Carbon vs alu alloy bars

[madmacca]

Wheels make a difference, too, even on road bikes.

I upgraded from some old Mavic Aksiums to some new Campag Zonda C17s. I put the same tyres back on and pump them to the same pressure.

I'm not sure whether it is the slightly wider rims, or just different construction in general, but the new wheels give a much plusher ride.

Making a few mathematical assumptions, a 2mm increase in internal rim width will add about 5% to tyre volume.

[Duck!]

Contrary to popular misconception, carbon doesn't just shatter into a bazillion bits. Because a carbon layup comprises literally millions of individual fibres, laid in different directions to deal with different loadings, unless it takes a seriously massive hit of the kind you're unlikely to comfortably walk away from it will collapse or tear in a fairly controlled manner. I've seen numerous broken bits of carbon over the years, including one of my own (which I quite safely but carefully rode several kilometres back to the trailhead), and none have just snapped clean off; the same cannot be said for aluminium.

This is the results of poor handling by an airline. The bike was carefully packed in a Scicon Aerocomfort 3.0 bag:



That is carbon. It must have taken a hell of an impact to do that.

And that perfectly illustrates my point! Yes, it's taken a big hit that has resulted in a fracture, but it hasn't totally separated like many people would believe it should. While it's true that you wouldn't ride that for any great length of time, if that sort of damage occurred out on the road, you could, with adequate care, ride yourself back to base, providing you're still capable of riding after the hit that did that to the bar.....

[g-boaf]

And that perfectly illustrates my point! Yes, it's taken a big hit that has resulted in a fracture, but it hasn't totally separated like many people would believe it should. While it's true that you wouldn't ride that for any great length of time, if that sort of damage occurred out on the road, you could, with adequate care, ride yourself back to base, providing you're still capable of riding after the hit that did that to the bar.....

That was why I posted it - I figured it proved your point. And despite what some might think, it didn't just disappear in a puff off dust. Still cranky with the airline.

[NhiTrac]

Been riding alloy bars for about 8 years before switching to carbon this year. Main reason was because I wanted aero bars with the flat tops which in my view is a lot more comfortable than traditional round bars.

But in terms of vibration and what not? Zero difference. At least i didn't notice anything.