Handlebar grooves

saab2000 · #1 03-06-2008, 07:45 AM

I got my 3T Rotundos yesterday and put them on the Serotta Colorado III. I'd take pics, but my camera is on permanent loan to a baggage handler in Norfolk, VA......

(taken out of my baggage, that I had to planeside check when I flew as a passenger just before I went to Europe - of course, nobody is accountable....)

Anyway, the bars have no gooves for cables.

I wonder why. I never noticed on the picture at Competitivecyclist. Not a huge deal but it would be nice if they were there.

Do the grooves weaken the bar I wonder? Can't test them yet as we got another .5 inch of snow or so overnight, making the roads unridable. I am using a Thomson silver X2 stem. The oversize bar/stem combo should be a bit stiffer than the Deda 26.0 bars/stem I had been using.

Blue Jays · #2 03-06-2008, 07:54 AM

I doubt grooves materially impact integrity/strength of handlebars or we would have seen a reversal of the practice due to lawsuits.
Bummer about your camera, lowlife thieves should be strung from the nearest tree.

pdxmech13 · #3 03-06-2008, 09:05 AM

It could affect strength depending on when/how they are stamped.

corky · #4 03-06-2008, 09:28 AM

why hasn;t anyone utilised internal routing?...... would make bars look better and make taping a whole lot easier especially Campy

Blue Jays · #5 03-06-2008, 09:34 AM

Some people likely enjoy wrapping their hands around the additional girth offered by cables routed beneath the tape.

pdxmech13 · #6 03-06-2008, 09:51 AM

some carbon bars over this however only ones that I have seen tend to be the gahye variety.

saab2000 · #7 03-06-2008, 09:52 AM

Also, I would imagine that drilling holes in the bars actually would affect the strength of the bar. The grooves are cool and I wish they were on the new bars.

chuckred · #8 03-06-2008, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saab2000

Also, I would imagine that drilling holes in the bars actually would affect the strength of the bar. The grooves are cool and I wish they were on the new bars.

were drilled for internal routing of bar end shifters. Of course, they were well over 10 years old and had been through alot of abuse by the time they broke. But, it was right at the hole.

Blue Jays · #9 03-06-2008, 03:29 PM

They would need to be some seriously overbuilt handlebars for me to trust ones with holes drilled in them for internal brake/shift cable routing.

Satellite · #10 03-06-2008, 07:15 PM

Saab2000,

FSA claims the cable grooves give their Carbon Compact bars added strength. I read it on their website I am too lazy/tired to copy and paste the quote in to this thread.

Funny thing is where I placed my shifters the cable groove missed the cables so it does me little use other than make the bar stronger <|8^}.

Satellite

david · #11 03-06-2008, 10:28 PM

just got a pair of rotundos and i like that they have no grooves.
i especially don't like grooves on the rider's side of the bar since i never route cables there. the edge of the groove bugs me.

saab2000 · #12 03-06-2008, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david

just got a pair of rotundos and i like that they have no grooves.
i especially don't like grooves on the rider's side of the bar since i never route cables there. the edge of the groove bugs me.

Well, I don't know what to think. They seem decent and with the Specialized 'cork' tape I put on they seem awful fat. But that's a good thing I think.

I hope to ride them next week and a report will follow.

Still I kinda like the grooves. The coolest ones were on the Modolos - two grooves in front. Those bars still sort of intrigue me. But Weisan has them now.