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Carbon Bars = elbow pain?

trailhacker

Turbo Monkey
Jan 6, 2003
1,233
0
In the hills around Seattle
I have been using a set of Gravity (FSA) carbon bars in with a 31.8 clamp.
The idea was to get a stiff, strong bar. Obviously more than I really needed for what I am mostly riding.

I have been noticing more and more that when I ride lately my elbows start to ache and more so the arch or webs of my hands ache. Like the base of my thumbs.


I have a few trains of thought and maybe someone can derail them. Or confirm what I am thinking.
First is that the combo of the carbon bars and the 31.8 stem is just too damn stiff. I had previously ran Protaper bars in a 25.4 for years. Don’t remember having this issue. But maybe I’m getting older and my joints are just trying to tell me something.

Second is the sweep of the bars is too flat(?). I remember back in the day when Azonic first came out with the double wall bars they felt good. Then a year or two later they changed the sweep and I never went back.
Since the sweep is so flat it seems that with the Gravity bars it is forcing my elbows out and seems to put the most pressure on inner part or my hand; I *think* that if they had more sweep they would rest more naturally in my hands.

Does this make any sense? I can’t just start blowing a lot of money on new parts to experiment so maybe someone has some experience with this and could offer some advice.

Does anyone know of any bars with a LOT of sweep?
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
How much "sweep" do you need?



The general shape of your bar may just also not jive with your particular arms. But if you're running a suspension fork, I somehow doubt the stiffness of the bars is having an effect.
 

trailhacker

Turbo Monkey
Jan 6, 2003
1,233
0
In the hills around Seattle
The funny thing is, I held two sticks in my hands to see where they would most "naturally" fall.
It wasn't too far off that picture?

I already trimmed about 3/4" of each side of the bars and it took me a few rides to get used to that. But the aches still remain?

I ran across a company while researching some 29'r/single-speed stuff but forgot to bookmark the company. The guy makes some different looking bars with a pretty radical sweep to them but they seemed aimed at the single-speeders. Not sure why they wouldn't work for normal trail riding though if they felt comfortable.
How much "sweep" do you need?



The general shape of your bar may just also not jive with your particular arms. But if you're running a suspension fork, I somehow doubt the stiffness of the bars is having an effect.
 

trailhacker

Turbo Monkey
Jan 6, 2003
1,233
0
In the hills around Seattle
how much wider are they than your old bars? There is a point when it becomes TOO wide.
I found a set of Protapers in the garage; they are off my girlfriends "DH" bike (a Turner 6-pack with a 36).
I held them up to my Gravity bars and they looked like they had just about the same sweep. So I guess I am off on that.
The Gravity's have been cut down so they are a bit narrower than the Protapers. They may have been narrower to begin with or maybe I trimmed them right out of the box then trimmed them some more?

I think I have a 25.4 90mm stem out there so I guess I'll try the Protapers and se if I see a change.
 

Defenestrated

Turbo Monkey
Mar 28, 2007
1,657
0
Earth
I definitely can tell the difference between the ride of a 25.4 and a 31.8, I feel more feedback from forces that the suspension doesn't take care of in the 31.8 bars.

I'm talking aluminum though.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Could be the sweep on the bars, or how far you have them rotated forward or back. Try just rotating them a bit. Even with a suspension fork, bar material can make a big difference. The fork only picks up impacts, not vibrations. If you have a stiff fork (think fox) then you may be feeling something. That said, a carbon bar should be BETTER for damping vibrations than Alu.
 

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
YOu could try those bars that Burly showed for little dough. Origin 8 makes a set that is almost identical to the On One Mary Bars. The Origin 8s are about 25 bucks or so. They call em Space Bars.
 

trailhacker

Turbo Monkey
Jan 6, 2003
1,233
0
In the hills around Seattle
...I ran across a company while researching some 29'r/single-speed stuff but forgot to bookmark the company. The guy makes some different looking bars with a pretty radical sweep to them but they seemed aimed at the single-speeders. Not sure why they wouldn't work for normal trail riding though if they felt comfortable.
So I stumbled across the bars again - Jonesbikes.com "H-Bar".
From the description on his site it sounds like it could be the answer to some of my problems.

YOu could try those bars that Burly showed for little dough. Origin 8 makes a set that is almost identical to the On One Mary Bars. The Origin 8s are about 25 bucks or so. They call em Space Bars.
I must have missed this post?
Are the bars posted by Burly the Mary's? I have to admit that I just glanced over that picture thinking it was a Walmart bike. But now I can see it isn't.
I googled the On One Mary's, Fleagles, and the Origin 8 Space Bars. It actually looks like the Mary's might be a better fit than the H-Bar although the "bar-end" on the H-bar might be nice to have for a long accent.

Anyone have any experience on any of those bats?
 

r464

Turbo Monkey
Oct 17, 2006
2,604
4
Earth
I have the following:

Jones H-bars
On-One Mary bars
Salsa 17º bend flat bars

I would suggest trying out some of the more extreme bends either at a shop or on someone else's bike. The difference is rather dramatic. That is not to say that you won't love them, but they can involve a large change that will necessitate the purchase of a new stem to find your ideal position.

They can also be awkward to use with certain types of shifters. The Salsa 17º bars are a good place to start to have a more natural position without a major change (or a huge price tag).
 

trailhacker

Turbo Monkey
Jan 6, 2003
1,233
0
In the hills around Seattle
I have the following:

Jones H-bars
On-One Mary bars
Salsa 17º bend flat bars

I would suggest trying out some of the more extreme bends either at a shop or on someone else's bike. The difference is rather dramatic. That is not to say that you won't love them, but they can involve a large change that will necessitate the purchase of a new stem to find your ideal position.

They can also be awkward to use with certain types of shifters. The Salsa 17º bars are a good place to start to have a more natural position without a major change (or a huge price tag).
I refuse to run anything but SRAM shifter/derailuers. Will that be a problem with any of the bars you mentioned? Also, I prefer to run a twist shifter for the front derailuer; am I further complicating myself?

Would love to test ride some but I have only seen one set of bars locally and that was about a year ago. Maybe now that I know they exist I will notice them more?

My preference would be for a riser bar so the Salsa would seem to be out. I think that having to buy a new stem to make up the diference in height would negate the cost savings of that bar too?

From what I read about the Mary's is the design puts your hand in about the same position as a regular bar. So in theory you should be able to use your existing stem. Did you find this to be true?
I did read a ton of reviews on MTBR and another site and there was a few people saying they broke the bars but they also said they were really torqing on them (SSr's). I have never broken a bar in almost twenty years of riding so that scares me a little bit. WAY back in the day I used to bend them pretty regularly but it was like I just revesed the upsweep on them, not a catostrophic deal.

On the H-bars it seemed that some people implied a shifter problem but no one actually stated it as fact. What's your take on that?

Thanks for the info!