Would you use these bars?

daveb99

Recently bought some well priced carbon handlebars (3T Ergosum Ltd) on here.

They arrived today and are in great condition, don't look damaged at all. But there's one thing that is bugging me a bit. There are some quite noticeable indentations where it looks like the stem bolts have been overtightened a little, and the contact points with the stem have therefore compressed the carbon very slightly. We are talking about a small amount, less than 0.5mm for sure. There don't appear to be any cracks - just indentations, but clearly it is a risk. When I press hard on the area, it doesn't 'give' in any way, it is firm.

So the question is, are they safe to use? Is this quite common with carbon bars if the stem bolts are slightly over-torqued, and am I therefore worrying about nothing? I suspect the wall thickness of the carbon is thicker in that area anyway for this very reason.

The seller didn't use them on his bike, as they came on a bike he bought and were too wide for him, and we tried to contact the original owner (also on here) before I bought them just to confirm whether they had ever seen any damage/crashes and he didn't respond unfortunately, so I decided to buy them anyway as the price was good.

Opinions/thoughts/experiences would be welcome - photos in link below. The 2nd and 3rd photos make it look like a small crack but I don't believe it is, it appears to be merely an indentation.

https://m.imgur.com/a/1rM1I

daveb99

Hmmm. After doing a bit of googling it seems the safe thing to do may be to not use them. I've also looked at photos of other used ones, no indentations visible.

On these, the clamping area is fairly churned up as you can see in the photos.

I've now contacted the seller and will most likely be sending them back to him unfortunately - unless a whole load of replies convince me otherwise...

Garry H

Has he agreed to refund you?

daveb99

Garry H wrote:

Has he agreed to refund you?

He hasn't read my message yet, but I can't see there will be a problem.

cougie

Bars are consumables. Carbon isn't necessary.

vinnymarsden

Personally, speaking from experience...if you over-torque carbon bars etc..you will crush the fibres.. cracks/splits might not be visible...but left with the left hand "bar" in my hand, waving freely that is exactly what i did..so , personally a refund would be my choice if its on.....I learned my lesson, and now with 3T aeronovas only torque up to 5 at most

diamonddog

I wouldn't ride with that damage, get a refund and spend it on some good alloy bars.

Garry H

Yep, just get the alu ergosums

keef66

And there was me thinking it looked like superficial damage to the paint....

But it's ultimately your decision since if they break it's your face that's hitting the road.

fat daddy

hmmm, I fnd the pictures quite disturbing .... I would have happily ridden that :oops:

imposter2.0

fat daddy wrote:

hmmm, I fnd the pictures quite disturbing .... I would have happily ridden that :oops:

As the marks were made while being fitted/clamped, it's fair to assume that someone obviously did ride that. Two things to say - firstly, I don't see any damage there that looks remotely concerning. Secondly (and somewhat contradictory), I wouldn't ride carbon bars anyway - new or otherwise.

slowbike

I do ride carbon bars - only because that's what came with the bike - I wouldn't go out especially .. TBH I don't notice any difference between carbon and alloy bars (so why bother?)

As to the integrity of these bars - that would depend on the carbon layup - I'd guess (and it's only a guess) that the clamping area is laid up thicker than the rest of the tube and the small indentations you can see is probably not affecting it structuraly - but people can get all prissy about carbon and the slightest blemish - perfectly understandable when you're protected by nothing more than a couple of mm of lycra and travelling >30mph.

bianchimoon

I rode an over pinched set of chineses carbon bars for 5 years, checked them regularly for any creep on the pinch area, they stayed fine. Biggest problem is thinking too much about it, there are some people who just wouldn't and some who just would.

daveb99

Thanks for the replies. Seems there is a mixed opinion about it but I'm inclined to err on the side of caution. I will be asking for a refund.

Ultimately then, if I send them back I have three choices. I'm hoping to start the bike build tomorrow (Scott CR1 SL) so it would be good to try and decide:

For carbon - I can get the 3T Ergonova Team bars for £100, which is a decent price and at least matches my recently acquired 3T Doric Team carbon seatpost and Arx II stem (both brand new). They feature a red stripe which I think would be just about OK with the grey/silver of the CR1 frame. I've already bought red/black/white Elite Custom a race cages in readiness (might even grow some balls and go with red bar tape....)

