1st ride on my easton havocs on Tuesday ended when i fell off 🙁
The bars have a scuff about 20mm long and 10mm wide from the rock, this is at worst .5mm deep in one scratch – are they ****?

I’d still use them if it just a scrape to the top coat.

Easton carbon bars are incredibly strong.

how thick is the carbon?

They’re damaged beyond repair.

I can dispose of them for you.

lol

.5mm deep? I’d be keeping those and keeping a bit of a eye on them. I put a small chip in my superlight carbon bars about a year ago, they’ve been fine.

its on a bend so should be pretty thick teher

I’m not sure it’ll be thicker on a bend – which is where it is under the most stress too.

I’d be keeping those and keeping a bit of a eye on them

They aren’t going to fail progressively though, it will be catastrophic with carbon shards going straight for the heart 😯

Then again they may be fine….

That’s the trouble with carbon. I’m not flaming, but how many threads do you see with:

“Damage to alloy bars? Just another scratch?”

Or maybe it’s because I’m a fat heffer and can’t get away with using carbon?

Pedalhead off here had a 25mph ish crash on his Easton EC70 carbon risers last year, no apparant physical damage yet at the very start of the next ride they completely snapped on the bend without warning whilst pootling across a pedestrian crossing… v lucky it was at about 3mph not hooning off road I’d say.

Worth considering.

This is a pic of the damage

Looks quite deep, you got a picture from a different angle?

That looks quite deep, would bin them, or find out if Easton do a crash replacement scheme (sorry not what you want to hear) 😥

Thats what i feared 🙁

What price a broken body?

If it was alloy I would bin it, same goes for carbon.

Ouch I wince at the thought of scratching/cracking mine, I feel ya pain tho!

I would bin them! If you get water in there your stuffed anyway as they will lose their strength. Not worth chancing your face for.

A few weeks ago my mate had a crash on the Beast(Peaks) He dusted himself down and carried on, only to have his (carbon) bars completely snap! He was a little white at the bottom and needed a change of pants.
I would bin them.

Havocs must be cursed as mine also got scratched in a crash only a couple of days after I got them!

Drive them through the heart of a goat at the next full moon and I guarantee that the curse might be lifted and the bars might be fine.

are you still using yours?

That’s his spirit typing

druidh – Member
I’m not sure it’ll be thicker on a bend – which is where it is under the most stress too.

How so?

lol – whats this about water causing them to fail that someone mentioned above??

Carbon fibre is basically weaved material with a resin on to make it rigid. If the carbon itself gets wet it starts to go bad bit like getting water on cardboard. But over time it will start to get very weak and then bend rather than snap. Most people put nail varnish over small cracks and knocks on frames to stop water getting in.

How does water degrade carbon then?

Isn’t it an extremely inert element/material?

Anyone KNOW if easton do crash replacement?

Here is a nice report on the topic. I would get a drink!
http://me.eng.sunysb.edu/~compmech/downloads/N29.pdf

Carbon fibre is basically weaved material with a resin on to make it rigid. If the carbon itself gets wet it starts to go bad bit like getting water on cardboard. But over time it will start to get very weak and then bend rather than snap. Most people put nail varnish over small cracks and knocks on frames to stop water getting in

has someone had told the boat industry this fact?

There is also lots online about the thickness and the number of layers used on boat hulls. By the looks of things lots of companies use double layers of 6mm and use the outer as a of type sacrifical skin. Very similar to how galvanising was used in the olden days for sacrifical protection. Been a while since I did my materials module on my degree so maybe resins have changed and the pre-treatment process has changed for the better.

anyone answer – do easton do a crash replacement scheme?

I am still using mine with no issues but they are the alloy versions and my scratch isn’t as deep (my brake lever took the brunt of the hit).

cruzheckler – Member
anyone answer – do easton do a crash replacement scheme?

POSTED 47 MINUTES AGO #

Think its only on wheels.

Edit: Seems that they offer 30% discount but its on full RRP, so likely be cheaper buying a new bar from Merlin etc.

extrauk are taking them back to assess 🙂

Carbon fibre is basically weaved material with a resin on to make it rigid. If the carbon itself gets wet it starts to go bad bit like getting water on cardboard. But over time it will start to get very weak and then bend rather than snap. Most people put nail varnish over small cracks and knocks on frames to stop water getting in

Carbon fibre is basically weaved material with a resin on to make it rigid. If the carbon itself gets wet it starts to go bad bit like getting water on cardboard. But over time it will start to get very weak and then bend rather than snap. Most people put nail varnish over small cracks and knocks on frames to stop water getting in

❗

The scratches are quite deep, but as others have said I would bin some aluminium bars with scratches like that that were going to take the abuse intended for Havoc bars.

They could be fine, they may break – I don’t think anyone here would like say for sure. You have been unlucky. I would think that carbon Havocs would be tougher than most aluminium bars with the same damage.

This is why I have some tape to go on my Havocs when I fit them – it would be a shame to throw some bars away due to some scratching that can be greatly reduced/avoided with some protection.

Easton may well have overbuilt that area and Extra UK may be able to get access to the people who know. Hopefully they will sort you out one way or another.

There is also lots online about the thickness and the number of layers used on boat hulls. By the looks of things lots of companies use double layers of 6mm and use the outer as a of type sacrifical skin. Very similar to how galvanising was used in the olden days for sacrifical protection. Been a while since I did my materials module on my degree so maybe resins have changed and the pre-treatment process has changed for the better.

Hello Chaps, I can help a little the technical aspects.

Mr Dimmadan, Sorry but you are almost there. I recommend a refresher from your course notes. 😀

Carbon fibre is on its own is not woven. But it can be, its not always used in a woven form. Getting it wet is nothing like getting water on cardboard and your bars will never bend rather than snap. Carbon fibres do not soak up water. Carbon composites are stiff, but also brittle. In the marine industry you do sometimes see outerskins of different materials, but this is not anything to do with galvanising (galvanising prevents corrosion on a surface, I think you meant galvanic corrosion and the use of a sacrificial anode) This is not related to our problem here.

So to the question: I guess it is whether the bars are still ok and usable?

My first question is how hard did you hit them ? I can see that you have a scratch, but did they experience some real impact ? If they did it is likely that you have caused some internal damage to the bars which will help them to fail later. You are unlikely to know this without the use of some non-destructive testing equipment (ultrasound is good!) If you don’t happen to have this at your disposal you could strip the bars off your bike and use something to tap the surface. Tap the around the good end and then the area of suspected damage, if there is a change in tone its likely that damage is significant. Although this still does not guarantee that your bars are fine. If you are doing very aggressive and demanding riding it could be a problem and the bars have some internal damage. They could just snap and probably leave a very jagged and sharp surface which might be a danger in itself.

The real worry might be that you have started a crack with your scratches any crack will propagate and cause the bars to fail. In short, if they have really had an impact I would probably not use them again. Although its hard to tell without seeing and touching them. If you want some more info and have more detail, drop me an email and we could discuss further if they are good or if you might want to repair them.

Cheers