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Can't say I've ever noticed bar material make a difference - steel, alu, titanium or carbon. Grips, forks, tyres and bar shape - yes, bar material - no.
carbon is stiff
As others have said… “it depends”.
Ok firstly, thanks to all for the responses on this. Really wide range of thoughts on this.
I have tried grips, suspension set up, bike fit, gloves, tyres and tyre pressures.
The biggest difference I have noticed, which the exception of carbon bars (which I have not tried yet) is changing to a higher volume front tyre and running it at a correspondingly lower pressure.
Got a buddy offered a shot of a raceface bar he has in the shed. Will give that a go. Really is just fine tuning at this stage, once the tyre/fork set up is nailed properly
Most (but not all) RaceFace carbon bars are pretty stiff... what's he got?
Try some ODI lo longnecks push on grips. They have made a big difference for me after trying all sorts.
I always go for renthal carbon fatbars. Typically c£100-£105 for the v2s.
Definitely objectively (most likely psychologically) take the edge off the trail, really comfy backsweep @ 7degrees and consistently 225g-229g.
I am not sure the purpose of carbon bars is to provide comfort. A carbon bar can be stiffer for a given weight, that is the point of it. I have just put my Easton XC 90 SL bars back on (150 grams so pretty light) and they are very stiff.
My bike is going to be a much better test bed that any of the bikes people are are riding here and any vibration or buzz will be more noticeable. The carbon bars feel no different from the titanium bars that were on before.
“I am not sure the purpose of carbon bars is to provide comfort.”
Their purpose (other than the obvious) depends on the design goals. The OneUp bars are a good example.
Bars can only help with high frequency low amplitude issues, so you may struggle to detect that if you’re being overwhelmed by bigger impacts.
By the way, those unusual bars with the pivots and springs/damping come from motocross. Riding rough terrain with tons of suspension. Bar compliance deals with the stuff that suspension is bad at.
A lot of people have found RevGrips a big benefit for hand fatigue. Might be worth a look.
My experience
- many carbon bars are properly stiff. I have Renthal carbon bars on my two FS and they don't have much give
- Spank Vibrocore are about the only bar I've ridden that actually feel different. Hence having a set on my HT. There's definitely something to them compared to other bars I've had on thre.
- Grips make a massive difference to me. I'm now a total fan or Ergon GA3 (with the little wing)
- What everyone said about tyre pressures and fork setup.
Judging by a few comments on this thread about 35 mm bars being generally more stiff than 31.8 mm; what is the benefit of 35 mm bars?
Went to One up 35mm rise bar to stop hand numbness, worked but I think it’s the rise that helped.
It’s a nice bar and reasonably good value for Carbon.
I had a flat carbon bar that i bought off mboy. Definitely killed some trail buzz compared to the stiff alu bar i took off. Can't remember what the hell it was though, sorry.
It does depend.
You get the same with hockey sticks. Depending on how thick the carbon is, the overall shape, the layup, etc, then it can be designed to transfer maximum force or it can have a bit of give to save the hands. Everyone has a preference and it goes on "feel".
Carbon is great, it can do both or somewhere in between.
So, yeah, depends.
had both. replaced my carbon bars as I felt i'd had a few too many crashes and chucked on some ali Renthal bars I already had and they're no worse.
The biggest improvement I found was changing grips.
having said that I've heard the vibrocore stuff works well.
Forgot to add, pretty sure my 120mm-170mm suspension travel, bike depending, has a much greater affect than my renthals ever do.
Most flexible carbon riser bars I ever had though were the carbon cycles eXotic 740mm risers at c162g.
I always felt they were too light though. I only had them on an xc orientated bike but psychologically they held me back. A few gramms either side with carbon makes a massive difference structurally.
what is the benefit of 35 mm bars?
You can make a thinner bar in the same length and same strength in 35mm compared to 31.8mm. So, weight is the benefit. They do very generally end up being stiffer than 31.8 though - which is a problem. As I wrote further up, the new OneUp bars are the only 35mm ones I've tried that are actually not bonkers stiff.
Anyone used the Brand x carbon bar?
Looking for something with a 35mm to 40mm rise on 31.8 mm clamp and that seems the only thing in stock anywhere at a reasonable-ish price.
By the way, those unusual bars with the pivots and springs/damping come from motocross. Riding rough terrain with tons of suspension. Bar compliance deals with the stuff that suspension is bad at.
OTOH when did a 'crosser last have to stand and pedal up a steep hill, or stand to sprint? Never thought I'd see a situation where a Flexstem is a better answer
Renthal aren't 'soft'. Not even close. Same goes for Hope. Way too stiff for my liking.
As said, stay 31.8.
My favourites are Syntace, but they aren't cheap.