Carbon bars

tankhead

Well-Known Member
Just received a new PNW Loam carbon handlebar. Recently been getting numb hands and with $40 off right now, I thought I’d give them a try.
I’m in no rush to install or have them installed and have 30 days to exchange them (which for me means quite a few sets of grips or another Range model handlebar)
Any way, some stupid questions..

Life span of carbon bars in general?
Users have any regrets?
I’m an xc rider; small hops and the like but never huck to flat or sending off drops. However I’m a bigger rider at 240 #.
Are carbon bars all hype or definitely worth it for hand numbness and better vibration damping??

I have read the threads on here about cutting carbon bars and notice that some of you cut with hack saw and not the specific carbon blade by park tools.
How’s that been for ya?
Any one regret riding carbon bars?
Thanks for your time
 
Just received a new PNW Loam carbon handlebar. Recently been getting numb hands and with $40 off right now, I thought I’d give them a try.
I’m in no rush to install or have them installed and have 30 days to exchange them (which for me means quite a few sets of grips or another Range model handlebar)
Any way, some stupid questions..

Life span of carbon bars in general?
Users have any regrets?
I’m an xc rider; small hops and the like but never huck to flat or sending off drops. However I’m a bigger rider at 240 #.
Are carbon bars all hype or definitely worth it for hand numbness and better vibration damping??

I have read the threads on here about cutting carbon bars and notice that some of you cut with hack saw and not the specific carbon blade by park tools.
How’s that been for ya?
Any one regret riding carbon bars?
Thanks for your time
Enve M5 carbon flat bars on 3 bikes, all 760mm wide, on old skool XC geo. Find the grips that work for you. I use ESI chunkys or ODI Dread locks. On the Pivot T429v3 OneUp carbon bars 800mm and ODI Elite Pro. Works great for long rides and long, techy descents. Will not be cutting.
 
I use bi-metal blades (I have a huge stack of cobalt-steel bi-metal blades from my father, but the regular HSS work fine) in 32tpi. Mask the cut completely for 5ish turns, and cut away. Don't push, don't force, just let the weight of the hacksaw carry it through, and really let off the gas when you get to the end. Run a piece of 220 sandpaper around the cut to smooth it out on the edges.

The only thing the carbide grit blades do better is fuck up your saw guide. They suffer from just as much blow-through as regular teeth if you are a chowder head and push.

Carbon bars are not necessarily better for vibration damping, just that they tend to be. Weight/layup is key--lighter bars will be more flexible. If they are engineered to flex more, the manufacturer will tell you--after all, that would be their selling point. They can be super stiff, too...just FYI.

If you crash, check for damage. If you have damage (scoring, gouges, etc), you have a likely failure vector, especially with super-light stuff.

I use silicone slide-on grips on all of my flat-bar bikes at this point, carbon fiber or otherwise. They hold like mad, and will eventually look like crap, but...whatev? When they slide/twist, it's time to replace them. Because they have no inner sleeve, and they are fairly soft, they also damp vibration well.
 
Roll your brakes up so you feel behind the bars.

make sure your bars are in your fingers, not your palms (look at the pads on the gloves.)

if the bars go through the middle of your palms, they will always get numb.
It may not have bothered you before, perhaps your core was stronger? didn't lean into the bars?
 
Bars are like saddles. Some people can use anything, others need the exact right width, angle, etc. Those bars should last "forever", unless you crash and nick them. If the new bars don't work, your best bet might be to find some mega-deal on cheap aluminum bars to see if different sweep angles work better/worse for you.
 
I went from Salsa flat aluminum bars with a lot of backweep to PNW carbon 38mm riser bars that have similar backsweep and noticed absolutely no difference.

And that's from someone who's hands hurt with an extra 2psi in the front tires or a regular 8 degree or so bar.
 
I could feel a noticeable difference when I switched from the Salsa aluminum to FSA carbon bars on my Blackborow. That bike has an aluminum Salsa fork too. My Otso has carbon bars and a lithic carbon fork, it’s even more noticeable with the carbon fork. Less or no reverberations/ bell ringing feeling with much less or no hand discomfort.

Some of my improvements in hand comfort are related to the grips. Used to swear by ESI chunky but now use Oury V2 after I used them on a bike I bought. Slightly smaller diameter which fits my finger grip better plus the material is just better at dampening imho. It’s the difference from needing to shake my hands out while riding, to not needing to.
 
Not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but using a torque wrench to tighten the stem faceplate, brake levers, shifters, and grips is a good idea with carbon bars.
I prefer always using a torque wrench with stem bolts and shifters/brakes just tight enough so that in a crash they'll spin.
 
I use (with moderation) the same combo on both my trail bikes, RF Next R 800m carbon bars and Ergon GA2 FAT. On the Salsas (Mukluk and El Mars) Carbon Salt Flat bars (750 or 760, I can't remember) and again Ergon GA2 FAT. I never had issues with hands/fingers numbness so far, even when I actually rode more often.
 
I use (with moderation) the same combo on both my trail bikes, RF Next R 800m carbon bars and Ergon GA2 FAT. On the Salsas (Mukluk and El Mars) Carbon Salt Flat bars (750 or 760, I can't remember) and again Ergon GA2 FAT. I never had issues with hands/fingers numbness so far, even when I actually rode more often.
Do you ride any of them down long sustained chunky descents? Roots and braking bumps?
 
Do you ride any of them down long sustained chunky descents? Roots and braking bumps?
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