GV27

Hi,

THere are a couple of titanium handlebars on the market, but I never hear anybody talking about them.

Are they just too flexy, or what?

Thanks,

Chris

late

They were a way to get some shock abosrbtion. Now that most bikes have shock absorbers they cost too much to bother with. If Airborne still sells them, they had a good price.

GV27

Yeah - but they don't cost any more than Carbon. Weigh slightly more - about the same as a really light Al bar.

Maelstrom 

Seems like with that last statement you answered your own question.

PWRDbyTRD

ti flexes doesn't it?

GV27

No. At the same weight as an Al bar, it should be a LOT stronger and less susceptible to fatigue failure. I see all sorts of threads about light Al bars bending and carbon bars breaking - plus I'm in the market for new bars since I just found out that Al bars should be replaced every three or four years, which for me means 10 or 11 years ago! Then there is the debate over whether or not carbon dampens vibrations.

So why not Ti to solve these problems? It's not as cheap as Al, but needs replacing less often. About the same as Carbon but not as brittle. So in the long run maybe cheaper than either. The only down side I see is flex, but if it doesn't flex so much as to really affect the handling but does flex enough to dampen vibrations............

C Law

I think that most mtbers perform a cost benefit analysis on each piece of equipment they buy. The cost of Titanium bars is just too high to justify I think. Despite what you say, in my experience they do cost more than carbon. Unless there are some cheap ti bars I don't know about.

The Moots Riser bar looks sweet. But it costs more and is heavier than an easton monkeylite ec70. And I am happy with my carbon bars so far.

I have ridden with the Ec70 monkeylite on my rigid bikes. For me, there IS NO DEBATE whether they dampen vibrations.

darkmother

Nope, the opposite is true. Because handlebars all have the same outside dimesions, a Ti bar will be far stiffer than it's aluminum counterpart-check out ti's elastic modulus compared to that of aluminum. Generally, I think there one major reason why ti bars are not popular. Cost. It is very expensive to produce a ti bar that is comparable to an aluminum bar (bulged center, tapered wall etc.) Dollar for dollar, aluminum will always come out on top. Additionally, even a very advanced ti bar will probably be close in wieght to an aluminum bar. Hard to justify the expense.

GV27

OK, now we're getting somewhere.....perhaps it is the design rather than the material. Because you're right - the Ti bars I'm talking about are straight with a stem spacer. Maybe some internal butting - I'm not sure. With the same design and the same weight, the Ti should be WAY stronger. This should easily justify the cost for all these guys I see breaking or bending expensive bars. BUT if the center bulge, tapering, etc. means that the Ti bar is NOT significantly stronger than aluminum - and I would guess that would make it weaker than carbon - then there you have it.

edit: well, this discussion has become academic for me - though I do think it's interesting. I just bought a straight carbon bar for $49 from Cambria Bike Outfitters. That price does make it hard for Ti to compete.

phantomcow2

If you get your carbon goodies from a reputable company such as easton, there should be no issue with strength. These things have huge strength

late

https://www.airborne.net/eready/janet...u=AB-HB-TI-MTB

https://www.titec.com/items.asp?deptid=1&itemid=11

https://www.titusti.com/gear_components.html

https://www.bikemania.biz/Morati_MTB_...ihbclassic.htm

jo5iah

To add to the list:
https://www.moots.com/ticomp-handlebars.php

At the same diameter and tube wall thickness as AL, they should be about twice as stiff and twice as heavy. I doubt they're made of the same wall thickness.

The real nice thing is elongation (always nice): Ti will bend a lot more than AL, CF, and even Fe before it breaks. Also, you can bend it back.

Additionallyl, it's quite fatigue resistant, and should last a long long time.

As said before - cost is the real issue.

dirtbikedude

I used a WhiteBros DH Ti riser for 8yrs until I bent the shyte out of it. It did feel much better then aluminum and a lot safer then carbon. I prefer the ti but the al is much easier on the pocket when you need to replace.

GV27

Yeah, plus the research I've done is pointing to the main "issue" with carbon bars being people trying to work on their bikes w/ no torque wrench. What's with that? Just go down to Sears and buy a little beam-type torque wrench. They're darn cheap (~$30). The beam-type never needs recalibrating either, so once you buy it, you're set for life (or until you manage to bend the beam). Or if you don't want to bother with dividing inch-pound by 12 or you want to be a tool snob, buy a Park for $10 more. Heck, here's a perfect one for $22:

https://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...&bidsite=CRAFT

Bike parts are relatively fragile in general so it just makes sense all over the bike. I use my torque wrench more often on my bike than I do on my cars and motorcycles.

Sorry for the O/T - not using a torque wrench is a pet peeve of mine!

I actually got my bars slightly cheaper than $50 that due to some other business I'm doing with them, so it was a deal I couldn't pass up. Easton says if you do it right and use the right parts, you can cut the bars I ordered down to size and even run bar ends. That's all that I want.

One thing about cost though - I finally see the difference in perspective. I'm pretty old-school and have just been looking at flat XC bars. They're a lot cheaper relative to carbon and aluminum vs. riser bars. Ti riser bars are f'n expensive!

Sheesh, bar shopping has gotten complicated in the 12 years since I last bought one! I've been agonizing over this for a couple of weeks and when Cambria offered me a deal, I took it as a way out of my misery. That is until I mis-use my torque wrench on my non-compatible bar ends and crack my brand-new carbon bar!

C