Handlebars
03-09-05, 11:58 PM
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Handlebars
Hey people, I'm just wondering what the differences are between the handlebars that are found on bikes. Nowadays, they are usually formed in a U shaped form. But i still see different handlebars now and then especially on vert. I sometimes see riders that have kind of bent into a v shape kind of handlebars. Haha i'm just wondering siince i think the handlebars nowadays look so much better and weigh alot less than the older ones. Thanks =P
03-10-05, 02:39 PM
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Well, there are a lot of different kinds of handle bars on the market today, I'll list a as many as I know. There are 2-peice bars, which are the most common style of bars. There are 4-peice bars, which are stronger but alot heavier than 2-peice bars. And there are 6-peice bars, wich are even stronger than 4-peice, but still are a lot heavier than 2-peice. And finally there are 8-peice bars wich I don't know much about, except that they look kind of weird.
03-10-05, 03:17 PM
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street and park riders use 2pc bars, i think vert riders use 4 piece, and i think flatlanders like bars and forks with no sweep or rake
03-10-05, 03:24 PM
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Most riders, aside from flatlanders, use two-piece bars. Four-piece bars, outside of flat, are becoming more and more a thing of the past. Five/six/seven/eight/ten-piece bars are very, very rarely seen anywhere outside of a flatland bike, because there's no real need for them - the only real exception I can think of are the old five-piece Boss Racing bars, which, frankly, kick ass. Cecil Johns, never forget.
03-15-05, 10:00 AM
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In the old days...
Well, about 18 years ago there basically was almost nothing on bikes except 2-piece bars. I remember the Redline bars that came out early on with a V shaped 4-piece bar, but it was really the Haro Kneesaver bars that came out around 1987/88 that really changed the shape of bars.
From the late 80's though the 90's all bars went to a 4+ piece design. The added strength that multiple bar handlebars (4, 6, 8 piece designs) was quickly proven and there was an added 'cool' factor to having bars that were a little different than Wal-Mart bike bars.
In recent years: Bars used to break because they were many INCHES wider than the bars on most riders bikes today. Now riders run narrow bars which are much less likely to break in a 2-piece design. So, 2-piece bars can once again be made and they are MUCH less expensive to produce.
Weight is not much (or any) better with a 2-piece design vs. other designs. Strength is definitely not as good with a 2-piece design - the bend in the tube is the weak spot. But, because there isn't as much stress on the bend because the bar is narrower than it used to be, the bar is strong enough to last years.
4, 6, and 8 piece bars are still used by some street/dirt/vert guys, but mostly it is flatlanders using them. I have run 8-piece bars for 10+ years now and would be hard pressed to use something else. Flatlanders still need the extra strength when they have a crossbar that is really low. It increases the stress on the bars a ton when that crossbar is dropped several inches below the rise of the bar (see pic below). The added stress needs to be made up for by using separate straight tubes, then heat treating the steel to make it stronger. The company that revolutionized handlebar quality was Graveyard Products which was the first to really push a high quality, hand built, 8-piece design. That was over ten years ago and as far as I know, every 8-piece bar has roots from Graveyard.
Check the weights of 2-piece vs. 6/8-piece bars and you will find that most weights are comparable. But, the 6 & 8 piece designs are definitely for flatland with a very low crossbar. This, in the end, makes those bars unsuitable for street/dirt/vert for long periods. A good street 4-piece or 6-piece design will be much stronger than pretty much any 2-piece design. But, they would cost significantly more... and not many guys want to dish out $100.00 for bars when they can get em for $30.00 instead.
NOTE LOW CROSS BAR ON THESE QUAMEN HANDLEBARS (Direct descendant of Graveyard bars)
Well, about 18 years ago there basically was almost nothing on bikes except 2-piece bars. I remember the Redline bars that came out early on with a V shaped 4-piece bar, but it was really the Haro Kneesaver bars that came out around 1987/88 that really changed the shape of bars.
From the late 80's though the 90's all bars went to a 4+ piece design. The added strength that multiple bar handlebars (4, 6, 8 piece designs) was quickly proven and there was an added 'cool' factor to having bars that were a little different than Wal-Mart bike bars.
In recent years: Bars used to break because they were many INCHES wider than the bars on most riders bikes today. Now riders run narrow bars which are much less likely to break in a 2-piece design. So, 2-piece bars can once again be made and they are MUCH less expensive to produce.
Weight is not much (or any) better with a 2-piece design vs. other designs. Strength is definitely not as good with a 2-piece design - the bend in the tube is the weak spot. But, because there isn't as much stress on the bend because the bar is narrower than it used to be, the bar is strong enough to last years.
4, 6, and 8 piece bars are still used by some street/dirt/vert guys, but mostly it is flatlanders using them. I have run 8-piece bars for 10+ years now and would be hard pressed to use something else. Flatlanders still need the extra strength when they have a crossbar that is really low. It increases the stress on the bars a ton when that crossbar is dropped several inches below the rise of the bar (see pic below). The added stress needs to be made up for by using separate straight tubes, then heat treating the steel to make it stronger. The company that revolutionized handlebar quality was Graveyard Products which was the first to really push a high quality, hand built, 8-piece design. That was over ten years ago and as far as I know, every 8-piece bar has roots from Graveyard.
Check the weights of 2-piece vs. 6/8-piece bars and you will find that most weights are comparable. But, the 6 & 8 piece designs are definitely for flatland with a very low crossbar. This, in the end, makes those bars unsuitable for street/dirt/vert for long periods. A good street 4-piece or 6-piece design will be much stronger than pretty much any 2-piece design. But, they would cost significantly more... and not many guys want to dish out $100.00 for bars when they can get em for $30.00 instead.
