New handlebars

Generally speaking, the difference between cheap and expensive bars is bling value and weight. There MAY be differences in stiffness, possibly vibration transfer - but none that are immediately obvious to me anyhow. If you get another bar in the same general shape, you shouldn't need to change cables - unless they got bent and kinked in the crash.

Replacing a stem is dead simple - as long as you're able to figure out the measurements well enough to buy a replacement that'll fit. There are a couple of options in sizes and dimensions. They can be quite cheap too.

I wouldn't try to repair one, short of maybe retapping a stripped bolt hole. These days, most stems are aluminium alloy, which is kinda fickle when it comes to reworking.

Grips usually don't need to be attached, if you use the proper mounting metod. Some people hit the bars with a blast of hairspray before sliding the grips on. It dries to a kinda-sorta cement.

There are also lockrings. They come in two halves that come together with screws, pinching the grips to the bar.

For your accident. If your chain suddenly jams, your feet may come off the pedals. This can throw your body forward, draping it like a wet sock over the bar. From there, anything can happen.

For the chain drop, check your low (L) limit screw on your front derailleur. If it is releasing too low it can make the chain more prone to overthrowing such as that. A device that has served me well on that topic too is a "Third-eye Chain Watcher" It is a finger that extends just enough next to the small ring that it won't let it drop.

I have noticed a difference between handlebar material thicknesses/alloys through the years, but I also have carpal-tunnel issues so they tend to flare up a bit easier than most. The lighter alloy bars (Eastons) or carbon bars will transfer less vibration than the cheaper thicker ones or steel ones. That said, angle is almost as important. I just bought a new bar for my main MTB because the angle was too shallow (3 deg). New one is 15deg but a $20 usd generic Kalloy. Good bar, but it does transfer a bit more vibe. Lock on grips are good to have. The ones I use are ODI lock on, foam grips by Carver. All the benefits of foam without the spin 🙂

Thanks for the replies. The stem itself is also bent so i will probably just replace it. The break cables seem fine. As for the handlebars i will just get cheap ones. i have noticed is that my wrists start to ache after a while, but i doubt the handlebars will help. A third eye catcher sounds interesting, i may well invest in one. The problem is im a student, and trying to do this on a shoestring.

To replace the handlebars and stem im looking at at least £30 really. I am using my old mountain bike (barracuda curacao) so it has very big chunkey offroad tyres. I think i will get some intermediate tyres to help on roads and all in all thats going to be about £60, more if i decide to replace the damaged saddle. When i was in my local bike shop looking for new handlebars i noticed a 'pre-loved' racing bike kitted out with road handlebars and thinner tyres and i think a larger frame and wheels for about £80.

I dont know much about bikes and havent been able to find out much about my barracuda, but is it a good bike worth repairing or am i likely to have more luck buying another bike? It looked old but good quality. im not bothered about competitive cycling and i am more concerned about increasing my aerobic fitness than my MPH and i do do some 'off roading'. not mountain biking or anything heavy but muddy paths. What would be my best bet? Thanks, josh

For the routes you describe I think a hybrid bike would be ideal. I was never a big fan of suspension forks (not to mention rear suspension) because of weight etc. But with a suspension for you can easily cruise of pavement blocks without even noticing whilst with a non suspension you will feel a knock whilst with a road bike you might even need to pick up the bike to push over the block by hand.

Most of the road conditions on a normal city commute could be easily addressed with fatter tires with less pressure. (as long the pressure is within the recomended pressure levels so you dont ruin the tire).

I had a similar problem once. I was riding a shimano city bike when at some point the chain got off the rear gear rings. I put it back on later on it got of again. I put again and later on after changing the gear the chain not only fell of but managed to pull the deraileur into the spokes ruining a few spokes, immobilizing the bike, -and- bending the rear deraileur. I have no idea how this happened. I didnt even know that deraileurs could be so wrongly adjusted.

When stuff get worn or broken a visit to the lbs could solve a few things. All though the best method would probably be to measure everything that they are in the correct angles-dimensions as when manufactured and maybe even check the welds and frame with some ultrasonic testing but thats not that realistic... [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/IMG] Basically aluminium doesnt do very well in the long run like steel, with fatigue damage but a bicycle manufacturer told me that you would probably get "notice signs" that something starts to brake so you could go and fix/replace it.

As far as handlebar combinations etc. Maybe some bike manufacturers dont think of anything else but assembling a bike with whatever components they think to make a bike and then advertize it as "hybrid" or "road" or whatever. But I would think that for example fitting a drop bar handlebar on a bike, that bike should probably have a road bike geometry.

Quality on components varies greatly. The Taiwan alloy stuff that are readiliy available at the moment seem to do the job just fine and there are some fancier brands of them available too. I would avoid the chinese brands, they somehow dont feel as refined as others and chinese brands seem to do some aggresive cost cutting on their products...