Breaking Aluminum drops

On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 11:11:03 GMT, SMS <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Ron Ruff said:

Do the manufacturers state that they will only last for 4,000 miles?

No. They will use weasel words, suggest inspections, suggest periodic
replacement, etc., but they don't say that parts will only last for
4,000 miles.

Some manufacturers just make the bars strong enough, and let the
weight be what it ends up being, rather than trying to weasel around
the shortcomings of a stupid-light design.

That said, even a heavy aluminum bar *may* fail, but the same is true
for any material; the only issue is the probable frequency of failure,
and with drop bars, that can be hard to predict.
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I recently had a catastrophic failure with my Aluminium drop handlebars while out cycling on my 2006 Tri Cross. Admittedly, I have done approx 35,000 miles in the last 6 years on this bike, but I get this bike regularly serviced and there was absolutely no sign of any weakness until the bars snapped like a carrot! Fortunately, although I ended up on my back with my bike on top of me, I fell away from the road rather than in to it. I was bruised and battered, but things could have been a lot worse. I'm just surprised that manufacturers don't openly provide guidelines for servicing or changing such safety critical items on a bike.

ampedeni2 said:

I recently had a catastrophic failure with my Aluminium drop handlebars while out cycling on my 2006 Tri Cross. Admittedly, I have done approx 35,000 miles in the last 6 years on this bike, but I get this bike regularly serviced and there was absolutely no sign of any weakness until the bars snapped like a carrot! Fortunately, although I ended up on my back with my bike on top of me, I fell away from the road rather than in to it. I was bruised and battered, but things could have been a lot worse. I'm just surprised that manufacturers don't openly provide guidelines for servicing or changing such safety critical items on a bike.

How often did you unwrap the bars and check them for corrosion or damage? That should be done at least every year.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

How often did you unwrap the bars and check them for corrosion or damage? That should be done at least every year.

One of the hidden advantages of using white wrap. You are forced to take it off once in awhile and re-wrap to keep that pro look

danfoz said:

One of the hidden advantages of using white wrap. You are forced to take it off once in awhile and re-wrap to keep that pro look

+1

on a daliy basisalways check for scratches, creases, cuts, scoring, bends etc. aluminum loses a LOT of strength if it is damaged. If you have doubts get a second opinion. If cracks develop -replace the part.. All that said, in 40 yrs I have never broken Aluminum bars, even with hundreds of crashes, (maybe it was because they said "Cinelli" on 'em.) I'd be hesitant to use anything else but steel.

Pat Stowe said:

 on a daliy basisalways check for scratches, creases,  cuts,  scoring,  bends etc. aluminum loses a LOT of strength if it is damaged.  If you have doubts get a second opinion. If cracks develop -replace the part.. All that said, in 40 yrs I have never broken Aluminum bars, even with hundreds of crashes, (maybe it was because they said "Cinelli" on 'em.) I'd be hesitant to use anything else but steel.

It's common to be hesitant to use things about which you don't have knowledge. It's hardly necessary to check aluminum bars every day, unless a rider bangs up or crashes his aluminum bars every day.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

It's common to be hesitant to use things about which you don't have knowledge. It's hardly necessary to check aluminum bars every day, unless a rider bangs up or crashes his aluminum bars every day The pro team mechanics clean and check everything on a daily basis, and it ain't that hard, admittedly I sometimes miss a day but I nomally "wipe the bike down" or wash as needed and check stuff after most rides, doing so has saved a lot of problems money and time etc. etc

Certainly it's hard to argue against routine inspections, but I have to confess I've never actually checked my aluminum bars for cracks. They're Ritchey WCS, from 2004, with 32K road miles on the bike now. There are no signs of corrosion on the bars or stem. In the absence of a crash or intentional abuse, I can't envision how they would become scratched, dented, cut, creased or bent, so I see no need to check for that kind of damage. Despite the dire warnings concerning aluminum on this thread, I'm just not worried about them suddenly failing without warning.

The primary failure point/cause for a handlebar is from the clamped devices such as the stem and controls. The leverage on the controls is admittedly low, which makes them less likely to fail but the stem is a stress point regardless of torque/overtorque of the clamp. A less agressive person could get a longer duration of service from a bar, but I would say 3 years on a regularly used light weight bar would be the point that it should be retired or at the very least removed completely and inspected closely. One warning sign often disregarded is a minor creaking noise from the area. Some creaks are minor and irrelevant to operation but creaking from a handlebar/stem area should always be inspected. Most of the time it would be corrosion or contaminants in the clamping surface but in all cases it indicates movement within the clamping area which is not good.

The point where my handlebars failed was in plain view. There were no obvious scratches, deformations or cracks, but in hindsight I do know there were occasional creeping noises. All I know is that when they failed there was no warning and no time to react. I was fortunate that there were no vehicles around when I crashed!