I’ve had carbon bars on my last two full sussers and never really got this claim that they reduce trail buzz. A recent breakage of my Haven bars at Cwm Carn has seen me return to aluminium (Ragley Wiser) and I love them. In fact I’d go so far as to say I prefer them to the (carbon) Haven they replaced. They’re much cheaper too 🙂

Who else prefers aluminium/alloy bars?

Even my ‘hard’ On-One Knuckleballs are nicer than the alu bars they replaced.

It’s not so much that they bend (I doubt they bend much more than an alu bar if at all), but the hysterisis means they don’t ‘twang’ and vibrate in the same way.

They’re also a heck of a lot lighter.

I don’t like using aluminium bars since I snapped some on a bmx many years ago. Running carbon on everything except some retro bikes.

thisisnotaspoon – Member
Even my ‘hard’ On-One Knuckleballs are nicer than the alu bars they replaced.

+1 for the knuckleballs

jes – I went back to aluminium because I snapped a carbon bar (and because they’re cheaper). I was of the understanding that aluminium *shouldn’t* break so catastrophically.

Loving the carbon bars on the new bike, thought they were 800, they’re actually 820 😯

I’ll be whopping a good 40 mm off them.

I’ve been using carbon bars for over 10years now. Personally I wouldn’t go back to aluminium. I’ve only ever snapped one set (on a brand new bike), but that was because the shop over tightened the stem.
The 50% less weight for not much more money is more important to me than the minimal ride differences between the materials.

I’ve destryoed alu and steel bars, no doubt I’ll kill a carbon bar sometime too… Don’t see any reason to trust it less. Feel’s the interesting one because it varies so much, my Enves were noticably stiff, my RSPs are middly, and my crank bros bars are comically soft- absolutely brilliant for a rigid bike. So you can get whatever you want but it’s hard to really know til you try.

The difference in weight is not that much – I have a Carbon Haven at 210g and an old aluminium Crank Brothers Cobalt 3 at 265g. Not sure 55g makes much difference, but I suppose it all adds up.
I can’t feel any difference in trail buzz between the two.

nope, tried a load of carbon bars and haven’t liked any of them due to trail buzz. Running a spank spike vibrocore bar and wouldn’t go back to carbon.

Glad you wrote that Poah, It’s not just me who thinks carbon bars are more buzzy.

Just switched to alu Easton Havens from On One Knuckleballs.

Nicer ride on the havens tbh.

I can’t tell the difference between my Enve & Renthal Fatbars (alu).

I have ndisc problem in my neck affecting my hand so i have used lots of bars and the one i would choose are spank Vibrocore, skeptical when i bought them but on a rigid 29 they are pretty effective.

Another vote for the vibrocore here. I thought it was marketing BS, but they are genuinely great. I need a pair for my current bike

Yay for chewy Knuckleballs! 😆

Which model Vibrocore do you guys have?

800 spike

Is trail buzz even a thing? Can’t say I’ve ever noticed it.

Jusy looked up the vibrocore bars. What they are saying is there’s some foam in the middle?

I’ve a set of knuckleball chewey and hard, no real difference between the two. Got some ragley kevlar wisers and the’re great kn a rigid bike, about 10mm of give in them.

Which model Vibrocore do you guys have?

I had the oozy, think they were 760mm, 5dg rise. Thinking of getting a pair for the current bike.

I run carbon bars but getting the most difference in feel by changing to ESI foam grips. Yummy.

A yay from me, I haven’t owned an mtb with Alu bars for over 10 years now.

Might be positive reinforcement, but whenever I ride Alu bars on borrowed bikes, they feel that, barely perceptable but still there, bit harsher. Might be in my head, might be bollocks, but hey ho.

Love Easton bars and, more recently, Pivot ones (esp when combined with WTB padloc grips)

Best bars ive ever had.

https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized-s-works-dh-carbon-31-8mm-handlebar-EV252303

Wouldnt pay that much for them though. Was fortunate to get them for almost half the price.

As above, good quality carbon bars can’t be beaten.

Swapped to Carbon recently and cant tell the difference. I’m convinced the 10mm + of fork travel makes the trail buzz thing fairly redundant on a mtb.

Aluminium, partly because I can’t get the carbon version of the bar in the UK (Giant SLR DH) – the aluminium one is just great for pure descending duties as it has very little back sweep (5 degrees) – meaning that there is just a bit more reach and weight on the front wheel with a 35mm stem. It feels so good for cornering duties that I can’t bring myself to run a lighter bar that has more back sweep.

jes – I went back to aluminium because I snapped a carbon bar (and because they’re cheaper). I was of the understanding that aluminium *shouldn’t* break so catastrophically.

That was me. Cracked a couple of the earlier Easton Carbon bars and then went alloy. Been back on carbon since going wider (780mm) and my Renthal Fatbars have been ace over the last 3 years.

Is trail buzz even a thing? Can’t say I’ve ever noticed it.

Back in the day – pre-suspension, I’m sure I remember ‘greying out’ on quite a few occasions! Also, I had medical exemption from a university exam as I could not hold a pen or write after a heavy weekends riding!

On my trail bike, or anything with suspension shape is what you will notice over material.
On my rigid bike a carbon bar is fantastic! Reducing buzz and arm pump. Wouldn’t be with out it on the genesis tarn I now ride all the time. The bar is an Envy …

Trail buzz, huh?

Anyway, I never notice flex between bars, but I noticed weight difference. It’s a cheap win, especially when in the sales.

Also impressive receiving them in the post and the postie is puzzled why he’s handing you a box of air. Compared to alloy bars I’ve got there’s an obvious difference in weight. On the bike perhaps not while riding, but the more the bike is lighter the better. Even if just for lifting the bike over fences or in and out of the car.

I switched to carbon when the Easton Monkey Lite bars came out and have stayed with carbon since.

They feel no different to alu at all imho; just weigh less.

the only bars I’ve seen snap due to fatigue were alu.

got given some S-Works carbon MTB bars from a customer at a Concept Store

would not have paid the £200, but they felt great. Slight softness on rough ground.

I’ve had various Renthal bars over the years: Fatbar Lite (Alu), Fatbar Carbon and Fatbar Carbon Lite. The differences in width and rise are quite noticeable but I can’t say I’ve ever felt a difference due to the material. But then Renthal claim to have designed the carbon bars to have the same feel as their Alu ones, so maybe that’s not surprising. The carbon ones are a bit lighter though and most importantly they are black.

Black? Black is so yesterday 😉

These make me feel like a superhero 😆

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SJfanb]Climbing up to Addlebrough[/url] by stilltortoise, on Flickr