CF bar, seatpost: bad idea for a heavier rider?

[dvancleve]

I made a half-hearted attempt to search for any discussions about this and found only one about seatposts (consensus in that thread was get a Thomson). I totally get the whole worry more about my weight and less about extra light components...

I am just now looking for a 31.6mm seatpost and was considering either Campy or Easton CF but am now Leaning toward a setback Thomson. That lead me to question whether I should even use the 26.0 Easton EC90 bars that I got a while back (got them to use with a Deda 2 bolt quill stem then didn't). Thoughts?

Thanks, Doug

[ofcounsel]

I'm a "heavier" rider (about 210 right now). I use a CF seatpost on my roadbikes, and a CF Seatpost and CF bars on my 29er hardtail without issue for quite some time now.

[monkeybanana86]

The stuff on the market by the big manufacturers is overbuilt and made so that heavy people can use the bikes and their components without them failing


I just googled "weight limit trek" and this is what I got:

Yes, we do have a weight limit on our bikes and they are as follows:

Rider weight limit of 275lb:
Road bikes with drop type handlebar
Triathlon, time trial or Speed Concept bicycle
Cruisers with large 26" tires and swept-back handlebar, Bicycles that fold.


Rider weight limit of 300lbs:
Hybrid bicycles with 700c wheels, tires larger than 28c, and flat handlebars
City bicycles: hybrids with special equipment, cyclocross bicycles: with drop type handlebars, knobby 700c tires, and cantilever or disc brakes
Mountain bikes of all types including: standard, race, cross-country, heavy-duty, trail, all-mountain, freeride, and jumping bikes of both the hardtail and full suspension variety.

[pdmtong]

no matter what your weight, it's more fun to ride a light bike.

just because you are 240# (for example) does it mean you should ride a 20+ # road bike? I think not.

so then the question is whether the CF part in question is "strong enough"

I would think so, if you are riding smoothly. If you are bouncing on the post or wrenching the bars like a sprinting luantic, then perhaps not.

[Kontact]

Pros don't use carbon bars because they are a liability. I don't know what constitutes a "heavier rider" anymore - that used to be 180 pounds - but if there is any doubt in your mind, why risk it? It isn't like a decent aluminum bar and seat post are going to add more than a few grams to the bike. Buy some Ti skewers or something instead.

Of course, these products are largely designed for consumers, not pros, so they should be fairly tough. Chances are they won't be a problem, but the point is your piece of mind, not confirming that an engineer guessed right.

[DRietz]

Pros don't use carbon bars because if they go down, the bars can splinter and make a crash even worse.

Plus some TT guys yank up so hard on those extensions that they can break.

HOWEVER, all large, brand name components pass the same safety tests, and, thus, are all safe for advertised use.

The only reason I can think of for a heavier rider not to ride carbon bars or posts is because of excessive flex that can make your ride feel a bit noodly. I ride a ti post and stem because they absorb road vibration and I'm too light to flex them, but I know several people on ti bikes that ride aluminum cockpits to minimize exaggerated flex.

[VTCaraco]

I opted out of the CF seatpost on a second-hand strong that I bought. I rode it a few times and just thought about it enough that I wanted metal.
Tried ti, too, and can't say that it flexed in a way that I could discern, but would rather things be over-engineered than lightweight if it's to support me.
Frankly, I'm pretty easy on equipment, but I still prefer leaning towards the super-strong side of the spectrum rather than the super-light. But it may well be an entirely psychological phenomena.

[Gothard]

Damage to carbon may not be obvious upon examination, rendering 2nd hand parts, or parts that suffered any form of crash a possibly dangerous proposition.

There are enough risks inherent to going 40+ in spandex to add the thought of impaling oneself to a shattered stem/seatpost....

[victoryfactory]

no matter what your weight, it's more fun to ride a light bike.


