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just posted a pic on someones Cove Handjob thread about size of my 2nd HJ frame, but noticed the bars on it and i'm still using them some 6 years later, do they have a fatigue life?, had a lot of use and stacks in those years, am i riding with a time bomb?
Lapierre manual recommends changing bars and stem every 12 months
overkill maybe?
6 years is probably overdue I reckon
I'd be thinking about some new ones at that age. I don't seem to keep bikes very long, but when I used to I'd only run them 3/4 years
I saw 3 years stated once which seemed reasonable to me, (engineering design technique I was taught once, if it looks right, it will probably do 😯 )
I had an alloy set snap on my commuter bike just before christmas, smallest road pothole was enough to break the camel's back, so I swapped the MTB bars shortly after.
Do you change your alloy frame after a year? Or 3?
In theory they will have a limited fatigue life. I used to ride on a lovely set of 15 yr old alloy bars and would have no issue doing so again. Just keep an eye on them for cracking starting
wait until they fail. It adds to the excitement.
Easton have a 5 year warranty?
As they get older just don't abuse them so much, maybe move them 'down' the bikes? (FS > XC HT > XC SS > Commuter) if you have that many bikes of course
Only you will know how much use the bars have had. If they are a light weight xc type bar and you have been using them hard with crashes and the odd jump then I would definitely change them often.
The fatigue life is related to the stress on the bar. If you run oversize AM/DH bars that are still fairly light and dont crash much they will last a long time.
Breaking a bar results in at least a broken collarbone if not worse, I trickle mine down to commutering after a few years.
my bars get a much harder time on the hardtail with little forks, than on the big bouncy bike. .. Makes sense really . .
My oldest ones still in use are some original Orange XC riser bars from about 1996
Also depends on their use -heavily abused bars? check them.
Roadbike has had same alloy bars since 1989.
Olde worlde MTB has bars hewn and forged from solid steel.
New MTB is 2 years and I have no intention of changing them just yet.
Only ever snapped one bar - old orange ramrod. It snapped on a descent on Cannock Chase under braking. Managed to keep the bike upright until there was twist in the trail, at which point I missed the trail and ended up in going in to a load of springy pine trees. Walked away from the stack shaken but not too badly damaged.
To be fair to the bar, I had managed to come off a few weeks before and probably damaged it, though there was no obvious sign of damage.
For me the moral of the tail was change the bar after any significant impact to it, if using lightweight bars.
every 4-5 years or after a particularly big crash for me. Usually have a big crash before the 5 years is up 🙄
just about to fit some CF bars after years of being a sceptic despite no 1st or even 2nd hand negative experiences. Possibly Reading John Stevenson's reviews of the first failure-prone models back in the day...
it's an easton EA50, i'm no big trick rider but i am heavy!
I've had alloy road and mountainbike (flat, of course) bars break and in both cases, got a wee bit of warning before they went. Both times the affected side of the bar went kind've... floppy, before shearing off.
I've also had a cro-moly bar break which suddenly shattered, leaving scalpel-sharp shards pointing up at my falling self.
As far as the original Q, I'd be disappointed if I got less than three years out of a middleweight alloy bar.
Breaking a bar results in at least a broken collarbone if not worse, I trickle mine down to commutering after a few years.
interesting logic!
my ea50s seem fine 6 yrs on, seen a lot of abuse think it may be time for a change but they seem fine
The old ano'd Answer Hyperlites used to go a dull white colour when (and where) they were getting stressed.
Azonic used to have a five year warranty or more on there bars back in the day but when mine snapped after 2.5ish causing me to do a skin peel on well over half my face neither Merlin or Azonic even offered me new bars.
I always replace my bars every couple years now as the cost of new ones versus the grief of when they go gives a pretty easy choice.
interesting question......I still ride my funn rizer bar, which I bought 2004..still looks fine after years of heavily (ab)use...
but !!
some years ago I crashed because of a broken stem...the clamp for the bar broke (it was an older 2 bolt clamp, and broke direct on the upper bolt)...
so I think its better to buy a new bar, as long as CRC has the funn rizers on sale ..