gabkr

I have read most pro riders use aluminum alloy handlebars........do they use carbon stems with them? and what is the reason they avoid carbon?(wrecks,ect.)

alexfboyle

Most use carbon stems for the stiffness. They also use alum bars because they're stiff enough, and if you crash really bad, you can visually inspect them to see if they're ok to ride. Carbon bars can get really messed up, and you can't always tell.

UCIMBZ

Pros ride whatever sponsors give them.

Bob Dopolina 

That's the main reason.

You've got a couple of mechanics working on a fleet of bikes. Odds are one or more has been crashed recently or will be crashed soon enough. It would be a considerable amount of work to continously inspect so many bars.

With a resulting failure possibly ending a pro career and little, if any weight savings to be had by going carbon there is no upside and a few, very serious down sides.

Alloy ftw.


FYI, I ride carbon.

JTGraphics

I agree that they do have to select from the sponsors brand, the choice of alloy handlebars is most likely a choice of reliability that if they go down the chances that they can get back on and go are better than with carbon while carbon may be stronger in a crash they are more likely to crack and render the bike useless.

IthaDan 

Pro bikes are at a point where ballast needs to be added to make minimum weight. Why not add things like power meters and sturdier bars instead of gluing lead to the bb shell?

Di2 gives up more than a pound to red, but with minimum weights, it doesn't matter as much as if there were no weight requirements.

carpediemracing 

The weight/stiffness has to be part of the reason too, although I'm just guessing here (BDop is a bit more familiar with ProTour stuff).

With all these flagship featherweight frames, flagship featherweight wheels, the bikes need to gain weight somewhere. It seems now that the mechanics try and put the weight in the bottom bracket area (like weighted plugs in the axle). Having weight further up makes the bike feel heavy, even if it's the same weight. Cannondale used to put weights in the seat tube, now they put it in the BB.

Although I agree with a minimum weight for a bike, it's a bit ironic that the ProTour riders are riding much heavier bikes than some of the amateurs around here. It's not uncommon to see an 11 or 12 pound bike under a Cat 4 or Cat 3. Nothing wrong with it either. Heck, if I could have a 12 pound bike I would but I can't afford to get one. I know at my level it doesn't make a difference. I figure that I'm carrying around an extra 25 lbs as a normal human, 35-40 lbs as a ProTour skinny. I don't want to pay the price of ProTour skinny but I'd rather be 25 lbs lighter (I was 2 years ago). A pound or three on my bike doesn't matter much.

At a ProTour level the weight does, and I think that's why you see a slew of ultra light shoes, helmets, and clothing. Because if your bike has to weight 6.8 kg but you take .1 kg off your helmet, .2 kg off your shoes, and maybe .1 kg off your clothing (I'm guessing on the last one), that's .4 kg off your bike/rider unit. .4 kg is 400 grams. 454 grams is a pound. That's a decent amount of weight for someone counting grams and ounces.

In fact it would be better for a pro to have the lightest most minimal cleat set up available and a heavier pedal (that has all the stuff in it) in order to weigh down the bike (part of the 6.8kg) and lighten up the unregulated shoes.

Fox Farm

Maybe I am wrong but I would debate the notion that a carbon stem is stiffer than an aluminum stem.

rebel1916

If you are unsure, why would you debate it?

merlinextraligh

I have a carbon stem on one bike, aluminum on the others. I can't say I've noticed a stiffness difference.

LowCel 

I think it's kind of how people can tell that one crankset is stiffer than another. You know, even though the difference is in fractions of a mm from the stiffest to the least stiff.

carpediemracing 

I think there is a perceptible difference in stiffness in stems and in cranks. It's easier to objectify the crank stiffness - if your chainrings rub when you jump, the cranks aren't that stiff. On a trainer you can see the rings wave left-right, and a more flexible crank will move a bit more (it's in mm but it still moves more). You can even get a more flexy crankset and put good rings on - the flex really diminishes.

With stem/bar combos it's also noticeable. I've been using Ritchey stems with a crit bend (basically traditional) bar with a 26.0 clamp diameter. This winter I wanted to see if I could use a compact bar (it has the same forearm saving clearance as a crit bend bar but since I can get it in a 31.6? clamp dia I can get stems more easily). I was super impressed with the stiffness of the 130mm stem + compact bars (vs 120mm Ritchey + crit bend bars). Due to fit reasons I moved back to the crit bend bar but took the opportunity to put on a heat treated bar (lighter). It's even more flexible than the original crit bend bar.

With bars you can flex them while standing with the front wheel between your legs. Try it at a shop. It's pretty amazing how much difference there is, maybe an inch or two.

EdIsMe

I've gotten my Sram Apex cranks to flex... albeit just enough to get the chain to rub the front derailleur under max effort.

Then again... I'm not putting out over 1,000 watts. (Probably half that).

Seattle Forrest

Pro riders crash a lot.