Can you bend carbon?

Chance3290 said:

I know this might sound silly, but when I get my STIs just where I want them, the bottom of my handlebars point down too much. I'd like to bend the bar up a bit, but I'm not such you can do that with carbon.

Okay, you're not going to "bend" carbon, nor would I attempt anything like that with any other material... :eek: Here's a "duh" moment: How about unwrapping the tape and changing the units' positions on the bar, then retaping? 🙄

I have bent older handlebars. Steel and aluminium are not that hard to bend, IF you have the right tools. I just have no experience with carbon.
Yeah, I could move the shifters, but it took me so long to get them just where I wanted them.
Plus, I got one of those mirrors that you shove into the end of the handlebar. I don't like the ones you where on your helmet or glasses. This things works pretty good except the handlebar end has to be pointing back, not down.
Well, back to the drawing board.

No you can't bend the CF bars. Your best option is to untape, rotate the bars to get the drops where you want them, and them move the shifter back up to the perfect position. Doing that and re-taping shouldn't take more than ~30 minutes. There is a good string going on retaping how-to on bikeforums if you haven't done it. Also, you might want to put a couple layers of rubber from an old tire or a rag under the tape and hood if you're after a different hand position while on the hood.

I'm just lazy and trying to avoid retaping. I do use the old tire pieces at the STI trick. I layer them, long piece, then shorter etc. I use three layers and it works great.

And 30 minutes my foot. I can screw up retaping in half that time. That's why I asked about bending the bar. I can take something as easy as taping and screw it up quick.

Chance3290 said:

I have bent older handlebars. Steel and aluminium are not that hard to bend, IF you have the right tools. I just have no experience with carbon.
Yeah, I could move the shifters, but it took me so long to get them just where I wanted them.
Plus, I got one of those mirrors that you shove into the end of the handlebar. I don't like the ones you where on your helmet or glasses. This things works pretty good except the handlebar end has to be pointing back, not down.
Well, back to the drawing board.

Well, just because you can bend some materials doesn't make it a wise idea. lol Aluminum is tricky to work with, and bending it at home can and probably will compromise its integrity. I sure wouldn't attempt it. Nothing could be worse than JRA and your bar fails... As far as bending carbon? No. Way. In. Hell. You will break it, and it will fail in spectacular fashion.

Now, I just don't see what the problem is with unwrapping the tape and retaping after positioning your levers, to be honest. That way you'll get the position you want both from the drops and the hoods. Call me crazy, but I just can't see what you're on about.

Chance3290 said:

I'm just lazy and trying to avoid retaping. I do use the old tire pieces at the STI trick. I layer them, long piece, then shorter etc. I use three layers and it works great.

And 30 minutes my foot. I can screw up retaping in half that time. That's why I asked about bending the bar. I can take something as easy as taping and screw it up quick.

Ah... Well, this clears it up. lol Good luck! <img>

carbon is brittle and will break if you bend it.

Carbon or CF is very similar to Fiberglass. The carbon comes as a fabric, which is soaked (impregnated) with either epoxy or plastic resin (epoxy is approx. 10 times stronger that resin).

The epoxy keeps the fabric together to hold a form and the carbon provides tensil strength.

Yeah, repositioning and re-taping the bars will take longer than 30 minutes....probably an hour or so for me. Agree bending the CF bars will be a lot quicker. I'd just put a big pipe wrench on the drop section and go for it. Prepare to really lean on the wrench to get it to bend........that CF stuff can be pretty stiff but it should yield under sufficient force.

Ignore all the techo-geek input here; doubt any of these guys have actually tried it. Let us know how it turns out.

dhk said:

Yeah, repositioning and re-taping the bars will take longer than 30 minutes....probably an hour or so for me. Agree bending the CF bars will be a lot quicker. I'd just put a big pipe wrench on the drop section and go for it. Prepare to really lean on the wrench to get it to bend........that CF stuff can be pretty stiff but it should yield under sufficient force.