That is so true. I am so tired of hearing that old saw about
"why don't you just loose five lbs" when the question of
bike weight comes up. Even at my heaviest, I much preferred
the 17 lb bike to the 20 lb one. Big difference in feel.
I have been riding the same carbon post and bars (Easton 26mm)
for more than 10 yrs with no issues so far. I was 210 in
1993 ( 174 today.) Racing is always a different story though.

VF

[palincss]

The only reason I can think of for a heavier rider not to ride carbon bars or posts is because of excessive flex that can make your ride feel a bit noodly.



Carbon bars and seat posts are more expensive than their aluminum counterparts, right?
And their only advantage is lighter weight. For a "heavier rider" the percentage of the total load (i.e., bike + rider) represented by the weight difference is smaller than for a lighter rider, to the point of triviality. Why throw your money away for a trivial, insignificant weight savings? Especially when much greater weight savings can be had for free by losing it off the rider?

[Ti Designs]

I just googled "weight limit trek" and this is what I got:

Yes, we do have a weight limit on our bikes and they are as follows:


Trek also makes a tricycle in their kid's bike line with a weight limit of 300 pounds.

[oldpotatoe]

That is so true. I am so tired of hearing that old saw about
"why don't you just loose five lbs" when the question of
bike weight comes up. Even at my heaviest, I much preferred
the 17 lb bike to the 20 lb one. Big difference in feel.
I have been riding the same carbon post and bars (Easton 26mm)
for more than 10 yrs with no issues so far. I was 210 in
1993 ( 174 today.) Racing is always a different story though.

VF

Didja ya ever ride the 17 pound bike with 3 pounds of water bottles on it to see if the 'feel' was the same or different?

IMHO, weight is vastly overplayed in the bike scene, market, bike shop but it's one of the only 2 things you can measure, the other being price.

There are so many other things that make up 'cycling performance' than bicycle weight, and most(all?) of those have nothing to do with the bicycles gross weight.

[Kontact]

You know, it is nice riding a light bike.

However, your bike isn't going to become heavy because you used 3Ts 243 gram alloy bar instead of the 4x more expensive 198 gram carbon one, or a 220 gram Thomson post instead of a 174 gram FSA carbon.

That's about 100 grams of heavier - 3.5 ounces or .22 pounds. I really don't think a candy bar's worth of weight will transform a bike into a "heavy" bike.

[MattTuck]

Get a sweetpost from Ericksen. Best looking post out there, in my opinion. And it's not CF, so no need to worry about that.

[victoryfactory]

Didja ya ever ride the 17 pound bike with 3 pounds of water bottles on it to see if the 'feel' was the same or different?

IMHO, weight is vastly overplayed in the bike scene, market, bike shop but it's one of the only 2 things you can measure, the other being price.

There are so many other things that make up 'cycling performance' than bicycle weight, and most(all?) of those have nothing to do with the bicycles gross weight.

YES! I usually ride with the same amt of water, no matter which bike I ride.
I am talking specifically about the difference between 20 lbs and 17 lbs.
I can tell the difference.
I am no weight weenie, and I certainly don't swap out parts to save 20g.
But I find any bike over 20 to be too heavy and any bike under 17 to be needlessly light (for me)

Although I am old, I try not to be a knee jerk.

VF

[FlashUNC]

Once while climbing Hogpen Gap in North Georgia, a buddy and I were on the steep 15 pct ramp from mile 3 through mile 5. He stood up going about 4 mph, and the combination of shifting his weight forward and the slow speed caused his back wheel to slip, and he went over.

Cracked his carbon bars just below the right shift lever. In what I'm still decided is one of the great acts of bravery or foolery I've ever seen, he proceeded to do the remainder of the ride -- including mountain descents -- with his right hand on the tops, because the bar on that side was only being held together by the bar tape.

After that, I decided to swear off carbon bars and posts. Yeah, alloy stuff breaks too, but its a few grams of weight for a lot of peace of mind.

