I just installed my summer bars, ITM K-Sword shaped aero carbon bars, 44cm. The problem I have is finding carbon bars with enough width and enough reach. For some reason, carbon bar manufacturers seldom make bars with as much forward reach as aluminum bars. Also, even though the bars are 44 cm center-to-center at the drops (where I hardly ever ride), they are only 43cm at the bend at the tops! I even once had a set of carbon bars that were 44 at the drops and 42 at the tops; you could see the drops splay outward! I've also got another set of bars with not enough drop, and another set that won't let me mount the brake levers high enough (and I do not mount them that high). I get the impression the carbon mfrs want to conserve the carbon fiber, so they use as little material as possible, and spend most of the money on fancy graphics.

As far as durability, I will repeat my materials comparison: steel, once bent, will actually get harder, but it gets brittle at the same time. However, you have to bend it quite a bit before this work-hardening takes place. Carbon fiber is made from carbon fibers in a matrix made of resin, which comes from trees. Tree branches can bend quite a bit before breaking, and they will flex forever as long as you don't bend it enough that it starts to break. So one would suppose that carbon fiber would behave in much the same way - able to bend forever - at least longer than you can repeatedly bend steel - as long as you don't bend it too far. Aluminum, on the other hand, is not built for bending. The least bend will start to work-harden it, so aluminum becomes brittle very quickly. This is why once you deform alumnium, you can't bend it back without it breaking.

Therefore, my choice for a handlebar material would be 1) cf, 2) steel, and a distant 3) aluminum. They don't make titanium bars, but it would probably be a better material than steel or aluminum to make bars out of.

L.