Carbon Handlebar Tubes? --- Verdict is IN

[Nate R]

Anyone run these? Anyone know if they actually are lighter than the standard aluminum ones, or just a lotta Bling-Bling? Just curious.

[ekraft84]

I weighed them and they were .5 lbs lighter - per bar (compared to my AL ones).  I haven't crash tested them yet (knock on wood), but I have a feeling they would break, rather than bend, which could pose a problem.

[Super Dave]

And isn't there an amount of flex with them?

I was always going to get carbon bars for my mountain bike for the flex.

Carbon does kind of get brittle in the sun too.

[Nate R]

How much did your AL bars weigh? Or how much do teh carbon bars weigh?

[Super Dave]

It's bling, bling.

You'd be better off buying a drill press and going to down on the small pieces.  

Even then, you wouldn't have any significant weight savings that you'd see any real decrease in lap times.

[ekraft84]

I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I used a triple beam balance to make the comparison.  Not all AL bars are equal obviously, so results may very.

They aren't bling bling at all surprisingly.  I think I paid $20 for both of them.

[Nate R]

$20!?? From where? Brand new?

LP has them for $40, and Ron Ayers offers them for less than $34.

Not bad.


SD: I know this mod would make no sense by itself, but a sub 350 lb SV and sub 165 lb me would be pretty appealing as far as helping lap times, no? Compare that to my old SV at 380 lbs on a race load of fuel, and me at 215 or so in gear, and it's a pretty big difference, especially since I'll be also + 4 HP or so. This provides a platform that can be very easily competitive in LW, and leaves me NO excuses. (I'll have a GOOD shock and fork rework,  of course) And it's the little stuff that adds up! I've got some ideas, and been observing Ed Key's bike, and a couple other ideas I've seen from others. I don't have the $ for a bunch of Ti stuff, but taking unneeded parts off is free.

I may have a good chunk to spend on my next SV, and I want to build the SV of my dreams and ride the snot out of it.  :D  Also, until I have that SV, I have all this time to look at the 03 and newer SV and see what bits I can cut off, drill out, etc. I'll have it all planned out before I can afford to buy my next SV. Ride it on the street a couple hundred miles, maybe take it out to a BHF weekend to watch, and get the thing weighed, and then tear it down to rolling chassis with motor, and start building back up.
That's fun and enjoyable for me, especially if I have ample time to do it.

Speaking of new bikes: What do you think about getting a Brand new bike optimized a la GMD? Waste of time/$ or worth it?

[ekraft84]

Nate,  it is the LP price.  I bought them last season, so that might have been per bar.  I don't remember exactly.  It definitely wasn't as much as I thought it would be originally.

I agree that cutting a little weight here and there won't help your laptimes much.  I had a lot of time last winter, so I tried cutting weight wherever I could.  A buddy of mine always made fun of me about it.  When we put our SV's on the scales at the GNF, my bike was about 30-35 pounds lighter than his.  So something like that can make a difference.

I have an old 750 front end on my bike that feels like an anchor.  Everytime I think about selling it and the hassle of replacing it, I just tell myself to ride the bike better instead.  :D

[TZDeSioux]

Nate,
If you want some.. I've got a set that I never used. I'll sell it to you for $20 plus shipping.

[Super Dave]

The Rev Dr has spoken...

[Nate R]

Sold. That's about the cost of Al ones anyway. I'll get to play with these on my new 30 lb capacity scale,(Accurate down to 2 grams :-))  and see how much they'll save for me when I get an SV again, lol.

PayPal OK? Drop me an e-mail at ninja250nate@yahoo.com with final cost to 53207 Milwaukee, WI and your preferred payment method.

[Nate R]

Speaking of new bikes: What do you think about getting a Brand new bike optimized a la GMD? Waste of time/$ or worth it?

Dave?

Thanx Rev!