MikeyBoyAz

So, besides weight, what is so great about carbon fiber handlebars? Especially to make them cost $349.99! (Bonetrager xXx for example)... All the cool people are using them, I know. But what is in it for the rest of us?

WonTian

I would imagine them to be stiffer with better ergonomics and durability. Also being carbon, they natural add some vibration dampening.

Carbon Unit

You can get carbon handlebars for less than $200. What I like about carbon bars is their ergo shape. Carbon can be molded in many more shapes than aluminum. They fit my hands much better than any other bars I have tried.

Painful Chafe

I got my Bontrager XXX's for $120. They were new take off's. I love Craigslist.


Honestly, the only reason I did it was because I wanted 44's and figured for another $80 I could drop 120 grams.

rolliepollie

Some people hate the round gentle bends to the drops, and some like the upper bar to be flatter. CF can satisfy both problems.

Rowan

I don't know about this. I have several pairs of CF bars with the wing shape on the flats. I have several aluminium bars with the wing shape on the flats. In fact, the profiles are identical in that regard.

I picked up a pair of the winged CF bars on eBay from a Taiwanese seller for $85. Compared with the Easton equivalent, I think they are actually, on the outside and what I can see and feel on the inside, to be of better quality... for a third of the price.

I think (and I have to admit that it is a "think" rather than a "know") that the CF bars help dampen the road shocks. I know that the CF bars on our Santana tandem, combined with the CF fork, give a much better feel than the alloy bars and alloy fork on a KHS tandem we borrowed.

MikeyBoyAz

grounds for posting: So the reason I wanted to know is because my LBS guy heard I picked up a carbon bike and his eyes lit up and brought out some xXx bars and sent me on my way with them for $40; they had scuffing on the clear-coat but are otherwise structurally sound... so I wanted to know a better reason than weight, which is apparently noise dampening.

Thanks all.

Andy Somnifac 

fify.

MikeyBoyAz

sorry... to clarify in my mind noise does not have to be audible... there is feedback from the road that is constructive, and then there is feedback that is unwanted... so I would consider the feedback that was NOT wanted as noise... though you can't hear it... so yeah... vibration

ilovecycling

Why do you have to pay $350 to join the "cool people" carbon club? I payed $240 for my 3T Ergonova Team bars and they were brand new.

They are actually my first carbon fiber handlebars. I'm curious to see how they compare to the aluminum version of the same bar that I was using previously.

MikeyBoyAz

paid $40...

Tartan1749

Paid $80 for my Stellas on B-town. Maybe not top of the line carbons, but they were worth the $ - and I've worked with carbon in auto racing for 10 years. There are many places to look for new bars cheaper than 2 bills. Each bar is different, so to say that all carbons are stiffer than all aluminums is silly. Walk thickness, bend geometry, carbon layup all have an impact on stiffness

Seth

DrPete 

I have carbon aero bars, but would never put CF bars on a road bike. It's just one of those components where failure is not an option and bars get banged around and damaged very easily in crashes, etc. Since most of the bar is covered in tape anyway the little bit of bling and perceived comfort just aren't worth it to me. YMMV, of course.

And cost-wise, remember that just because it's expensive doesn't make it better. Most $30-40 alloy bars will be less likely to ever fail than a cheap $80 CF bar. You can get them for cheap, but if you want them built out of the nice stuff by a company that might actually cover some failures under warranty, the price tag goes up quite a bit.

It's probably the more paranoid view, but I like my collarbones a lot.

M_Wales

Yes.

I have the xXx's bars paired with a xXx lite stem on my Raleigh Team bike and love them, plus they are very sexy...

EvenKeel

Source, please. Have my eye on the 3T Ergonova bars as well. Thanks.

mpath

No. There was a survey/review done about a year or so ago, Road magazine or Velno News, I can't remember which, that stated even the cheapest aluminum handle bars were actually stiffer than CF ones. I can try to find the issue, if anyone cares.

Jed19

I would never ride a carbon cockpit.

YMMV.

I have taken a spill b/4, where my aluminum handlebar was bent beyond belief, but it stayed intact, and I escaped with just bruises. I just shudder to think what that crash could have done to a carbon handlebar, and where the resulting splinters would have ended.

giantdefy

Ive had carbon bars on my tarmac since I bought it, switched to aluminum compact bars several months ago. Did not notice any change in vibration. Most racers prefer to use Aluminum, Ive seen racers bust their carbon handlebars during a crash and were unable to finish the race.

caloso

Concur.

Jay-W

What this fella said.

Carbon Unit

If I could find aluminum bars shaped like my Winwood Road Scholar bars, I would buy them. Maybe I am not looking in the right place. If you are aware of any aluminum bars that have large float tops I would like to hear about them.

Seattle Forrest

Those are the reasons I like mine, especially the dampening of road buzz. Also, I paid $200 for the 3T Ergonova with a roll of cork tape when I got my bike. ( But the shop kept the alu ones in exchange for the discount. )

ZippyThePinhead

I just scored a set of carbon bars off eBay for $40. They are one of the best upgrades I ever tried, and I regret waiting so long before trying them.

The ergo/aero shape of the bars in the locations where I typically like to put my hands is far more comfortable than the round aluminum bars I was using previously.

The ones I got are not a well-known brand (Carbotec, made in Taiwan), but they are similar in appearance to the FSA K-Wings.

Psimet2001 

Aluminum bars still have far too many advantages to ever really consider carbon bars. They are usually lighter, stiffer, and more durable given the same set of circumstances, and with modern hydroforming the number of complex shapes than can be produced is always increasing. Not to mention modern shot peening is making the structures even better performing with less material.....

As for "cool kids" riding carbon - lost me there. I know no one her locally who is serious about riding who uses carbon bars at all. I helped a national champ swap his carbon back to aluminum. When I asked him why he went to carbon to begin with he replied, "well...I got them for free so I figured I would try them. That was dumb and now I know why they were free. never again."

Carbon Unit

Maybe you can recommend a set of bars? I have carbon bars which have been fine because I haven't been in a wreck since I bought the bike five years ago. The bars are 46 CM Winwood Road Scholars which have a large flat area where I put my hands which I really like. What I would like to have is something that is closer to a compact bar with a shorter reach to the drops and a larger flat area to put my hands. I have been looking but I can't find anything. It probably wouldn't make sense to replace my current bars but I would like to build a second bike and I would put the new bars on my next build.