

http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=1693

Seatpost

http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=2033

Not cheap, but had to be done , as a bonus this month's Cycling Plus puts the bars and stem as 5star...

thescouselander

I dont think equipment is the answer here - I reckon its more to do with riding position.

desweller

thescouselander wrote:

I dont think equipment is the answer here - I reckon its more to do with riding position.

I'd agree with this.

Pay a visit to a reputable fitter. If your position is wrong then no amount of new parts will solve it.

Monty Dog

Carbon bars - no, most are stiffer than aluminium. The big comfort improvement will be by fitting the fattest tyres that fit your frame and don't pump them up to maximum - 6 bar is often enough. Gel bar tape and decent gloves can help too.

the_jackalcp

I'm going to buck the trend and say that carbon bars could make a difference. Please note the word "could" as opposed to "will". I have recently been experimenting with different bars and can tell a big difference between the alloy bars I have tried and the carbon bars I now have. I was not suffering any problems however I feel there is a palpable difference in the harshness of the ride. I used to use Specialized bar phat on my alloy and old carbon bars, now it's just cheap Easton bar tape. Maybe I have a set of bars that are perfectly suited to me or just struck it lucky with a comfortable bar.

Maybe carbon bars will help but I would certainly suggest a quality bike fit, gloves, bar phat etc first. As others have also stated some carbon bars will certainly not add any comfort factor at all.

pauldog

rodgers73 wrote:

I did a long distance ride lately and, despite shifting my hands around a lot as I went, I ended up with sore palms. I have an alu framed bike (Spesh Secteur Sport) and the bars are alu/alloy.

Would changing to carbon bars help my sore hands by taking some of the sting out of riding or is the answer something else entirely? (Gloves? Riding position?)

I also have an ali frame, trek 2.1. I changed the seat post to a carbon one and put a new set of bars (3T eurgosum alloy version and some fizik bar tape ) and they work a treat.

ethanhayes

thescouselander wrote:

I dont think equipment is the answer here - I reckon its more to do with riding position.

Inclined to agree.
My bike is buzzy, had a reputation for being uncomfy and stiffer than a teenager with a maxpower mag.
Never had any problem with hands/arms hurting!

Get some decent gloves and take it from there though.