"jim beam" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> why do you want to cut it?
>
> be /very/ careful - these bars usually have metal reinforcing inserts where the brake lever or bar
> end clamps go. if you shorten the bar, these reinforcements effectively become misplaced and you
> can crush the unreinforced tube.
>
> if you just want shorter bars, shop around for a different model.
>
> jb
In all seriousness, has anyone ever crushed or damaged a carbon handlebar?? I've only seen a few
come my way but compared to some of the incredibly sketchy titanium bars of not so long ago (<100g)
where there are no inserts for brakes etc., most of the carbon bars I've seen seem positively
robust! We actually took sample bar from someone (carbon..don't remember which brand..) and beat the
**** out of it against a brick wall, putting all kinds of weight and actually jumping up and down on
the bar and it seemed to pass with flying colours. I don't think a Ti bar would have withstood that
much abuse. Now I'm talking about fatigue life as I'm sure a nick or cut in the carbon fibre could
easily propagate into a big failure, but I'm more curious about the short term toughness of carbon
bars. Any strength or fatigue tests online?
Cheers,
Scott..