I’m looking to get a new set of bars for my orange five. I use this at my do everything bike. I ride it for xc at home and I going to take it to the alps this year to do the Mega Avalanche. I like the look of the Easton carbon Haven or Carbon Havoc 35 bars,( I know I would have to get a new stem for the havoc 35s but I’m looking to get a new stem in the near future anyway). But there is part of my mind that is worried about having carbon bars. Should I be worried or is it just me being stupid? If anyone has any experience with these bars please let me know what you think! Or should I just save my money and worrying and go for a set of alloy bars?
Thanks for any help

I’ve had Easton haven bar and stem on my zesty for over a year with no probs, no noticeable flex and I’ve had a few big offs with no issues.

I trust mine completely… The rather hammered set of monkeylite dhs on the Ragley has been to the alps, been downhill raced, crashed in 4 countries, and memorably landed on when the bike dropped off the gondola at fort william from about 3 stories up. They look mangled but they’re still good.

I daresay if they do fail, they’ll do so in an unpleasant way but the tradeoff is that they’re very, very hard to break. I’ve folded steel and alu bars in the past but yet to break a carbon one.

I went with the raceface sixc bars as they are built with a bit more beef than the havens, more in line with the havocs really. They’re available at 780mm wide now too. The haven’s 711mm was another thing that put me off.

I got some carbon ritchey wcs (xc type) bars 2nd hand off here for a decent price, they are a little bit easier on my hands on long descents and have a pretty noticable flex whan climing – not that they feel bendy, just soft – there’s defnly some give.

This is whilst climbing mountains singlespeed though – I am pulling proper hard on them

According to the reviews on the new 2013 V-10 the only downside of the bike are the 35mm Easton Havoc bars which are apparently to stiff and confer **** all trail feel.

I did notice the whole lapierre team ditched the 35mm standard pretty quickly

I had the same fear about bars, then in a twist of luck I got some for free. The first few rides I worried but honestly they are as strong as any alloy ones. Would definitely buy again.

I did notice the whole lapierre team ditched the 35mm standard pretty quickly

I did actually fathom a guess with my mates that 35mm carbon bars might reduce trail feel. Guess what?

We come back round to my previous point on the Mondraker thread of manufacturers pushing marketing ideas and the personal preferences of the odd racer as technical solutions for the consumer to try to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Thanks for all the reply’s. I think I will go for a set of carbon bars. By the sound of it the havoc 35s don’t sound like the best option. Just one more question. What carbon bars do you recomend? I like the look of the eastons but I would rather go for a set that that come highly recomend. I also like the look of the enve dh bars but I can’t find any review on them yet. Thanks again for all your help

Easton monkeylite are fantastic, had them on my stumpy now for 5 yes. Total faith in them.

Havens here.

I really rate them – perfect width, great bend.

I’d forgotten that they were actually carbon, tbh.
Never had any problems with them, they’re just great bars.

I have easton haven carbons, and they’ve been fine so far, been crashed several times.

They may be a bit narrow for some tastes though

Easton DH’s here, and 3 years of abuse/falls etc.

If buying now I’d probably go with the Havens as they are 711’s, and lighter.

+1 for MonkeyLites

Tbh my carbon havens are plenty wide enough, actually thinking about cutting them down, not rocking wide at times, especially at Swinley and stanmer.

I’ve got the havoc carbons on my Strive and I love them, the bend, upsweep and width is perfect IMHO. Most people tell me they’re too wide, but many hours in the saddle tell me they fit just fine.

+1 for Haven carbons great shape and super for taking the buzz out of the trails would definately buy another pair for the no2 bike i’m considering

Thanks for all the reply’s. I think I will go for a set of carbon bars. By the sound of it the havoc 35s don’t sound like the best option. Just one more question. What carbon bars do you recomend? I like the look of the eastons but I would rather go for a set that that come highly recomend. I also like the look of the enve dh bars but I can’t find any review on them yet. Thanks again for all your help

If you want low rise I would heartily recommend my Syntace Vector Carbons which are available in three different back sweep combinations. Plenty of trail feel and stiffer than my previous Alu bars – just the right amount of stiffness I feel.

What I really like about the Syntace bars are the reinforced stem clamp areas (aluminum mesh wire) that stops the stem from marking the bars.

Answer Pro Taper 720 Carbon bars here – very happy.

Havens here as well.

I had the same concerns that you did but honestly, they are fine. Lovely rise, sweep, and look blingy as you like (especially with a set of clear Onza Ules on the ends!)

Couple of big Dartmoor rocky descent stacks and there’s not a mark on them.

Do it!

Cheers, Paul

Normal 31.8 Havoc Carbons here. Love them. Might be a better option than the 35mm ones.

I have the same worries with carbon which these days is probably unfounded. I have though had carbon bars on both my bikes for ages – loads of crashes and trips to the Alpes but no issues and they ride great.

They are the only bits of carbon i own – cant really explain why i trust them more than other carbon bits – perhapse because they are a simple, single piece and tubular – looks strong.

I use answer pro taper carbon 720 AM bars on my Tracer 2 and they feel sweet. On my DH bike though i wouldn’t, carbon fails catastrophically and the shards are very sharp, possibly slitting ones wrists if they were to snap… I’ll stick with alu bars on the big bike 🙂

The fear most of us have with carbon is that it can fail catastrophically without warning [ then again so can metal]

In tests they are stronger than metal so it depends what you want

I dont think about it anymore as all my bikes have carbon bars- never snapped any bars but I have frames – only ever had one carbon frame so time yet to break it 😉

+1 for 31.8mm Havoc Carbons

Or Race Face Sixc are good too.

Both rock solid but v comfy.