Handlebar/stem buying advice

kilou

Hi,

sorry guys, I'm not a real cyclist, I'm riding an e-bike or what is called a Speed-pedelec (up to 45km/h assistance) :oops:

My bike is this one:
http://www.stevensbikes.de/2013/index.php?bik_id=162&cou=IE&lang=en_US

I got it in 2013 and I've ridden 15'000km so far. I'm really happy with it but starts to think I should replace my handlebar/stem which are made of aluminium to avoid any risk of failure due to metal fatigue. Indeed with those e-bike the mileage increases very rapidly and I use my bike everyday to commute.

According to the specifications, the stock handlebar and stem are:

- handlebar: Oxygen Scorpo Low Rise 20 mm, 66 cm (clamp size 31.8mm)
- stem: Oxygen Scorpo, 31.8mm clamp, 6°, stainless bolts

I'd like to renew these with something similar. Those original parts are really difficult to source and getting these from the dealer is likely very expensive. Would you have some recommendations about replacement parts that could be suitable? The critical point for me is safety and then only price! I really don't care about weight. I use the bike on the road and make no jump with it. However my average speed is around 36-37 km/h and I always ride up to 45km/h on the flat. So I need something that can cope with those speeds, especially when hitting some small bumps or eventually potholes without the bar breaking. Probably that something made for MTB or downhill would be a safe bet. The bar probably needs to be made of aluminium as I read it's not got to mix steel with aluminium (but if I use a stem in steel is it ok to use a steel bar then even if my frame is aluminium??).

Are there some brands that are known for making good, safe and reliable handlebars/stems in aluminium out there? Does it make sense to get a stem and handlebar from the same manufacturer?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

StorckSpeed

My initial thoughts are that you are making this far more complicated than it needs to be.
You'll need to know the width of your current handlebars (I'm assuming 66cm) and the rough shape.
You'll also need to know the length of the Stem, centre to centre. Then the reach will still feel the same once the new kit is fitted. No manufacturer makes unsafe bars or stems (provided you buy it from a reputable cycle shop and not ebay), as these need to stand up to a lot of punishment. It's ok to mix and match kit (though some people would shoot me for saying that). Easton, 3T and Deda are 3 brands that spring to mind that make good kit with lots of choices. Remember the Holy grail, Price - Weight - Strength, pick 2. Cheap bars might be strong but they'll be heavy. The more expensive the bar and stem the lighter it will be.

supersonic

Thing is you could further extend that logic with aluminium - time to replace frame, rims, seatpost and so on too? I imagine the bars and stem will be fine, they are not seeing anywhere near the abuse a DH bike will see.

But if you must replace, the above advice is good. Truvativ make some decently priced, and strong bars.

kilou

Thanks for your input and the brand suggestions. Actually I didn't even think about replacing the handlebar/stem in my bike before reading stories about catastrophic failures of those parts due to metal fatigue, and this was not on downhill races. Then I came across a few people recommending to renew those parts after 2-3 years (they were not bike parts dealers). Finally I also read that some handlebar manufacturers such as Ritchey recommend to look at the parts carefully after 3 years and consider replacing them.

If this is recommended on a regular MTB I figured out it would be safer to do it on my ebike too because MTB hardly ride 15000km in 2.5 years (I guess). To be honest I also thought about the frame too but its not really replaceable as a handlebar. But I would not trust my frame after 40-50000km probably. That may not be reasonable but all those metal fatigue stories are kind of scary and crashing at 45km/h on the road with cars around means most likely that you're toasted!

Do you know the brand Ritchey? For example would their low rizer bar be adequate for the application? It is slightly larger at 710mm (mine is 660mm) but it is 380g heavy, which is heavier than many other bars and for me it means that it should be strong...

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/ritchey-comp-low-rizer-handlebar-420466

supersonic

Ritchey make a lot of good kit, from the medium range, right up to top end carbon fibre units. I'd say an average priced 700mm bar for xc/trails weighs about 275g - 380g is certainly more than normal, but as the bar is butted it should have the weight in the right places. Is a good price too.

rockmonkeysc

There has to be some pretty severe dynamic loadings or stress points like sharp corners for fatigue to happen.
I have recently started working in the automotive industry and we do fatigue tests over several million cycles simulating hundreds of thousands of extreme use miles and fatigue failures are still rare and never in anything which will see loads as low as bicycle handle bars or stems.