What is a good amount to spend on handlebars?

SEBZxELITE

Like the title says, what is a good amount of money to spend on handlebars?

I see a lot of cheap handlebars under $30 and they look good too - should I avoid them?

Or does it not matter :?:

chrisrobs

Guess it depends on the amount you have to spend really. What type of bar are you looking for? xc, am, dh?

Angus Young

What bike are they going on. £130 worth of bar might make sense of a 7K bike but be mental on a £300 bike. I got a Crank Brothers Cobalt for £12 in a sale for my full rigid banger and that works great. I put a carbon Nukeproof on my Kona and that works great there.

SEBZxELITE

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19711588#p19711588]chrisrobs[/url] wrote:

Guess it depends on the amount you have to spend really. What type of bar are you looking for? xc, am, dh?

Its a £400 bike, Rockrider 540.

I was looking into getting some wider handlebars - probably XC. The stock ones are only 640mm and I've been riding BMX for a few years now. Every time I ride my friends carrera vengeance i feel really cramped and off balance.

Im gonna ride the bike for a week or so before i make a decision whether i should upgrade or not, but really dont know how much to spend. I dont want it to be a downgrade. Preferably id like to reduce the weight of the bike but not make it fragile. I hear carbon is not for beginners and cracks really easily from even slight drops.

I will most likely get a 700mm or 720mm, but im not sure what material, price and brank

:?: :?: :?:

cooldad

You heard wrong.

rockmonkeysc

Good carbon can be stronger than aluminium. It can also reduce vibration transferred to your hands.
Carbon bars are strong enough for downhill and easily take multiple big crashes.
Beginners usually fall off a lot but at fairly low speed.

SEBZxELITE

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19711836#p19711836]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

Good carbon can be stronger than aluminium. It can also reduce vibration transferred to your hands.
Carbon bars are strong enough for downhill and easily take multiple big crashes.
Beginners usually fall off a lot but at fairly low speed.

How much would "good carbon" cost, could you please suggest a good handlebar thats 720-740mm wide

Id rather spend under £40, but I can awlays wait with the upgrades :l

The Rookie

Check out exotic carbon for decent priced bars, or look at the usual suspects for offers, or just buy off eBay either used or direct from China.

JodyP

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19712248#p19712248]The Rookie[/url] wrote:

Check out exotic carbon for decent priced bars, or look at the usual suspects for offers, or just buy off eBay either used or direct from China.

I have just had a look on Ebay for whats on offer. Carbon bars seem to be very cheap but are they any good? Has anyone suffered a bar snapping?

Mattharrier

I have a Rockrider 8.0, aqnd the stock bar was 640 on that. I've swapped mine to a 680mm bar and it makes a difference, but the bar itself is nothing special, it was actually the stock bar on a friend's Giant that he gave me. On a bike like yours, spending tons on a bar isn't going to be the best bang for your buck, but swapping it for a wider one will definitely pay dividends. Ebay is probably your best bet.

Giraffoto

Answer make some nice aluminium bars and you can often find them at a reasonable price.

rockmonkeysc

I found some Easton Haven carbon bars in the sales last year for £35.
I have never heard of a carbon bar snapping.

Giraffoto

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19712757#p19712757]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

I found some Easton Haven carbon bars in the sales last year for £35.
I have never heard of a carbon bar snapping.

(1) That's amazingly cheap

(2) I have! There was someone on here a couple of years ago who'd ridden full speed into a gap (in a wall, I think) that wasn't quite wide enough, and it broke his bar. But if a bar is specced for Downhill, it'll take anything I'll ever do with it.

The Rookie

I've seen broken CF and Al, mostly through 'abuse' (crashing hard), there was a court case due to an AL failing due to a poor machining operation (importer succesfully sued and had to pay up).

JodyP

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19712757#p19712757]RockmonkeySC[/url] wrote:

I have never heard of a carbon bar snapping.

There was a video on a local Facebook group of a lad doing a 180 in a car park. Only a foot or so off the ground but when he came down the bar snapped. I was wondering how common it is and especially if entrusting your health/teeth to them holding up.

The Rookie

Depends on the bars history as well - they could be badly damaged in a crash and fail some time later.....plus it always amazes me how many components fail when being videod, not suggesting they are all sabotaged to fail always, but I'm sure a lot are!

VWsurfbum

I got a set of these on my Fatty, very comfy and so far have taken a lot of abuse. £50 is a bargain for a decent carbon bar.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/HBOOKNUCK/on-one-knuckleball-handlebar