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Would you run this carbon bar?

Bubiz

Bubiz

Chimp
Nov 17, 2013
17
5
Italy
Hi all,
Today I started preparing my bike for the coming season and discovered this notch in my carbon handlebar.
It probably came from the only big crash I had at the start of the last season, by hitting the top cap of my Dorado fork (I have to run the legs high in the crown because of the long axle-to-crown).
Looks like only the coating came off, maybe it's not a structural damage, only a cosmetic damage.

What do you guys think?
Would you still use it?

IMG_20190308_140957.jpg

IMG_20190308_170002.jpg

Dumping such a nice and expensive bar would be a pity...
 
Happymtb.fr

Happymtb.fr

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2016
2,066
1,437
SWE
Some people are specialised in repairing carbon stuff. The most serious ones have even non-destructive testing methods to assess the damages. Try to find one in your country and send the bar for inspection and repair.
 
mykel

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,470
4,205
sw ontario canada
Pulling my Syntace Vector Carbon 780 bars off of the DH bike.
They are supposed to be one of the toughest carbon bars out there, hell they even give you a 10 year warranty. But still, I have never felt fully comfortable with them on the big bike, so they will be going on the new trailbike. Not scratched or scuffed and they have only had a torque wrench near them so I should now be saying famous last words.

Got a set of 800mm Spank Spike Vibrocores to make the big bike happy again. Hopefully, as reported, they will have the same damped feel as the crabons.
 
HardtailHack

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
7,666
7,022
That looked like a pretty solid nose case, your feet don't help share the load when you nose case......
 
Bubiz

Bubiz

Chimp
Nov 17, 2013
17
5
Italy
I didn't buy that bar, it came with the bike I bought used. I never thought about spending all that money on a bar, but now that I have it I feel like I'd like to keep it... haha.
I made a couple back to back runs on a rough trail with this bar and a PRO alu bar, you can feel the difference actually, it's not something that really makes your ride a lot better, but it's something.

Anyway, I found a company that works on carbon stuff, I will see if they can give me a hint
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,064
10,627
AK
These people are afraid of the carbonz. I have no such fear, but if there's a good impact, then replace. Usually a structural impact will have spider-cracks and you may see some delamination shortly thereafter, but a deep enough gouge will obviously compromise strength on a thin carbon structure too, so that probably resides in the area of "replace just in case" or "move to a bar-bike, sand down and add some epoxy". For enderpo/DH, I use a SixC now, for the ~6 years before that I was using a carbon 780 answer DH bar. What I like about going that route was the thing was thick and beefy, it wasn't a lightweight carbon bar, but IMO it's an extra safety margin, instead of going for a "enderpo" bar or something similar, going for a full DH bar lets you use some additional carbon layup for exactly what you should be, more strength and safety, rather than to save weight. I recently got a Salsa Rustler carbon bar for my new fatbike, because it's intended to have stuff clamped to it and doesn't transmit heat like an aluminum bar, so it's intended to carry some load, like a front-end sleeping roll, etc. I realize that I've given my soul fully over to carbonz, but this is just like carbon rims. They work for most situations and places. There's a very narrow use corridor where I wouldn't go with them as my primary, like if my main riding area was up on South Mountain, but other than that, for all sorts of DH, enduro, races, park, etc., they work just fine for me. If I hit hard and see signs of damage, I'll most likely have to do something about it. If you crash a lot, both parts made of carbonz may not be the best choice for you, simply due to cost of replacement.
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,503
1,719
Warsaw :/
jstuhlman said:
i’ve been running my crabon sixc’s for probably 6 years. last year i got an area that looks similar to yours after a wreck. still running teh bars.
Click to expand...
You are suicidal. I don't use my alu bars over 2 years unless I have seasons of close to no riding like last year.
 
iRider

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,686
3,143
norbar said:
You are suicidal. I don't use my alu bars over 2 years unless I have seasons of close to no riding like last year.
Click to expand...
Alu bars fatigue quicker than carbon bars, so switching out alu bars on a regular basis makes sense while you don't have to do this with carbon bars.
 
iRider

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,686
3,143
Different test from German MTB and road bike mags have shown this. Usually the alu bar doesn't last as long as the similar model carbon bar from the same manufacturer if the construction of the carbon bar was done right. However, carbon bars are more likely to get damaged by impacts, scratches and such. They also found that the variation between replicates is significantly higher with carbon bars, indicating that the manufacturers don't have full control over their production process. Sadly I can't seem to find a freely available version of said tests.

I seem to remember that this guy also had a piece on this topic, but can't seem to find it right now: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY9JUMYI54lLOHpb_zbIedQ
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,503
1,719
Warsaw :/
iRider said:
Alu bars fatigue quicker than carbon bars, so switching out alu bars on a regular basis makes sense while you don't have to do this with carbon bars.
Click to expand...
Yeah but if you ride you crash. I also crash like it's my job so nope. I change bars frequently as I am poor and can't afford a good dentist.
 
sundaydoug

sundaydoug

Monkey
Jun 8, 2009
665
343
That doesn't *look* like something that would necessarily cause premature failure, but do you really want to test it? The $$ spent to replace them would be entirely justified if only for your peace of mind.

If it were me I'd take those bars off and use them for something else. People make pretty creative stuff to use around the house with old bike parts. Maybe make a lamp out of them? Fashion them into a coat rack of some sort? Then if they break all that happens is your coat falls on the floor.
 
shelteringsky

shelteringsky

Monkey
May 21, 2010
324
271
If you have to ask then you probably shouldn't...

Why not run a poll in this thread so you can think about the number of people telling you not to run those bars while you're hucking off that big drop?
 
Bubiz

Bubiz

Chimp
Nov 17, 2013
17
5
Italy
shelteringsky said:
If you have to ask then you probably shouldn't...

Why not run a poll in this thread so you can think about the number of people telling you not to run those bars while you're hucking off that big drop?
Click to expand...
I asked because I thought there were someone with a minimum knowledge about carbon and bars that could give me a hint.
Obviously, I was a little scared of that bar snapping on a big landing, but at the same time I knew it could be just a scratch on the coating.
Came out that just a very few replies had sense and most were just jokes.

I had a notch like that in my Evil Undead frame, rear triangle, it was something that happened to may people in that same spot and Evil clearly said it was "cosmetic" damage. I've been running that frame for four years and I still run it.


Anyway, yesterday I had my bar checked at a company, they made an integrity check and said the bar is ok. Took like 10 minutes and didn't even asked for money.
So, when I land that big drop, I will happily think about those guys that told me not to run those bars and about their vintage bikes with steel frames
 
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