zanq

Sorry if this has been discussed, search is not working.

I'm setting up a second bike as a cyclocross commuter and need another handlebar. My thought was to swap my Sette 7075 alu bar bar over from my roadie and upgrade to an economical carbon bar, but is carbon that much of a performance enhancement over alu (comparing a $90 carbon to a $20 alu and we're just talking about handlebars here)?

If performance is negligible between the two, I'll forego the carbon and get something in the $15-20 range. Thanks!

RC2

It isn't much of a performance enhancement.
- Will it make you faster? No. (And weight savings are typcially small too.)
- Will it dampen some vibration? Maybe, probably not noticably.
- Will you need to replace it after a crash if you want to have 100% that your bar isn't going to suddenly break on a climb/sprint? Yes.
- Will it add a bit of bling? Yes.

fogrider

I got a kestrel carbon bar. it is stiff and comfortable on long rides. I'm not sure you will notice the comfort of the bar until 50 miles into a ride. a $20 bar will be heavier, not sure if it's going to be as stiff. kestrel offers a life time warranty on the pro.

samp02

Carbon...lots of bling...

ImprezaDrvr

Hey Ben, he's moving the alu bar over to the commuter from what I can see.

I'd stick with aluminum, but that's me. Haven't found a carbon bar that's shaped as comfortably as my Ritchey alloy stuff, and the premium you pay isn't worth it IMHO. Lots of bling, maybe a bit of comfort over some bars. But, as with anything, you're liable to get one carbon bar that makes a noticeable difference in comfort and another that doesn't.

my58vw

I will NOT ride a CF bar or Stem... Al models are just as lite and less problematic, expecially in a crash situation, although you are apt to need to replace an al bar after a crash also.

I am going to the ritchey WCS stuff, not only is it lite but it is also strong, stiff and for me cheep. In my honest opinion unless you have a carbon frame the only place carbon needs to be on a bike is on the fork and seat post, stays are not even necessary (they look nice though). On a cyclocross bike I would not even go that far, al or ti for strength.

jp413384

I had Sette aluminum bars on my bike and recently switched to Oval Concepts flat top carbon/kevlar bars. People definately have differing opinions when it comes to the general aluminum versus carbon debate, so I will stay away from that one.

For me though, going from my aluminum Sette bars to the carbon/kevlar Oval Concepts bars greatly increased my ride comfort. I have had a number of rides, including a century ride, with the new bars. I would say there is a combination of additional vibration damping and more comfortable hand positions with my particular carbon bars.

zanq

The above poster is correct, my intention is to move the metal bar to the commuter and upgrade the roadie, but it appears that it will be mostly for bling. Sounds like the $50 price differential (at the minimum) isn't worth it.

Thanks for the feedback!