antchen

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves These were shipped to me brand new ..


Mod Edited out the pic.

Torchy McFlux

Were they on sale? Looks like a factory second.
Maybe contact ITM and see what they have to say.

slvoid

Holy big picture batman!

Novakane 

Seriously. What the heck am I looking at? I've got a 21" screen and I still can't see most of it at once. Nice resolution on your camera though...

jaxgtr

I edited out the pic. You really need to adjust the picture size and then you can repost.

Sallad

yeah those pictures were a little big, but they have to be fake itm parts or something, no way that gets by quality control!!!

j0e_bik3

I don't understand, how does that extra "flash" on the inside of the tube affect the CF's integrity?

or am I not seeing what the trouble is?

antchen

Extra flash ? I'm not sure what you're talking about ..

Are you talking about the carbon fiber strands that are frayed in the handlebar ends? Or are you talking about the strange adhesive-looking-like brown strip that clearly isn't 'adhesing' to anything?

If you look carefully, the handlebar ends aren't even round. They're oval shaped

Torchy McFlux

No, that's it.
It's not an integrity problem, I think. But it's a cosmetic problem that may affect the installation of bar plugs. That's why I suggested that it might be a factory second. Hope it was a good deal.

cudak888 

I think what the OP is trying to say is that the bonding material and fiber strands did not melt/bond together (have no idea how CF is cast, if it is even cast, for that matter).

No bond between these two materials, I would assume no strength in the bars. Nothing to say that the rest of the bar inside isn't the same, for that matter.

-Kurt

PDXJeff

Probably a second, but, it's not just Louis Vuitton handbags...

https://www.pbs.org/illicit/
(Excellent National Geo. special about counterfeit goods on PBS - just aired)

Torchy McFlux

A "second" isn't a counterfeit. It's a product that has a cosmetic defect or was repaired by the manufacturer to make it "like new". Some companies will get rid of them by selling at discount prices to people in countries overseas where their products don't have much market share.

antchen

I think that he was trying to hint that it may be a second or it may be a fake.

PDXJeff

I meant, yeah, I agree that it is probably a second. Just that it's possible that it's a knock off. Or not.

antchen

So you guys think that this is only a cosmetic defect? I think that the brown adhesive like stuff worries me the most. I haven't tried looking deeper in to the bars but it seems like the fibers in the handlebar ends just weren't wrapped or heated properly. I could take a dremel or whatever and clean out the fibers but I find it strange how the ends are oval shaped and even more strange the brown tape like thing is sort of curled up or hanging there.

Quijibo187

where did you order it from? That really doesn't look right.

urodacus

the brown tape like thing is probably the remains of the plastic bag around which the bar was built. many bars have some of the bag left inside if you check carefully. pressurising the bag forces the carbon weave better into the mould as its baked.

agreed, the shape is not as round as it could be.

HillRider

These look like the bonding resin wasn't distribute evenly and the at ends we can see it looks like the carbon cloth was resin starved. Who knows what's deeper inside where we can't see.

If these were mine, they'd go back to the supplier immediately or I'd suck it up and replace them. I would not install them. Handlebars are one place you NEVER want to take any chances. Carbon bars are a marginal use of the material at best so there is very little room for compromise.

GlassWolf

CF comes in sheets about the thickness of a sheet of paper. it's pressed into a mold or form, painted over with a one or two-part epoxy, then another sheet is laid over top. this process is repeated until the desired thickness of CF is attained. (5, 7, 15 sheets.. depends on the purpose, strength required, etc..)
then the CF is placed into a vaccuum bag like a Sure-Seal or ziplock type deal, only bigger, and all of the air is sucked out, compressing the CF and epoxy sandwich under pressure, and it's put into a large oven and baked until the CF/epoxy combination hardens into it's final shape. Then, removed from the oven, the vaccuum bag is remored, and you have your carbon fiber end product which is then trimmed and polished to it's pretty conclusion.
in a nut shell that's more or less how it's done.

jackcoke

I heard there were fake Ritchey bars out there, maybe these too.

krusty

I have had Easton Aero bars that I couldn't get cables through due to the huge quantity of plastic left inside the tubes from the internal pressure bag. It eventually worked just fine, but I was surprised by the amount of leftovers inside.

j0e_bik3

exactly,..so what I'm seeing is the extra flash (un-saturated fibers, bag, etc) folded back inside the tube,...certainly not the way I'd go about finishing the ends of a CF bar, but you get what you pay for.

the question is: is there unsaturated fiber down in the bar where you can't see?

so because thats impossible to tell, just send it back, and get another, and mention that the ends look like they were finished by a drunk kid with a chain saw.

GlassWolf

well, possible to see, but you need essentially an endoscope type fiber optic camera.
Got any friends who happen to be an M.D. in the gastroenterology department? :grin:

zonatandem

Trying to compete with WallMart?!

orange leader

I thought that was ergonomics.