sbxx1985 

Unless they snap on your first ride.

SBRDude

Personally, I would rather pay full price for the real deal and not wonder if I was risking my face for a relatively small financial savings. But, that's just me...

sbxx1985 

I have the K-wings.

Better him than me for the BF $38 Carbon Bar Experiment.

jasonball

good post and thanks for the sacrifice on the 38 bucks

gt35built

Lets not forget the 30 dollars shipping

Mash Master

technically $68, $38 + $30 shipping

rollin

Questions:

Do you have access to an x-ray machine? (seriously) I wonder what they look like compared to branded bars. Not that I am a materials expert.

I hope these work for you. Thanks for posting.

I was given a knock off Chinese driver (golf club). The head and shafts looked and felt very close to the original (which I own). On the first drive the ball shot off 250+meters (which is good for me). On the second drive the ball didn't go so far but the head of the club shot off 50 meters as the graphite shaft had sheared off.

Other questions:

Do you have good dental coverage on your insurance?
Do you live in a tree house?

W Cole

Fixed.

If you do decide to sacrifice your bars for the greater good make sure to wear a respirator. Carbon dust is terrible for your lungs.

Bob Dopolina 

You may actually have a bar that was laid up in the Control Tech mold. Maybe.

This doesn't mean that it is the same bar. The cloth, resign and lay up could all be different. There's no way to know.

The internal/external cable routing is often just a finishing detail. If they are molded with channels then a cap is applied once the bar is out of the mold. This makes it internal. This could easily be altered.

Bars are usually made in 3pc. The center section (the tops) and then a left and right drop section. This is so they need fewer molds for sizing. The left/right drops are all the same and the center section is made in 3 different lengths to achieve 3 different widths once bonded together. These joins are often painted black to hide the join work.

It would be interesting to ride both bars to compare (these and the CT) but you have the K-Wing so that would be a no-go.

sbxx1985 

This post wins.

rydaddy

Negative.

This one does...

Inertianinja

Yep, I'm aware of what the differences might be, the point was to actually get them and take a look...rather than have threads full of people saying "enjoy crashing I spent more that makes me feel better"

I cant x-Ray them, but I can compare stiffness when the new bars come. They feel more solid than I expected.

Namenda

Personally, I would rather buy aluminum bars. Which is what I have, along with an undamaged face. But, that's just me...

rangerdavid

so after almost 24 hours, what's your opinion? Any creaks, cracks, or explosions yet?? I noticed this ebay seller is the same guy that has the full carbon bikes for like $375.

Also, in what state do you practice? I'm in NC and need some CLE before the end of the year, but our construction law section annual meeting is next weekend, yet the computer/internet topics peak my interest.

Joseph Vigue

let us know how they ride

Inertianinja

Well like I said I didn't plan on riding them. Maybe if I get impatient waiting for my other bars. My fiancée wants to use them because of the nice top area.

The point is, to my eye there's nothing that indicates that they are dangerous. As you can see, others have decided that they are dangerous merely because they are inexpensive, and because the bars that they use have not cracked. That is junk logic.
It has been suggested that they will break *while riding* causing injury to one's face.

From the observations I've made, as opposed to others' speculation, there is nothing to indicate that they'll break with my weight in them.

Once I get the chain on, I'll use them on the trainer and do
Some out of the saddle cranking.


I'm in NY, but if you really want I believe they are broadcasting it on the web. I don't know about credits for other states, though. I'm excited for it. I'm a former white collar/ computer crimes prosecutor and I have a lot of tech background, and I've been trained by/worked with various govt agencies and private companies, including the secret service, in computer investigation. So my program is to give lawyers a primer on how to handle a computer related case.

Inertianinja

Also - yea, they have carbon frames for sale.
If you google, you can find lots of people who ride those no-name frames daily with no problems. I know a girl who has one (she got a decal for the downtube that says "I Don't Know")...i rode with her over some seriously rough roads and all was fine.

Consider this:
This bike has a price tag of $20,000
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?678558

Imagine if an owner of that bike came here and said "haha have fun with your cheap $2000 carbon bike when it breaks, I'll be happy with the peace of mind that I know I paid for the best."
What would you all say?
You'd say "you're the idiot who paid too much, you paid more just for the brand"

roadiejorge 

My main concern with the unbranded carbon equipment from e-Bay is that there's no knowing what kind of quality control is done on the product since we have no real clue as to who is making them. I assume they're coming from the same factories as the branded products but companies who outsource to China are responsible for QC since their name will be on them. It's worth a try I suppose and if they made aluminum bars for cheap I would be tempted to try them since I'm not a fan of carbon bars, stems, or seat posts.

MDfive21

excellent thread. an easy way to test these for strength would be to mount the bars to something solid and hang weights on the bar ends til they break. you could also measure the amount of flex at multiple points on the bars at each weight (ie measure flex near the stem, and flex of the ergo/drop section). repeat with the name brand bars and compare.

or more fun, but very fred... you could set up a 'tug of war' between them. mount bars to left and right with rope connecting the bar ends to weights hanging in the middle via a pulley. see which one breaks or looks unsteady first.

Inertianinja

Btw, in response to the question about whether I live in a tree house:

(a) I wish.
(b) sadly, no. I live in an apartment with a small terrace that we put some AstroTurf and a loveseat/table on. We like to sit on it and gaze across NYC surveying our vast 0.00001 acres of land.

PhotoJoe 

Now that right there is funny!

echappist

lest you forget that 0.00001 acre is worth $10,000. only in nyc...

yokotas13

picture i asked for?

Namenda

...is at the bottom of the first page.

adriano 

thats somewhat important to mention.