Ally - I could get the Ergonova Pro bars for £40, which is at least the same brand...

Ally (cheapest option) - sell/return the 3T seatpost and stem, and simply fit my Ritchey WCS bars, stem and seatpost from my old bike.

So a couple of questions here - are the 3T carbon bars really worth the extra £60, and will I really notice a difference between my Ritchey WCS ally seatpost and the 3T Doric carbon one....?

In other words, from the total prices I paid/can buy the bars for:

£170 for the 3T carbon post, bars and ally stem
£110 for the above but with the 3T ally bars
£0 for my Ritchey stuff (guess I could sell this to reduce the £170 a bit too..)

So the main driver here is the seatpost......carbon or ally? A question that has been asked precisely 28,564,322 times I'm sure....

diamonddog

I have alu Ritchie's bars and stem on two bikes, excellent kit. I doubt you would notice a difference between them and the 3T stuff, I certainly don't notice any difference between the alloy and carbon seat posts on my bikes.

daveb99

Thanks again for the replies. The seller has now refunded me, and I'm going to fit my Ritchey WCS alu bars/stem/seatpost for now....

I'd be interested to hear people's views on whether they have really noticed a reduction in vibration/road buzz with carbon seat posts or bars. There is so much conflicting info and opinion out there it's crazy. If it's genuinely worth it then I will retain my 3T Doric carbon seatpost and matching stem, and look out for another carbon handlebar to match at some point.

imposter2.0

daveb99 wrote:

I'd be interested to hear people's views on whether they have really noticed a reduction in vibration/road buzz with carbon seat posts or bars. There is so much conflicting info and opinion out there it's crazy.

Most of those who claim that carbon reduces road buzz are suffering from a combination of post-purchase justification and confirmation bias, if that helps.

fat daddy

no .... I went to full carbon on my fast road bike and it made no difference from Alu .... well other than the shape is more preferable and the weight is awesome .. but its no smoother

itboffin

Carbon bars or stem are a no no for me, what if you crash wouldnt they just splinter?

mr_evil

daveb99 wrote:

...I'd be interested to hear people's views on whether they have really noticed a reduction in vibration/road buzz with carbon seat posts or bars...

For handlebars, it depends. I have one carbon integrated bar/stem that are much more flexy than aluminium bars, and they make a noticable difference. I have another handlebar that is much stiffer, and basically feels no different to normal aluminium bars.

For seatposts, I have never noticed any difference between materials.

sungod

design makes a huge difference, it's not simply the material

a fizik cyrano cf post has about as much give as a piece of scaffolding pole, it rides no different to the alloy one

the ax lightness daedalus on the other hand is distinctly kinder on poor surfaces

same with bars, or frames for that matter

itboffin wrote:

Carbon bars or stem are a no no for me, what if you crash wouldnt they just splinter?

just like cf frames, forks, rims etc.

dennisn

Imposter wrote:

daveb99 wrote:

I'd be interested to hear people's views on whether they have really noticed a reduction in vibration/road buzz with carbon seat posts or bars. There is so much conflicting info and opinion out there it's crazy.

Most of those who claim that carbon reduces road buzz are suffering from a combination of post-purchase justification and confirmation bias, if that helps.

I switched from alloy to Ritchey WCS Carbon. I use a bar end mirror because it's hard for me to twist my neck(fusion). With the alloy bar it vibrated badly enough to be almost unusable. With carbon bar it's clear as a bell. Vast improvement. Don't know that I feel any difference in my hands but that mirror is steady as can be. Same bike, same everything but bars.

daveb99

Cheers for all the help. Finished the bike build today and I've opted for my Ritchey WCS bars, stem, and seatpost.

I've done a 20 miler on it this afternoon and I certainly didn't notice any obvious road buzz through the bars or saddle.

Cracking piece of kit, the CR1. Very smooth ride indeed and plenty of stiffness when you want it.