[Joachim]

I'm an alloy seatpost, handlebar and stem kinda of guy. Probably since my early racing years are stuck with me and if it can't survive 1mi of cobblestones I won't ride with it...but I have some Enve bits on my bikes and they seem very sturdy to me. However, I was able to flex the Enve handlebar without any problem and these days the only carbon handlebar I would recommend is PRO Vibe.

[dvancleve]

Well I originally got the CF bar (Easton EC90 Equipe Pro) because it happens to have a great bend for a shallow, roundish drop 26.0 bar (needed that for a quill stem). In the end I didn't use it for that bike, but I did get a 26.0 Easton MG90 magnesium stem to use with it. I was going to get an Easton post as well, thought matching would be nice. So for me it comes down to using what I already have (except for the seatpost) or replacing everything... Doug

[palincss]

That's about 100 grams of heavier - 3.5 ounces or .22 pounds. I really don't think a candy bar's worth of weight will transform a bike into a "heavy" bike.

Especially not if you weigh 235 lb. The percent difference in total load is down in the noise range.

[Ahneida Ride]

Nitto NJ-SP72 Jaguar

Peter White has them in stock.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/seatposts.asp

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OdO-AKUDVHw/TisR8XcY2QI/AAAAAAAAKeQ/mtdFW6R_lcs/s1600/CIMG0286.JPG

[ultraman6970]

IM like 220 and I use a CF handlebar, in my old kuota I was using the seatpost and the handlebar in CF, never a problem.

My best guess is that depends too of the riding you are doing, for casual riding doubt will be a problem because you never stress the parts. As for racing there is a big difference and I really cant tell, stopped racing like 25 years ago and we did not have more than carbon frames by then.

[bfd]

Carbon bars and seat posts are more expensive than their aluminum counterparts, right?
And their only advantage is lighter weight. For a "heavier rider" the percentage of the total load (i.e., bike + rider) represented by the weight difference is smaller than for a lighter rider, to the point of triviality. Why throw your money away for a trivial, insignificant weight savings? Especially when much greater weight savings can be had for free by losing it off the rider?

Actually, carbon bars are not necessarily lighter than aluminum alloy bars. Further, one "advantage" or use for carbon bars is it can be made in a shape that is different than metal. For example, a friend has an IRD B2 carbon bar that has a flat top section with cut outs for fingers and thumbs:

http://www.interlocracing.com/bars_rd.html

He really likes the positioning of this bar and raves about its comfort. At 225g, it is definitely not light as ITM, 3T and Deda all have aluminum bars in the 200g range or less.

Personally, I prefer silver, so my Nitto Noodle bar and stem work fine for me and its alot less than the B2 bar. Good Luck!

[mvrider]

Anybody know what material composed the seatpost that snapped off under Marco Fontana during the Olympic MTB race? Crazy that he rode like that for 3 more miles to win the bronze. He's no Clydesdale, that's for sure.

http://forums.mtbr.com/attachments/xc-racing-training/716564d1344806234-medal-picks-xc-fontana_saddle_2012_olympics_1.jpg

http://forums.mtbr.com/attachments/xc-racing-training/716565d1344806234-medal-picks-xc-fontana_saddle_2012_olympics_2.jpg

[pdmtong]

Actually, carbon bars are not necessarily lighter than aluminum alloy bars. Further, one "advantage" or use for carbon bars is it can be made in a shape that is different than metal.


dding ding ding...the main reason nowadays to go with carbon, aside from a visible display of wealth

[VTCaraco]

I was in the ER near Mt. Snow about 12 years ago.
My brother had made a pretty good cut in his finger.

He wasn't very brave about the whole ordeal and to sort-of shut him up, an ER nurse mentioned that he was talking more about his injury than the guy that had just been through that had some serious need for stitches after his seatpost broke at the mtn bike race. Given the era, I'd be shocked if it was carbon. Again, use is different on a mtn bike and good chance he had lots of post exposed, but my point is that it seems that metal can break, too.

