Carbon bars - worth it?

2poc

So i'm in the process of giving my summer bike some love. I'm looking a new bars/stem/tape etc.

Question is i've seen some lovely Easton EC70SL carbon bars for £99 and am unsure how much of an upgrade they are over a decent set (say Deda RM02 at £25) of alloy bars. Obviously there's a slight weight saving and the bling factor but are they really worth it? I'm assuming they'll be slightly more comfortable with the carbon minimizing road buzz. On the flip side i'm guessing that if i take a tumble the bars are likely only good for the bin.

Decisions, decision - would welcome any comments from folk who have ridden both alloy and carbon bars and if you thinks its a worthwhile investment.

cougie

Are you sure there's a weight saving ? I've seen carbon bars heavier than their alloy equivalents.

As to bling - well if you tape them up - you cant see anyway.

As you say - bars are consumables - they always take an impact in a fall - I'd go for alloy over carbon for them.

2poc

Weight saving of roughly 100g if you believe the manufacturers.

Point taken re: taping them up

Think I'm leaning towards alloy unless someone comes along and tells me carbon bars are the best thing since sliced bread.

Grill

My alu bars are lighter, stiffer, cheaper and won't take me out of commission if I crash. So no, they're not worth it.

p9i

I have changed from alu to carbon bars. In my opinion, you get (in addition to saving a little weight) much better comfort from carbon bars. I did have an aluminium fork, so maybe the effect would be less if I had a carbon fork, but it was a very significant change in comfort (from being broken on longer rides in the body (shoulder, neck), I now only feel my legs and feet hurting).

In conclusion: I believe buying carbon bars was the best upgrade for my bike in a long time.

BillyMansell

2POC wrote:

Weight saving of roughly 100g if you believe the manufacturers.

Point taken re: taping them up

Think I'm leaning towards alloy unless someone comes along and tells me carbon bars are the best thing since sliced bread.

Carbon bars are the best thing since sliced bread.

There you go, that was easy.

Bozman

I've got carbon bars on a couple of bikes and there is a weight saving(60grms :roll: ) and......................that's about it, if you've got an alloy bike it may take a bit of road buzz away which I notice on my winter bike, but there really isn't much difference apart from the price and £100+ is a lot to pay for a 60grm saving.

If you've got the cash and you like the bars, buy them.

trek_dan

They do take away a little road buzz IMO. I'm sure my Deda Presa bars are near enough 100gms lighter than the RM02 on my other bike, they were 4 times the cost though! If you're doing a weight weenie build £75 for 100gms is actually quite cost effective compared to other ways to save weight.

sloppyschleckonds

Carbon bars are probably as worthwhile as carbon forks and carbon frames.

bernithebiker

They are warmer to hold in the winter.

bendertherobot

I'm not keen on sliced bread frankly. I'd much rather slice my own.

t4tomo

A double layer of bar tape will reduce road buzz more than carbon bars for about £8.

dennisn

As far as I'm concerned carbon bars DO reduce "buzz and vibration". I'm not going back to alloy.

negativelycra

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Carbon bars are probably as worthwhile as carbon forks and carbon frames.

Totes necessary, then?

bendertherobot

Negativelycra wrote:

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Carbon bars are probably as worthwhile as carbon forks and carbon frames.

Totes necessary, then?

Ask the Madison Genesis team.

cycleclinic

The alloy bars about are the Deda 215 26.0mm at 230g (O.K there may be lighter) but the deda are not that stiff neither will be lighter alloy bars. Good carbon bars will 200g or a bit less and stiff. That is the difference. Alloy bars will need to be in the 250g + range to feels as stiff. So 50-60g weight saving is probably not worth it as such but if all thought like that then we would all still be riding steel 531 frame with single pivot brakes, down tube shifters and 2x6 drive trains using freewheels. Oh wait I still ride a bike like that but mine alloy Alan.

kajjal

t4tomo wrote:

A double layer of bar tape will reduce road buzz more than carbon bars for about £8.

You'll be suggesting for most riders expensive wheels are a waste of money next

bucks

a carbon bar and stem are never worth the hassle in my opinion.

t4tomo

Kajjal wrote:

t4tomo wrote:

A double layer of bar tape will reduce road buzz more than carbon bars for about £8.

You'll be suggesting for most riders expensive wheels are a waste of money next

Yes because reduced friction in your hubs and lower rotational weight without losing stiffness wouldn't be worthwhile would it

dennisn

bucks wrote:

a carbon bar and stem are never worth the hassle in my opinion.

Some years back I had 3 vertebrae in my neck fused together. This doesn't help when you're trying to see who or what is coming up behind you. I could and can still turn my head but not enough to suit me from a safety standpoint. So I bought one of those "end of handlebar" rear view mirrors. It was barely OK, because it vibrated a lot and I didn't always get a clear idea of the road behind me. So I simply dealt with it for a number of years. Then one day I decided to buy a carbon bar to get a little extra comfort by having a flatter top surface to rest my hands on. Long story short, the flat top surface is vaguely, slightly more comfortable than my old round bars(alloy), BUT an added bonus of this switch was that the mirror is now rock solid and doesn't vibrate at all. Hell of a price to pay to get a mirror to work but........

2poc

So it sounds like alloy to me

markhewitt1978

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Carbon bars are probably as worthwhile as carbon forks and carbon frames.

So completely worthwhile or not worth it at all?

StillGoing

2POC wrote:

So it sounds like alloy to me

How so? Carbon bars are more expensive. But, they don't disintegrate in a crash and will stand up to an off perfectly well. They do provide more comfort from road buzz/vibration and depending on what make you buy, they don't have to be wrapped beyond the shifters in some cases. I have FSA Plasma carbon integrated bars on one bike and FSA K-Wing bars on the other. Both have a flat top which I find far more comfortable than rounded bars and the integrated cabling provides a neat finish. The K-Wings are wrapped to the shifters to show as much of the bar off as possible.

cougie

Don't get carbon if you ever think you might have a hankering for adding a tri bar to that bike.

andyrr

Some carbon bars ARE tri-bar compatible, eg Ritchey Superlogic carbon bars.

2poc

So lets just be done woth it. These:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/3t-ergonova-pro ... handlebar/

Or these:

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/r ... -bars.html

Or something else?

bendertherobot

Personally I find Ritchey Evo Curve the best, nice flat top.

Now, if you DO want them in carbon and if you want narrow ones, then this is an outstanding price

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ritc ... prod109429

2poc

They look lovely but I need a 42 :-(

kajjal

t4tomo wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

t4tomo wrote:

A double layer of bar tape will reduce road buzz more than carbon bars for about £8.

You'll be suggesting for most riders expensive wheels are a waste of money next

Yes because reduced friction in your hubs and lower rotational weight without losing stiffness wouldn't be worthwhile would it

For riders as slow as me it wouldn't make much difference

bendertherobot

They are a 42!!!

2poc

42s out of stock - shame