osco53

I've herd over and over how good carbon bars feel over aluminum and how they dampen small vibrations that contribute to forearm pump and overall upper body fatigue.
Glove padding does nothing when compared to Carbon, Sitting more upright to lower the hand load Is not an option when I'm single tracking like a crazy person. I should say Sitting is not an option. Those that know this need no explanation, those that don't must learn It first hand....

Well It's true, I found a Carbon bar that was the same length as my aluminum, same flat bar and all,, NO cutting..
The difference is very noticeable, sure Its lighter but I'm not a weight weenie, 100 grams here or there Pfft...

I'd think that those of you who are new and are fighting hand pain and or arm pump are about to spend money on a second set of gloves with more padding. I found Padding disconnected me from the bike in a bad way...
I'd also speculate that this is a greater problem If you ride more of a X country style bike or XC trails..
I found a bar that was ordered new and the customer tried and wanted wider so I got a discount, still $80 but It was $125 new, I am very happy.

It's often In the details,, where we find solutions,,

Contemplate this on the 'Tree Of Woe' and get back to me

Trailroaster

One of the first things I do to my bikes is to switch from an aluminium to carbon handlebars. Not for the weight savings, like you said for compliance and hand relieving.

On the one who was more noticeable that change was on my hybrid bike (rigid carbón front fork). Was quite expensive but worth the expense.

For the ones who are vary to switching to carbon handlebars look at this video. More compliant and resistant than Aluminium ones:

pressed001

It may also be worth swapping to a carbon stem.

osco53

I see no reason for that added expense unless someone is going for less weight, my bars alone took ALL of the harmonic vibes away as far as I can tell..

Wingsprint

Are we talking about a MTB with a front suspension and running low pressure tubeless tires? If so, I think the feel of the carbon bar is almost totally a placebo (justify money spent) effect.

Rigid? Whole different story.

DMC707

i can tell a difference between heavy, rigid bars and more flexible bars that damp the resonance a bit on my motocross bikes with 14psi in the tires and 12" of travel.

if anything, a spindly mountain bike with air suspension is much more sensitive to minor changes like this.

Wingsprint

Resonance? As in vibration from the engine?

DMC707

No - vibrations from small trail chatter that puts your hands to sleep and pumps up your forearms --- On the motorized side, i run a softer bar for off road conditions and a bar that is as stiff as i can for straight up moto.

Answer even makes a handlebar with adjustable stiffness for the moto side , as well as lots of bars with different wall thicknesses for different conditions --

Its interesting stuff to me as there is some crossover from the MTB to the moto side and back - now the motocross bikes are running air front suspension just like an oversized mountain bike even

but this is a link to the adjustable handlebar - from soft to rock solid

FUZION | Pro Taper

LesterOfPuppets

Carbon bars are way more plush. I gotta get some more of 'em.

I was surprised that if you get really crappy Aluminum bars, that they can really sting. I once got some $8 pricepoint aluminum bars that were super thick wall and super heavy. Riding them felt like being in the batting cage holding your bat wrong and hitting 1000 balls. Ouch, it stung so bad!

hig4s

Back in 87 my KTM 250EXC the WP USD fork was a combination of air/spring/oil

DMC707

that is what moto forks have been since the dawn of time , and what early generation MTB forks were --- now its just air (no springs ) since about 2013 and some manufacturers are experimenting with air shocks as well

hig4s

The reason I posted that was because the new motocross air forks most people are talking about are the Kayabas and they still have springs in them. the only one I know with no spring is the 2015 Showa 3 chamber (there are two models, one with used by Kaw and Suzuki and one without used by Honda 250). and the new WP 4 chamber on KTMs still has a spring.

Edit, after checking there is a new Kayaba with no spring used on the Honda 450

MisterK

Holy crap. 808mm bar? I ride 710mm and I think that's about my max. Must be some giants riding those 808m bars

DMC707

Yep - Kawi has been using it since 2013 as well

Inside the New KYB Pneumatic Spring Fork- Suspension Technology: Inside KYB?s Pneumatic Spring Fork.

- Yamaha for now is still standing by the springs as well with their Kayaba SSS forks (which are magical for production forks ) -- KTM has massive 52mm forks with a single side spring

For motocross, this technology is still in the early stages and a lot of the advanced riders are actually swapping the air forks back to spring forks , --- but there are some advantages for us "lesser than pro's " in setup

--- I do wish my current Honda was as plush as my old Yamaha with the SSS setup though

Trailroaster

In theory the width of the handlebar is dictated by your physical dimensions.

I use a Renthal FatBar Carbon handlebar in 740mm width, like this:

Renthal FatBar Lite Carbon Riser Bar | Chain Reaction Cycles

In fact, what I did first to my bike was switching the handlebar and a shorter stem (2" long).

gsa103

Spring forks do a better job in motorcycles because the required weight range is smaller. A 30-lb bike + a rider may weigh anywhere from 130-240 and still be well within "normal", requires almost a factor of 2 adjustment range. If the bike instead weighs 250 lbs, the adjustment range is much smaller, and can be better optimized.

hig4s

assuming a 160 lb rider, mtb would be about 190lbs, a dirtbike about 410lbs.. If the motorcycle forks held 2.1 times the volume of air as the mtb forks, I believe the adjustment would be virtually identical.