no more dangerous than your local bar. Moderation is the key.

If you look at the design, even in the event of a failure you shouldn't crash. If one side breaks off, then you have the other side to hold onto.
If both side break off, you have to grab the stem. This takes practice. A good training aid is to make up some wooden drop bars. Most carve them out of old hickory. Mount them up and then ride the bike and then break them off with your hands. As your face falls toward the head tube, learn to grab the stem. If you miss, all that should happen is you get a ding in your forehead. Shouldn't be a big deal.

I'm pretty sure the torque wrench is required to ensure you don't OVER torque, thus cracking the carbon.

With all due respect, check the statistics. Somewhere between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths were due to preventable medical errors according to the report published by the Institute of Medicine in November 1999

https://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Rep...rt%20brief.pdf

The health care system, including doctors, is far more likely to kill you than carbon handlebars. Be very afraid indeed.

Based on a single experience, second hand, with many unknown factors, aluminum bars are the ones that will kill you.

https://forums.roadbikereview.com/gen...ry-298633.html

hooookaaay

I have had carbon bars on my bike for six years without any problem. Unless you are in a nasty crash or you over tighten them, you will be fine.

By the way, I picked carbon because I could get the bar shape I wanted. However, aluminum is now available in ergo shapes.

Actually, most of the anecdotes are third person ones, not personal. Somebody else was JRA when bad **** happened.

Yeah but handlebars can't take out your pussed out appendix and I can. BTW you best learn the nature of sarcasm if you plan to hang around here.....there's a lot of it.

This is NOT meant to be in bad taste, but who knows... but Carbon Unit, maybe you should talk to your surgeon about inserting carbon fibre mesh in your hernia. A bit of good quality weave, and it should last forever.

As to bars, I have them on the tandem. No problems in two years. I have them on my go-fastie CF bike, and no problem.

I have aluminium on my old touring bike. In 2003, it fell over in a campsite, and bent the right drop in 10mm or so. I've been meaning to replace the bars since, but because they haven't broken, and I haven't tried to pull them back into shape, I figure I don't need to fix something that is not broken.

I have had carbon bars and hammered the crap out of them for eight years, winter and summer without a second thought. Stop worrying and go for a ride.

Hey, I like the idea if it worked. The carbon bars on my bike may never break because it may only see trainer duty if the doc won't let me ride on the road again.

Oh, I understand the nature sarcasm quite well. You just got a sample of my particular brand of it Sorry if you took it personally. Definitely not my intent. Maybe it's the irony that escaped you. I mean, here we are once again wringing our hands over a perceived hazard for which there's not a wit of empirical or statistical evidence when there are other well documented dangers out there that few pay much attention to at all. Just sayin'...

No worries mate and I did not take it personally. If anything the number is low. There are some dangerous docs out there.

No. He's probably right. I think we should all just quit so that we stop killing people. I'll just become a waiter or a lifeguard or something. I'd hate to cause more harm.

And I learned something today. I never knew CA had a Pittsburg.

Ahh, more sarcasm. Yes? Like I said, it's all about the warped perception people have of risk. Besides, waiters and lifeguards can do some pretty serious damage too

Crap. Now I have to move to that deserted island. Wait. Look at all the damage Gilligan did! Oh, I give up

Never expose carbon fiber parts to sunlight, it is on the warning label.. use at extreme risk. splosions happen

Getting out of bed today was worthwhile.

Maybe you're right about my understanding of sarcasm. It took me over 20 year of living here to fully understand how aptly name this place is.

dont forget the carbon paste,works great ,you dont have to tighten the bolts as much and no slipping. That said i ride carbon bars,love em,but i'll tell you they suck after hitting my face on the stem after they blow up so whatever.

It's worth nothing that alloy bars are also prone to sudden failure and should be carefully inspected after any crash.

Can you be a bit more specific about this hitting your face on the stem? It seems that if we are to inject at least one real incident into this "reality" we might as well have the details. When, how, what side, where, result, and any previous incident that might have led to the failure.

Aluminium loses almost all of it's strength after being bent and is prone to sudden fracture. I would really recommend replacing those bars immediately.