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:

http://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