[William]

I tend to gravitate between 250 and 260 depending on what my work out focus is at the time. That being said I prefer to stay with alloy parts. I've tried out carbon forks and bars, they didn't break, but the noodley feel left me feeling uneasy. I prefer a more solid feel underneath me and after watching a much lighter guy face plant due to a broken carbon fork...I'll stick with metal thank you very much.

Yep, metal breaks as well, I know. But most folks I know that have had something metal let go (non accident) got plenty of warning signs...creeks, groans, and slowly parting cracks.

My Clydesdale advice to fellow Clydesdales is: Lightweight stuff is for other people, Go Beefy. Ymmv.:)






William

[echelon_john]

building a new 29er; going with thomson dh bars. i'm 250ish, and still have a scar on my left thigh from breaking a modolo stem in a crit in 1988.

so yeah, a pound--maybe--of extra weight on the interface components of a bike i'm going to be bouncing down rocky hills on is a very small price to pay IMO. i go faster when i'm not worried about parts.

[avalonracing]

In terms of total bike weight I like my 10% rule.

For example:
If you weigh 200lbs, your road bike should weigh no less than 20lbs

[BillG]

Love my CF handlebars, stem, fork, and seatpost on these crappy NE roads.

[DRietz]

In terms of total bike weight I like my 10% rule.

For example:
If you weigh 200lbs, your road bike should weigh no less than 20lbs

So by that logic, at my current point in the race season, it would be totally cool to ride a 12lbs bike?

:banana:

[ultraman6970]

Wonder when they are going to manufacture seatposts with ribs inside, that would make people a lot more confident riding stuff in carbon. Another situation is wonder if it will work better or not to put ribs inside of a seatpost for example.

[zennmotion]

I opted out of the CF seatpost on a second-hand strong that I bought. I rode it a few times and just thought about it enough that I wanted metal.
Tried ti, too, and can't say that it flexed in a way that I could discern, but would rather things be over-engineered than lightweight if it's to support me.
Frankly, I'm pretty easy on equipment, but I still prefer leaning towards the super-strong side of the spectrum rather than the super-light. But it may well be an entirely psychological phenomena.

One assumption that needs to be checked is whether or not the carbon post, stem or bar one is considering really is appreciably lighter than an alloy equivalent. Though in fairness, Al breaks too- saw a friend's Deda 215 snap at the center JRA. In many cases, the weight savings is minimal or non-existent. Which makes much of the discussion moot unless you're talking about the exotic stuff. BTW, I replaced an ageing 1 inch carbon fork with light modern steel, for mostly psychological reasons. Life is short, why ride with a shadow of doubt, even if it's irrational?

[brando]

I like the less buzzy feel of cf handlebars and seatposts myself and use them on my cf bike and steel bike. I am 200+ and race cross with that setup, including jumping on and off and no problems. I wouldn't go with a cf saddle or saddle rails for cx, but I do have that setup on a road bike. However, the whole business with cf wheels and brake pads is definitely something to think hard about considering I'm descending with "extra" momentum.

[rice rocket]

Wonder when they are going to manufacture seatposts with ribs inside, that would make people a lot more confident riding stuff in carbon. Another situation is wonder if it will work better or not to put ribs inside of a seatpost for example.

Why add stress risers?

Adding more layers is a better answer.

[slowgoing]

If you need to ask, you already know the answer.

[Fixed]

Bike parts are being sold to Americans so you are the normal sized American cyclist .I think you will be fine with any top of the line product IMHO :)
Cheers

[TPetsch]

Personally I'm 220 and the only CF I feel -mentally- comfortable with are my Record Cranks & Brifters. In fact, I just started using CF Enve 2.0 road forks and I have to say that they're on my mind from time to time.

But I love Ti stuff, been happily using Ti stuff for years. Ti Frame, Ti Seatpost, Ti Stems even Ti Bars on my Mountain Bike. Never an issue with the Ti stuff for me and it always looks great, just a little Windex and it cleans right up & shines like new.

I have this feeling that CF Bars, Stems & Seatposts are optimally designed for riders under 180lbs IMO.