3t ergosums in metal

[thendenjeck]

Anyone know of a bar that comes in 44cm that has a bend similar to the 3T Ergosums and is made of metal? I've snapped about 4 pairs of aluminum drop bars in the last few years, and worry about how carbon will take my riding style, but love the looks of those bars and the short reach and drop.

[rice rocket]

Pretty sure the Ergosum Pros are aluminum, the Ergosum Team or LTD is carbon.

BTW, the reach isn't that short. The Ergonovas have a shorter reach. Drop is about the same.

[thendenjeck]

thanks, will check it out.

[AngryScientist]

not to derail the thread, but how are you managing to snap alloy bars? i've had FSA alu bars in service for years with no problems. where are they snapping? pics so we can see the failure mechanism??

i always thought alloy bars were the safe choice...

[thendenjeck]

yeah, it's ridiculous. i've had two snap near the stem, and two snapped in the forward curve from the straight section, where the dimple is thinnest for the cable routing. i dunno. I'm around 195 and have a tendency to do things with more force than necessary, and also have pretty beefy arms from being a wood and metal fabricator for the last 10 years. usually it has happened when i was hopping curbs or something, but once it was just from lifting my front wheel over a pothole. two of the bars I snapped were Cinellis. i dont remember the others.

I also snapped a brazed fork at the crown/steerer joint, but I'm pretty sure it was involved in an accident before my ownership of it.

unfortunately I don't have any pics. although i do have pics somewhere of the fork being held on solely by the brake bolt. :bike:


the FSA wing pros don't look too bad. any other suggestions for short reach drops? the shorter the better.

[AngryScientist]

i think the FSAs are about as short and shallow as it gets. all of mine are rock solid. have them on all of my bikes, some bought used, still solid.

fwiw, i havent seen any modern bars made of steel, though i havent been looking either.

[thendenjeck]

I know nitto makes some. but not really modern, per se. rando bars. oh, and some classic bend bars, i think.

[Fixed]

track bars not the bend you want but strong
cinelli crit bars

[thendenjeck]

yeah, no track bends for this one.

[pdbrye]

Yes, the Ergosums come in both alloy and carbon versions. I have and use both. My favorite bar by far. I would be shocked if you could break either one.

[fatallightning]

the ergosum "pro" is aluminum. the zipp service course series does some interesting bends in aluminum. the newest is the super short reach, a kind of odd mix of compact reach/drop in a more traditional curve, with flat hoot transitions.
http://zipp.com/_media/productdocs/2012%20BAR%20DROP%20DIAGRAM.pdf

http://cdn4.media.cyclingnews.futurecdn.net/2011/09/08/2/zipp_csl_600.jpg

[oliver1850]

Regarding breakage, I've seen a lot of bars where people trimmed or removed bar tape and scored the bar with a knife. Instant stress riser, and particularly bad if it's done right at the edge of a sleeve.

I have a NOS steel ITM bar if you're interested. Can dig it out and see what the reach/drop measures.