Mountain Biking - Changing handlebar to save weight

Hi:

I was just looking around the threads regarding changing handlebars.

Does the handlebar make that big of a difference? Do you guys change them mostly for weight?

How much weight difference is there between the average steel handlebar and an aluminum one?

Just wonderin....

For weight, no. At least I didnt. I bought the Profile Design Ultra FR made from T6 6061 Aluminum. RaceFace, Easton and Titec make great bars.

I don't think that 100grams will do much to your bike

changing bars is a comfort/fit issue, not so much for weight. plus certain bars just look SWEET.

well a regular decent alloy flat bar is probably ~170 grams or less. compare that to a low end generic steel bar, and there's quite a bit of difference. i'm talking about difference in weight of the bars holding one in each hand, not talking about the difference you feel in the ride. but if you swap the stem, bar, and seatpost, then there might be more considerable gains weight-wise.

I believe 451 grams is one pound... So, if you are really into weight saving 100 grams is big. But, unless you are a real pro and are competing, saving 100 grams is rediculious. My Cannondale weighs something like 20 pounds, and I don't want it any lighter.

There are a lot of ways to save weight on a bike. Some expensive, some cheap. If you've got a steel handlebar, I'm guessing the bike isn't a very expensive one. Switching to an aluminum handlebar will help, but it's not the BEST place to save weight. The absolute best place is by upgrading your wheels. You can start by changing out the stock tires for some lighter ones. This affects the rotational mass and will make the bike "Feel" much lighter. If you have the $$$ swap out the wheels as well. I however, wouldn't go spending a whole lot of money. For the cost of upgrading, chances are you could buy a whole new bike. Tires can run anywhere from $15 to $50 each. Wheels start at about $150 to $300 for good ones. There you've already spend about $200 to $350 dollars and your bike is still pretty heavy. For $300 you can buy a whole new bike!

L8R

I changed mine out mostly for ergo reasons not weight. My post below:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34196