Originally Posted by zx108
i wasnt talking about dh and freeriding, i was talking about cross country. they do make carbon bars for dh, but most racers will still use an aluminum bar. it is harder to bend steel than to put a crack in carbon fiber. you can bend steel a little and it will be fine, if carbon fiber starts to go bad and that is it you cant use it.
Bars are not a good application for CF...even many roadies shy away from them (especially racers). The trouble with bars isn't necessarily the shatter factor (which is sort of myth, sort of not), it's the incredibly chaotic manner in which bars are stressed and flexed. Forks and frames, for example, take abuse in a more predictable manner, making the job of engineering carbon layup easier and making the material less suceptible to failure if it *does* take a few hits or scratches.