Aluminum vs CroMo Bars

[Flat Broke]

Working under the assumption that the rider is 250lbs and change on an aggressive hardtail, doing mostly trail/FR and DJ and using a 25.4 race face diabolous or AtomLab Aircorp stem, what would be some good aluminum choices that wont leave him impailed on a length of bar? Or would he just be better off running a CroMo bar?

Chris

[Schecky]

I'd vote for the steel myself.
FWIW, I have used a carbon bar for years riding aggressive OC XC trails with no issues, at or near 250.

[spookydave]

I have raceface alum. bars on both of my bikes. They have held up great. They are also nice and wide. The ones on my DH bike have some big gouges in them. I should prolly replace 'em.
I don't think you need cromo bars.

[Flat Broke]

Split vote eh. I've got the CroMo Gussets so I'll roll those for now, but it looks like I need a touch less rise, so I'll probably end up going Aluminium on the next set.

Dave, Which RF bars are you running?

Anyone Tried the Azonic Ultra Cross bars?

Chris

[spookydave]

they are low rise (1 1/2" or so) and 28" wide. That's about all I can remember. Oh, I paid 40 bucks for 'em too.

[Pain Freak]

Everytime aluminum flexs it stresses. So depending on how much it's used will dictate how long it will last.Cromoly on the other hand disapates most stresses and has a life use of about 5 times that of aluminum. Carbon fiber has a higher tensile and flexural strength then both cromoly and aluminum.But when failure does occur, the carbon fiber will probably leave a very sharp jagged edge that could cause some major damage if landed on. On the other hand so could the other two. Most bike mfg's say aa aluminum bike has a lifespan of 6 to 8 years before the stresses start to be an issue, but I'd think the bars would see more stress then a frame and should probably be considered for replacement after 4 to 5 years of average riding.
Personally I like the carbon fiber bars and I trust them. If the military can build jet fighters out of them, I think a handle bar should be able to stand up.

[Abui]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Personally I like the carbon fiber bars and I trust them. If the military can build jet fighters out of them, I think a handle bar should be able to stand up.

I used to like them too.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.ph...ghlight=bullet

[spookydave]

I have carbon bars on my Tracer and they are fine for that bike. Cromo is heavy but will last a lifetime, alum bars do have a lifespan but most go way way beyond that. If you crash hard enough you might bend them but they won't just snap. Carbon bars are great right until they snap off. They won't bend, just will break right off. If you put a gouge in them you should replace them. I would have gone through a bunch of them already if they were on my Bullit or Brooklyn.

I guess it all comes down to what you are doing. I wouldn't put cromo bars on a xc bike and I wouldn't put carbon bars on a DH bike. Alum bars are a good, cost effictive middle ground.

Now carbon seat posts ...... I'll never run one.

If you have not picked out a stem (or seat post) yet ya might want to look into Thomson.

[Von-Skipp]

Ive never used Carbon bars. If you do make sure its the the clamps are torqued properly. Gonzo split his Carbon in half in Arizona, not gooood!!

If your looking for stiffness, defintely go with a 4 bolt stem(vs 2 bolts). I got a WTB 4 bolt stem for half the price of a Thompson.

[Neccros]

Too bad he doesn't have an oversized stem...

[dhshuttlemonkey]

Try the Azonic Doublewall. The dw construction absorbs alot of the impacts with less fatigue on your hands. I use it on my DH bike.

[Flat Broke]

Thanks for the input everyone. Yeah, too bad I don't want to go oversize... But I have a brand new Atomlab AirCorp stem, and a near new Diabolous, so I'd rather save the couple of $$ and not re-purchase those items.

I'll have a look at the Azonic Double Walls, I think Adrenaline has em, so it wont be hard to have a peak at those.

After I have a couple more hours on the bike, I'll decide if I want to ditch the Gussets.

Dave,
Ty and I will be pedalin around LB next weekend at the SCSC deal. You pitting for anyone or just going and hanging out? If Family and Performance says they want a story, I'll be there both days, otherwise, probably just Saturday.

Chris

[spookydave]

Chis, The Short Bus was sold to Stan and it's safe to say the mini bus is not going to be ready for this weekend. lol
But rest assured it will be ready for the Parker 300 and should be passing Spectra's and Dana's with ease. LMAO Well maybe it won't be as easy as we are going to run a legal engine this time. Really we are so quit laughing. It's an APBA super V spec engine all sealed up with the APBA stamps n tags. Hopefully we'll have a better chance of running the distance this time.
Now you didn't hear this from me but I'm kinda bummed the Bus is gone. I would much rather race that then what we have now. But then again it's not my money. I'm just supposed to shut up and drive.

How is this years team Loyd entry doing?

If I get everything done then I'll close down the shop and hit the SCSC race on Saturday. I'll be at the LB High Performance deal on Sunday.

You should see the marathon gas tanks in this thing. I kid you not, it could run 1,000 hp for 300 miles on one tank of fuel easy.

[Flat Broke]

Cool, Then we'll probably see you down there Saturday either way. Stan from Schiada bought the bus? I didn't hear anything regarding any of the boats running the 300 so no wories.

As for what we're driving... who knows. At the rate my pig is going (still upside down and only about 1/3rd of the way stripped) I doubt it will be ready, so that would leave Hackers boat. The good thing about that is that any stress cracks would probably get taken care of through Dana

Back on topic, headin down to Adrenaline today to have a peak at those Azonic double walls and grab some cable housing for Ty. That Cowan dropout/der hanger worked great. Just drilled and tapped one hole and he was rockin. I would have prefered he picked up the brake side too, but everything lines up, so he's good to go. In a couple weeks, maybe I'll have to stop by with the bikes and the input shaft for my pump. That way I can hit Fully after your done turnin that biatch down.

Talk to you later,
Chris

[spookydave]

Stan is a friend of Bruce's. Not the Stan you are thinking of. I don't think you could give the bus to that Stan. lol

Bars are bars man. Just get some and lets go. lol