NOTE LOW CROSS BAR ON THESE QUAMEN HANDLEBARS (Direct descendant of Graveyard bars)
03-15-05, 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by BMXTRIX
In the old days...
Well, about 18 years ago there basically was almost nothing on bikes except 2-piece bars. I remember the Redline bars that came out early on with a V shaped 4-piece bar, but it was really the Haro Kneesaver bars that came out around 1987/88 that really changed the shape of bars.
From the late 80's though the 90's all bars went to a 4+ piece design. The added strength that multiple bar handlebars (4, 6, 8 piece designs) was quickly proven and there was an added 'cool' factor to having bars that were a little different than Wal-Mart bike bars.
In recent years: Bars used to break because they were many INCHES wider than the bars on most riders bikes today. Now riders run narrow bars which are much less likely to break in a 2-piece design. So, 2-piece bars can once again be made and they are MUCH less expensive to produce.
Weight is not much (or any) better with a 2-piece design vs. other designs. Strength is definitely not as good with a 2-piece design - the bend in the tube is the weak spot. But, because there isn't as much stress on the bend because the bar is narrower than it used to be, the bar is strong enough to last years.
4, 6, and 8 piece bars are still used by some street/dirt/vert guys, but mostly it is flatlanders using them. I have run 8-piece bars for 10+ years now and would be hard pressed to use something else. Flatlanders still need the extra strength when they have a crossbar that is really low. It increases the stress on the bars a ton when that crossbar is dropped several inches below the rise of the bar (see pic below). The added stress needs to be made up for by using separate straight tubes, then heat treating the steel to make it stronger. The company that revolutionized handlebar quality was Graveyard Products which was the first to really push a high quality, hand built, 8-piece design. That was over ten years ago and as far as I know, every 8-piece bar has roots from Graveyard.
Check the weights of 2-piece vs. 6/8-piece bars and you will find that most weights are comparable. But, the 6 & 8 piece designs are definitely for flatland with a very low crossbar. This, in the end, makes those bars unsuitable for street/dirt/vert for long periods. A good street 4-piece or 6-piece design will be much stronger than pretty much any 2-piece design. But, they would cost significantly more... and not many guys want to dish out $100.00 for bars when they can get em for $30.00 instead.
NOTE LOW CROSS BAR ON THESE QUAMEN HANDLEBARS (Direct descendant of Graveyard bars)
Well, about 18 years ago there basically was almost nothing on bikes except 2-piece bars. I remember the Redline bars that came out early on with a V shaped 4-piece bar, but it was really the Haro Kneesaver bars that came out around 1987/88 that really changed the shape of bars.
From the late 80's though the 90's all bars went to a 4+ piece design. The added strength that multiple bar handlebars (4, 6, 8 piece designs) was quickly proven and there was an added 'cool' factor to having bars that were a little different than Wal-Mart bike bars.
In recent years: Bars used to break because they were many INCHES wider than the bars on most riders bikes today. Now riders run narrow bars which are much less likely to break in a 2-piece design. So, 2-piece bars can once again be made and they are MUCH less expensive to produce.
Weight is not much (or any) better with a 2-piece design vs. other designs. Strength is definitely not as good with a 2-piece design - the bend in the tube is the weak spot. But, because there isn't as much stress on the bend because the bar is narrower than it used to be, the bar is strong enough to last years.
4, 6, and 8 piece bars are still used by some street/dirt/vert guys, but mostly it is flatlanders using them. I have run 8-piece bars for 10+ years now and would be hard pressed to use something else. Flatlanders still need the extra strength when they have a crossbar that is really low. It increases the stress on the bars a ton when that crossbar is dropped several inches below the rise of the bar (see pic below). The added stress needs to be made up for by using separate straight tubes, then heat treating the steel to make it stronger. The company that revolutionized handlebar quality was Graveyard Products which was the first to really push a high quality, hand built, 8-piece design. That was over ten years ago and as far as I know, every 8-piece bar has roots from Graveyard.
Check the weights of 2-piece vs. 6/8-piece bars and you will find that most weights are comparable. But, the 6 & 8 piece designs are definitely for flatland with a very low crossbar. This, in the end, makes those bars unsuitable for street/dirt/vert for long periods. A good street 4-piece or 6-piece design will be much stronger than pretty much any 2-piece design. But, they would cost significantly more... and not many guys want to dish out $100.00 for bars when they can get em for $30.00 instead.
NOTE LOW CROSS BAR ON THESE QUAMEN HANDLEBARS (Direct descendant of Graveyard bars)
Interesting story BMXTRIX, and man those Quamen bars do have a low cross bar.
03-16-05, 07:12 PM
#9
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I run the DK 4 peice bars (which I cant find anywhere anymore). They were 16 bucks at dans. I cut them so my grips run just a bit on the bend. They feel SOOO nice I haven't come across any bars that feel any better! The crossbar is a bit wider than the haro kneesaver 2k's I think it's like 7" and a quarter. They are 21 inches wide. 16bucks. They havn't bent at all and they've taken some good shots!
03-18-05, 06:40 PM
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Do yourself a favor and think about what you just asked, Poonster.
If he cut the bars at the bends, where the hell would he grip them?
If he cut the bars at the bends, where the hell would he grip them?
03-21-05, 05:15 PM
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It's all fun and games till your doing a bar hop and your feet get caught up on your crossbar. Can you say faceplant?
