now THAT is an excellent suggestion!

Dolface ,Look like I was a little late posting. He cut them already..

S/F,
CEYA!

true, but it's sure gonna help me out the next time i cut a pair down!

That's what I did anyway...and marked the distance with masking tape.
The end result looks and feels nice.

i just did this the other day with some new drops, flipped em, rode around with my hands where i'd want them, added an inch or so, and cut with a pipe cutter, then lined that chopped piece to the other bar, and started cutting there

they're not EXACTLY even, but they're close enough that you wouldnt notice

i did this last night at 5 in the morning after a long night of partying. probably THE worst time to try and cut something clean. my brain wasn't functioning, and i ended up doing this with an old hacksaw (no lubrication) in my parent's bathroom while they were out of town. once i got about halfway through the bar, i'd just kind of wrestle and karate chop at it until the ends snapped off. the plugs cover up all the imperfections, so it's really not even a big deal. i'm actually way pleased, even the next day with it. i left them a little long on purpose, because although i wasn't completely there, i was there enough to know i wouldn't be doing the world's greatest chopping job. i plan on going back with a file and smoothing out the rough spots, but yeah. cutting them was kind of fun. i'd do it again.

Funny story man. Same thing happened to me last night, came home around 4am from partying and decided to primer up my frame a little. I woke up this morning and found out that I had wasted half a can of primer on the fence in our backyard, totally missing the bike.

Wow another I was drunk and didn't know what the freak happen story. Alot of that is happening lately with bikers I know..Go figure. At least you got a new paint job for the fence..

S/F<
CEYA!

i tried for awhile to find some sweet handlebar setup with upside down and chopped bars, but in the end all were less comfortable than bars which were mounted the way they were designed to be mounted. i kept on trying different types of upside down cruiser bars to try to get the effect of old track bars pictured here:
http://i15.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/45/8a/ea_1_b.JPG
I could never get any bars to look like this so I finally just bought some vintage track bars like the ones pictured, (and paid a premium price). Kind of like track drop/moustache bar, or "dropstache bars" as I refer to them.

This is how they turned out:

Lotus Elan:the Remix http://groups.msn.com/BicyclingForum...&PhotoID=10373

as far as plugs go, i highly recommend a pair of matching wine corks. my "bar-ends" are my favorite part of my bike. they look rad, and the soft squishy bits on the ends of the bars are my favorite hand position too.

I just used the bar plugs that came with the tape.

Ditto. Electrical tape for a cutting guide + using the stem as a vice = a functional (if not gorgeous) set of bullhorns. A little filing and it's smooth as a baby's ass. As for the brake, I used the old lever that was on the bar (no hoods), and put it near the end like the TT-style brakes. Charming.

awesome. i was going to buy a cutting tool & chop mine but I was able to talk the guys building a fountain in our courtyard at the office to cut them & smooth the edges for me. they're perfect!

I found a set of FSA K-wing carbon bars in a dumpster yesterday. Unfortunately the end of one drop is crushed, which is presumably why they were tossed. However, the rest of the bars are just fine, so I'm thinking of cutting them into bullhorns, just to freak out anyone who sees them and is forced to wonder, "Why in gods holy name did he flip and chop a 180$ set of bars?!?"

Any tips for cutting carbon fiber?

peace,
sam

a friend of mine did this. i think he just used a hacksaw. just make sure the blade is really sharp 'cause you want to have a clean cut & not make the ends fray. after he cut it, he covered the ends (that were cut) in epoxy to keep them from fraying/cutting his hands, etc. it was badass.

i've cut a few carbon fork steerers to length, as well as trimming some carbon mountain handlebars.

i use a sharp, fine toothed hacksaw blade. measure carefully and make a level and even cut. it cuts easily.

you can smooth the edges off with some fine sandpaper or steel wool.

Ok, thanks guys. Time to find an oversize stem and bling out the beater. ;)

peace,
sam

Respectfully, there's no way to be sure that "the rest of the bars are just fine". If they were crashed hard enough to crush the end of the drop, there was certainly a lot of force transmitted to the stem clamp area. Focused impacts can telegraph damage to areas that one might not expect. Inspect these bars carefully for tiny cracks and stress marks in all sections. Twist and pull like crazy whilst listening for splintering sounds. Flex and push, test with care before slapping onto the bike, before yanking and hammering up and down the steepest hill in town, be careful with these salvaged damaged bars.

Carbon Fiber is strong, until it's not, then it offers no strength at all, and does so in an unexpected fashion.

Like an old towel you rip into smaller pieces before washing the car, it's hard to tear, until a rip starts. Then it's hard to predict how smoothly or quickly the tear will manifest itself. What you'll be left with when the tear is complete cannot be known until it's finished. Wax on, Wax off.

when you cut the CF, make sure you wrap it with masking tape first OVER where you are going to cut it. its best to use a rod saw blade, but a regular blade will work also. the tape makes it so the edges don't fray. just wrap it like 2-3 times around, and draw your cutting line on the tape. the tape is probably the most important part of the cut, so don't skimp!

Thanks for the warnings. The bars have been pretty well inspected, particularly in stress regions like the stem clamp, and don't show any signs of stress. The FSA bars are pretty damn overbuilt in the clamp area, and that seems to have helped. There is really a lot of material there, which makes me feel better.

Either way, these bars aren't going on a 'performance bike', just an around town bike, so they won't be used very agressively. I'll keep the inspections regular, as I do with all my 'salvage' gear. :)

Just be glad I abandoned my plan to repair the broken CF fork I found in the same dumpster. ;)

peace,
sam

hi everybody,

i just had the pleasure of cutting my handlebars with a very-heavy-duty pipe cutter borrowed from a constructionista who is installing some pipe into our apartment. I had no idea what a pipe cutter was; I was expecting some kind of saw-with-guide or something. it worked beautifully. I marked the ends with electrical tape and cut them off, very clean and symmetrical cuts. Some quick work with a flat file smoothed the ends.

If I start cutting tubes of metal a lot, I am definitely going to hunt one of these down at a swap meet or somewheres.