spinconn

The drop bars on my Giant Contend were bent substantially at the curve down on the left side when I crashed last week. I was about 10 miles from my vehicle, so I bent them straight again and rode back. The bend was inward about 45 degrees. The shifter/brake worked fine. After removing the tape and shifter/brake I can see no sign of permanent damage. They are aluminum. Is this something that requires replacement even though there is no visible sign of structural failure, or can I rely on how it looks?

I should mention that I straightened it and started riding back very quickly. I was bleeding and did not examine the bars closely. On reflection, I think it is just possible that only the shifter/brake was forcibly turned on the bars and the bars were not harmed at all.

andrewclaus

Bent bars aren't something you can straighten by hand on the roadside. I foolishly did that once, in a large vise with a big hammer, until a friend gave me a dope-slap and told me to get new bars.

If you're not sure, get the whole bike checked out by a pro. Any shop will have frame and fork alignment gauges and tools. (And a non-bloodied eye.)

Glad you're okay.

This is the reason I don't overly tighten the brake levers. I think it's better they turn than break.

KerryIrons

Agree. If the OP actually did bend the bars by hand, I can't believe there wouldn't be a kink in tubing. Especially given the degree of bend described. Bending aluminum tubing without causing damage is something that requires tubing bending tools and can only be done once. I would have a second set of eyes look at those bars before ever riding them again.

79pmooney

Consider these bars ready to break at any time. Like - if you do another ride on them and make it home, luck was on your side that day. They will break. It is just a matter of time. And breaking while you ride them is just what aluminum does.

If it was just the shifter that turned in, well that's common. Like a previous poster, I do not sock down that nut hard. I want my shifter to spin in a crash, Saves money and reduces the likelihood of the shifter sawing the handlebar. I've been returning brake hoods to straight after crashes forever. (And one of the reasons I am reluctant to go brifter is that trashed brake levers after crashes (or just the bike falling over) happens. Spending more than say $50 on those levers just strikes me as dumb.

tFUnK

I think what the OP meant was the entire bar/stem assembly got knocked out of straight following the crash, and that they were able to straighten it out on the road to ride back home.

spinconn

"I think what the OP meant was the entire bar/stem assembly got knocked out of straight following the crash, and that they were able to straighten it out on the road to ride back home."

Nope, the entire assembly was not bent or damaged.

"If the OP actually did bend the bars by hand, I can't believe there wouldn't be a kink in the tubing"

This.

It was as if you grabbed the left bar at the mid-point of the downward curve and pulled it straight back toward the stem. As I read these responses, I realize there would have to have been signs of damage to the hollow aluminum tubing even after getting it straight again. It had to be the shifter rotating around.

Anyway, I have replaced it as of yesterday with an Easton EA50 and now just need to decide whether to toss the factory bars or keep them for a backup.

Thanks for the help guys.

Iride01 

Yeah, we'd have to have some clarification on what bent means to the OP since some have shed doubt. And those members might be right that the bars just slipped in the stem clamp or the stem rotated on the steerer tube, STI clamp slipped and the other non-damaging things that might have been described by some as "bent".

If the tubing of the actual handlebar were bent and then unbent, I'd be changing them. I'd rather not have to deal with such at a later date when I've forgotten about it and it decides to show up again at the worst possible time.

tFUnK

Ok so it sounds like the shifter was knocked inwards and bent back. It could be there was no damage to the handlebar itself. In this case I would just very carefully inspect the shifter clamp area and look for deep gouges.

mpetry912 

don't mess around with with damaged bars. If the bars have been bent, you have a concentration of stresses and they could fail at any time.

when it goes, it won't be pretty

/markp

Black wallnut 

yeah, sometimes the OP adds the clarification you seek such as in this case 1 hour 26 minutes before your post.

spinconn If the bars were not bent and it was only your shifter it might be safe to reuse bars. If they were bent at all it's best to consider them trash. Aluminum has a habit of sudden failure, it even happened this year to a rider in the TdF.

JoeTBM 

Replace the damaged bars, old ones are FUBAR