Handlebar question
Posted 7 months ago by ChucklesSo, my handlebar broke while on the road today.. Straight bar on a hybrid, and already replaced.
What I'm wondering is, how short is considered practical. I'm thinking I'll take 1" off each end with a hacksaw, but I'd consider more, maybe..
Also, anybody have frame inspection tips. Rust is a problem, and with the handlebar going I start to wonder what is next :P
Replies
Too narrow of handlebars, esp. on a commuter, is a recipe for trouble. It's harder on the elbows.
As for inspection, on a steel bike, rust is an obvious factor, but fatigue is not. Steel fatigues to a point, then doesn't get weaker. Aluminum, which I assume your handlebars were, do continue to get weaker with each cycle. Were you able to ascertain how the 'bars broke? Was it a galvanic reaction with your stem, or a stress crack or what?
The original bar was steel. It had a silvery finish, but not like chrome normally looks.. More silky? And, the finish didn't chip like chrome does. It got rusty, but not as bad as parts of the frame..
It cracked where the bars get fatter to go into the stem - the shoulder is relatively abrupt, unlike the new bar. The crack was there for at least a week, you can see it has rusted through.
As for narrowness.. I'm pretty big. I'd really like to get hacking, but I guess I could put the grips back on and see how it feels with the brifters in a narrower position.. It will be hard to tell what really works in winter, because I'm not generally going for more than a few minutes at a time.
This is obviously too late to matter to Chuckles, but in case anyone's trolling old posts for handlebar info: it's easier and quicker to cut them with a pipe cutter than with a hacksaw.