Flexy carbon

[Cat]

I recently replaced my straight MTB alu bar with a very light Easton EC 90 MonkeyLite SL riser.

I really don't miss the straight bar (except the bar ends), and prefer the riser bar in downhills
and technical stuff.

But as a XC-racer at 80 kilo, I was surprised to find that bar flexes a lot in sprints and
under pressure.

Is this typical for all carbon bars, or is it more likely to happen with the (stupidly) light EC 90
bar (135 g)?

Is it smart for a relatively heavy rider to go for the fashionably
31.8 mm stem/bar combo?

I'm happy for any comments, because I haven't found any objective tests or information about it.

Cat

 

[Per Elmsäter]

Cat wrote:
> I recently replaced my straight MTB alu bar with a very light Easton EC 90 MonkeyLite SL riser.
>
> I really don't miss the straight bar (except the bar ends), and prefer the riser bar in downhills
> and technical stuff.
>
> But as a XC-racer at 80 kilo, I was surprised to find that bar flexes a lot in sprints and under
> pressure.
>
> Is this typical for all carbon bars, or is it more likely to happen with the (stupidly) light EC
> 90 bar (135 g)?
>
> Is it smart for a relatively heavy rider to go for the fashionably
> 31.8 mm stem/bar combo?
>
> I'm happy for any comments, because I haven't found any objective tests or information about it.
>
> Cat

I'm 80 kg and have been riding the EC70 monkeylite bar for six months now without anything breaking.
However I don't believe the stem EA70 is made out of carbon. I kind of like the flexing and try to
incorporate it into my motion. I'll keep the bar but will probably put a Thomson stem on one of
these days. I don't really like the hinged and one bolt attachment of the stem to the bar. On the
other hand it is a little bit wider than normal which might be nice for the carbon bar. Just my
subjective thoughts on the subject

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

 

[Cipher]

Originally posted by Per Elmsäter

However I don't believe the stem EA70 is made out of carbon.

The EA70 is tapered aluminum.