I've had several mountain bikes over the years, all with aluminum bars; from flats with bar ends (back in the day) to risers of various heights.
The last couple of years, I've been noticing some hand/wrist pain - nothing major - just annoying. I jotted it down to the somewhat stiffly sprung 3.75" travel fork I was riding.
Then I switched to a longer travel (4.7") and much plusher Lefty on a C-Dale Jeckyll for about a year, with an Easton Aluminum Monkey Lite bar. Still had that nagging pain from time to time.
In August of this year, I finally got the "dream" bike (mine anyway), a 2009 Giant Trance X2. An even plusher Fox F32 4.7" travel fork. Man this fork smooths out choppy terrain and takes hits like butter.
The bike also came stock with a Race Face Evolve aluminum bar - stiffer than granpappy's moonshine laced with copious amounts of Viagra....no flex, no give, and still some pain in the hands on occasion, despite the Fox effect.
"Carbon...yeah, whatever," I used to think, but after several months and many rough miles on my new bike, I started to suspect aluminum bars were not good for me, even with silky smooth suspension.
A little internet research later, I settled on a new carbon bar; a 2009 Answer Protaper OS Carbon. There were others out there that met the parameters of 26" or wider, a 31.8mm center section and about a 1-3/4" rise, along with favorable reviews on strength. What clenched the deal on the Answer bar was Jensen was selling them for $46 on close-out, more than 1/2 off list price.
I put the bar on last week, but did not get to ride until today. I put the bars to test at Chesebro Canyon trail which is not a terribly technical trail, but has a lot of fast, short climbs where you can really lay on the power, i.e. cranking up on the bar. Plus, even the lower, flatter sections are usually well pitted with tons of horse hoof craters.
Impressions: Well, carbon is definitely more flexible than aluminum, but I was pleasantly surprised by the Answer bar; it allowed me to pull up during hard cranking efforts without feeling like all efficiency was lost in flex. In fact, up and down flex was not that noticeable, nor was front to rear flex. My Fox forks have a 15mm thru-axle, which inhibits fork deflection very well. I did not feel the Answer bar causing any unwanted squirm or loss of directional control across ruts, rocks or during fast g-out turns.
Where the flex comes in is in the damping effect the bars had, especially bombing over the gazillion horse hoof craters. Wow! The damping was immediately noticeable and is only describable as the bars feeling "smooth" and "soft" in the hands, where the aluminum bars felt "sharp" and "hard." I also noticed my grip relax, even while going very fast. I think the aluminum bars set up a kind of sharp vibration that makes me grip harder; trying to meld the flesh of my palms to the bar probably lessens the vibration, but sends more of the shock straight into the bones.
With the carbon bars, there is very little vibration, just a damped feel. Not so much that I couldn't feel the trail, but enough to allow for a more relaxed grip and thus a much smoother feel.
This was one of those experiences where I reflected, "why didn't I think of this sooner?" I did not feel my usual hand pain after this ride, however, this was a short ride for me. It was also the first ride on the bars, so it's probably too soon to make a claim of reduced or even cured hand pain. Non-the-less, so far carbon bars are a big improvement over aluminum!
Carbon seat post....ah....I feel my habit taking over....
The last couple of years, I've been noticing some hand/wrist pain - nothing major - just annoying. I jotted it down to the somewhat stiffly sprung 3.75" travel fork I was riding.
Then I switched to a longer travel (4.7") and much plusher Lefty on a C-Dale Jeckyll for about a year, with an Easton Aluminum Monkey Lite bar. Still had that nagging pain from time to time.
In August of this year, I finally got the "dream" bike (mine anyway), a 2009 Giant Trance X2. An even plusher Fox F32 4.7" travel fork. Man this fork smooths out choppy terrain and takes hits like butter.
The bike also came stock with a Race Face Evolve aluminum bar - stiffer than granpappy's moonshine laced with copious amounts of Viagra....no flex, no give, and still some pain in the hands on occasion, despite the Fox effect.
"Carbon...yeah, whatever," I used to think, but after several months and many rough miles on my new bike, I started to suspect aluminum bars were not good for me, even with silky smooth suspension.
A little internet research later, I settled on a new carbon bar; a 2009 Answer Protaper OS Carbon. There were others out there that met the parameters of 26" or wider, a 31.8mm center section and about a 1-3/4" rise, along with favorable reviews on strength. What clenched the deal on the Answer bar was Jensen was selling them for $46 on close-out, more than 1/2 off list price.
I put the bar on last week, but did not get to ride until today. I put the bars to test at Chesebro Canyon trail which is not a terribly technical trail, but has a lot of fast, short climbs where you can really lay on the power, i.e. cranking up on the bar. Plus, even the lower, flatter sections are usually well pitted with tons of horse hoof craters.
Impressions: Well, carbon is definitely more flexible than aluminum, but I was pleasantly surprised by the Answer bar; it allowed me to pull up during hard cranking efforts without feeling like all efficiency was lost in flex. In fact, up and down flex was not that noticeable, nor was front to rear flex. My Fox forks have a 15mm thru-axle, which inhibits fork deflection very well. I did not feel the Answer bar causing any unwanted squirm or loss of directional control across ruts, rocks or during fast g-out turns.
Where the flex comes in is in the damping effect the bars had, especially bombing over the gazillion horse hoof craters. Wow! The damping was immediately noticeable and is only describable as the bars feeling "smooth" and "soft" in the hands, where the aluminum bars felt "sharp" and "hard." I also noticed my grip relax, even while going very fast. I think the aluminum bars set up a kind of sharp vibration that makes me grip harder; trying to meld the flesh of my palms to the bar probably lessens the vibration, but sends more of the shock straight into the bones.
With the carbon bars, there is very little vibration, just a damped feel. Not so much that I couldn't feel the trail, but enough to allow for a more relaxed grip and thus a much smoother feel.
This was one of those experiences where I reflected, "why didn't I think of this sooner?" I did not feel my usual hand pain after this ride, however, this was a short ride for me. It was also the first ride on the bars, so it's probably too soon to make a claim of reduced or even cured hand pain. Non-the-less, so far carbon bars are a big improvement over aluminum!
Carbon seat post....ah....I feel my habit taking over....
Glad you're liking the carbon fiber sexiness.
