WTK:Damaged Easton EC90 carbon bar-ruined?



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Charles Taylor

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Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched in attempting to
fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should discard a
handlebar w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should
write it off or use it (carefully). Anybody got any experience w/ this? Thanks, -Chuck
 
It would make a nice wall ornament. A damaged carbon bar could be structurally unsound. Competition
or not, failure may occur at anytime, however it may be more likely to occur under high stress
situations. These situations are also the ones which tend to put you most in harm's way.

Regardless of the construction material aluminum included, riding on damaged bars is asking
for trouble.

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"charles taylor" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:3%gCb.93370$_M.494775@attbi_s54...
> Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched
in
> attempting to fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should
> discard a handlebar w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if
> I should write it off
or
> use it (carefully). Anybody got any experience w/ this? Thanks, -Chuck
>
>

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charles taylor wrote:
> Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched in attempting
> to fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should discard a
> handlebar
> w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should write it
> off or use it (carefully). Anybody got any experience w/ this? Thanks, -Chuck

There is no way you can get a reliable answer from somebody that hasn't seen it. Personally I feel
that the vulnerability of a scratched handlebar is exaggerated. But where to draw the line, because
you certainly do come to a point where the material no longer will hold out as supposed to. Your
best bet is to take it down to your LBS and ask them.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.
 
"charles taylor" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<3%gCb.93370$_M.494775@attbi_s54>...
> Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched in attempting
> to fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should discard a
> handlebar w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should
> write it off or use it (carefully). Anybody got any experience w/ this? Thanks, -Chuck

Dear Chuck,

As long as you ride no-hands, it should be fine.

Otherwise, imagine yourself waiting in line at the Pearly Gates with a copy of this post in your
pocket and hearing St. Peter ask the fellow ahead of you to explain why he thought that "Danger!
High Voltage!" didn't apply to him.

Carl Fogel
 
without seeing the piece, the rote answer is "discard and do not use".

_but_, the reality is that we're talking composites. there are different fabrication methods, trek
and campy randomly oriented short fiber being notable exceptions to that described here, but most
structural composites like this are multilayered, starting from the outside with a clear "resin"
layer, a cosmetic weave below that, /then/ the real structural layering begins.

if, as you say, the piece is "scratched" from stem insertion [presumably trying to fit into a stem
without a removable face plate], then you need to assess the nature of the scratching. if you've
merely defaced the resin clearcoat, it makes not one jot of difference to structural integrity. buy
some nail polish and "fix" it. if you've damaged the cosmetic weave, you're definitely not in a good
position, but it's not where the strength of the material lies. anything beyound that is a definite
*DO NOT USE*.

so, if you damaged the bar in a crash, it's a bit scratched but it still "looks ok", _definitely
discard_. you have no idea of any internal damage. in this instance however, you could well be ok.

jb.

disclaimer: this opinion is worth less than what you just paid for it. proceed at your own risk.

charles taylor wrote:
> Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched in attempting
> to fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should discard a
> handlebar w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should
> write it off or use it (carefully). Anybody got any experience w/ this? Thanks, -Chuck
 
"Per Elmsäter" <[email protected]> wrote:
:> I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should write it off or use it
:> (carefully).

How do you use a handlebar "carefully" - descending, you hit a pothole. Smack. Bars break. Not nice.

Handlebars and stems are totally safety-critical. More so than forks IMO - a failed fork steerer
often leaves you able to break and steer enough to stop safely (or at least so people who have had
it happen to them tell me!). A snapped handlebar means that you are going down.

: There is no way you can get a reliable answer from somebody that hasn't seen it. Personally I feel
: that the vulnerability of a scratched handlebar is exaggerated. But where to draw the line,
: because you certainly do come to a point where the material no longer will hold out as supposed
: to. Your best bet is to take it down to your LBS and ask them.

The trouble is that most LBSs lack the knowledge to tell. Carbon bars are new and not many people
have much experience with them.

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org "Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook
 
On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 12:11:19 GMT, "Per Elmsäter"
<[email protected]> may have said:

>charles taylor wrote:
>> Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched in attempting
>> to fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should discard a
>> handlebar
>> w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should write it
>> off or use it (carefully). Anybody got any experience w/ this? Thanks, -Chuck
>
>There is no way you can get a reliable answer from somebody that hasn't seen it. Personally I feel
>that the vulnerability of a scratched handlebar is exaggerated. But where to draw the line, because
>you certainly do come to a point where the material no longer will hold out as supposed to. Your
>best bet is to take it down to your LBS and ask them.

In much of the US, the lbs will err well over to the side of caution and recommend replacement even
when the unit would have remained in service in their rental fleet if they had one.

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this is true

the outer layer on a carbon product is usually cosmetic and most of the time only there for
aesthetic purposes if this layer is scratched up then there may not be a problem(there is a but
coming) However the easton bars verge on the edge of being so lightweight that the outer layer may
actually be structural, without having access to the information regarding the layup of thge fibres
its impossible to tell. If the bar is a medium weight product ie not their lightest then it may not
be scrap however if it is the lightest bar in their range i would scrap it and save some skin.

jim beam <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> without seeing the piece, the rote answer is "discard and do not use".
>
> _but_, the reality is that we're talking composites. there are different fabrication methods, trek
> and campy randomly oriented short fiber being notable exceptions to that described here, but most
> structural composites like this are multilayered, starting from the outside with a clear "resin"
> layer, a cosmetic weave below that, /then/ the real structural layering begins.
>
> if, as you say, the piece is "scratched" from stem insertion [presumably trying to fit into a stem
> without a removable face plate], then you need to assess the nature of the scratching. if you've
> merely defaced the resin clearcoat, it makes not one jot of difference to structural integrity.
> buy some nail polish and "fix" it. if you've damaged the cosmetic weave, you're definitely not in
> a good position, but it's not where the strength of the material lies. anything beyound that is a
> definite *DO NOT USE*.
>
> so, if you damaged the bar in a crash, it's a bit scratched but it still "looks ok", _definitely
> discard_. you have no idea of any internal damage. in this instance however, you could well be ok.
>
> jb.
>
> disclaimer: this opinion is worth less than what you just paid for it. proceed at your own risk.
>
>
>
> charles taylor wrote:
> > Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched in attempting
> > to fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should discard a
> > handlebar w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should
> > write it off or use it (carefully). Anybody got any experience w/ this? Thanks, -Chuck
> >
 
Originally posted by Charles Taylor
Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched in attempting to
fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should discard a
handlebar w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should
write it off or use it (carefully). Anybody got any experience w/ this? Thanks, -Chuck

If you can take a picture or 2 of it and post it on a cycling web site such as www.cyclingforums.com with your question you may get a little more feed back on the reliability of the bars. Good Luck!
 
> > Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly
> > scratched in attempting to fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in
> > saying I should discard a handlebar w/ this kind
>of
> > damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should write it off or use it
> > (carefully).

Toss it. Carbon is very notch sensitive. Phil Brown
 
charles taylor wrote:

> Hi There, I've got an Easton carbon road handlebar that was pretty badly scratched in attempting
> to fit it into the wrong stem. The instructions are very explicit in saying I should discard a
> handlebar w/ this kind of damage. I won't be competing on this bike and am wondering if I should
> write it off or use it (carefully).
>
How can you use it carefully? There are situations such as braking on a steep bumpy hill where it's
impossible not to put a considerable weight on the bars, no matter how carefully you're riding.
Absent of always riding around no-hands, you're likely to find yourself no-teeth.

Nick
 
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