Ignore all the techo-geek input here; doubt any of these guys have actually tried it. Let us know how it turns out.

Yeah, let us. lol I have a bad feeling about this...

Hope you were being sarcastic.

dhk said:

Yeah, repositioning and re-taping the bars will take longer than 30 minutes....probably an hour or so for me. Agree bending the CF bars will be a lot quicker. I'd just put a big pipe wrench on the drop section and go for it. Prepare to really lean on the wrench to get it to bend........that CF stuff can be pretty stiff but it should yield under sufficient force.

Ignore all the techo-geek input here; doubt any of these guys have actually tried it. Let us know how it turns out.

Yes I agree. This guy is obviously not going to take no for an answer and is hell-bent on bending his CF bars and probably won't stop there either. I'd like to see photos of the results when its done.

Jay.

Chance3290 said:

I know this might sound silly, but when I get my STIs just where I want them, the bottom of my handlebars point down too much. I'd like to bend the bar up a bit, but I'm not such you can do that with carbon.

Before dhk lends you his / her carbon fibre bars to try with...
Depending on the lay, carbon fibre composite materials do 'bend', but 'flex' would probably be a more descriptive term. Carbon fibre composites are often elastic, but seldom malleable. If you bend the bars, they will return to their original shape, unless you bend them too far, in which case they will explode / shatter like the kayak wing-paddle shaft that I have at home that, as Madness would have said, went "one step beyond".
When dhk does send you his / her bars to trial bend, be sure to wear a face shield as exploding shards of carbon fibre are liable to mess up your day.

dhk said:

Yeah, repositioning and re-taping the bars will take longer than 30 minutes....probably an hour or so for me. Agree bending the CF bars will be a lot quicker. I'd just put a big pipe wrench on the drop section and go for it. Prepare to really lean on the wrench to get it to bend........that CF stuff can be pretty stiff but it should yield under sufficient force.

Ignore all the techo-geek input here; doubt any of these guys have actually tried it. Let us know how it turns out.

Of course you can bend carbon fiber composites. The results are so good they are indistinguishable from one that was actually broken.

dhk said:

Yeah, repositioning and re-taping the bars will take longer than 30 minutes....probably an hour or so for me. Agree bending the CF bars will be a lot quicker. I'd just put a big pipe wrench on the drop section and go for it. Prepare to really lean on the wrench to get it to bend........that CF stuff can be pretty stiff but it should yield under sufficient force.

Ignore all the techo-geek input here; doubt any of these guys have actually tried it. Let us know how it turns out.

😄 Gotta agree with dhk on this one... just make sure you get a long enough lever, cause man CF is stiff! Much easier than retaping and moving your bars though IMO.

wilmar13 said:

😄 Gotta agree with dhk on this one... just make sure you get a long enough lever, cause man CF is stiff! Much easier than retaping and moving your bars though IMO.

...and don't forget to take photo's for us.

HEY! I've asked stupid questions before and I just want you all to know that I'm not above asking stupid questions again. So back off!:p (Hmm, what are these buttons for? 😎 :p 😉 oh, neat.)I see something shiny, I gotta go.

Chance3290 said:

HEY! I've asked stupid questions before and I just want you all to know that I'm not above asking stupid questions again. So back off!:p (Hmm, what are these buttons for? 😎 :p 😉 oh, neat.)I see something shiny, I gotta go.

Glad to see you have a sense of humor...but I would still love to see pictures if you are so inclined to try it. 😄

Chance3290 said:

HEY! I've asked stupid questions before and I just want you all to know that I'm not above asking stupid questions again. So back off!:p (Hmm, what are these buttons for? 😎 :p 😉 oh, neat.)I see something shiny, I gotta go.

There are no stupid questions but, in our endless mission to make the World a safer place for people and small furry animals, we'll keep doing our very best to provide stupid answers.