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I popped up a PSA to some ridiculously cheap Easton EC AX carbon handlebars a while back and I've just got around to fitting mine.
I'm new to, and nervous of, carbon bars and I was expecting the supplied 'manual' to give specific torque requirements but it doesn't (it's just a generic piece for all Easton handlebars and just says to follow the stem manufacturer's instructions).
My Thomson stem states 4Nm for each of the 4 faceplate bolts, but it's actually starting to feel like quite a bit of force as I torque up the bolts with a torque collar.
Similarly there're no values for the brifter torque either (Shimano's recommendations for the GRX400s is 6-8Nm).
What values did everyone else use?
follow the stem manufacturer’s instructions).
My Thomson stem states 4Nm for each of the 4 faceplate bolts,
That's your answer. The bars will have been manufactured to withstand more than than 4Nm.
Tighten until it makes a cracking noise, and then back off a quarter turn.
(I have them with an Easton stem, which has a 5nm torque spec, no issues)
Cannondale stem. 5-6 Nm.
Thanks 👍
Easton are happy with 4Nm although advise to disregard Shimano's torque values for the brifters and only tighten them enough to avoid movement in normal use (so they move under high stress such as impacts).
Having never ridden brifters/drop bars I'm not sure what load they'll be under in normal use, so I'll have to experiment.
Normal load is the side ways movement of changing gear or sometimes holding for out of saddle. If you can do that they are tight enough. They should move under a bit more pressure or sharp knock.
My Thomson stem states 4Nm for each of the 4 faceplate bolts, but it’s actually starting to feel like quite a bit of force as I torque up the bolts with a torque collar.
4nm is not much - are you sure your torque wrench is correct?
I’m new to, and nervous of, carbon bars
I had an old pair of Easton bars that were chipped enough that they gave me pause, so I took them off and replaced them. I decided to see how easy it was to damage them (I was convinced it would be pretty easy to smash them to bits) so I started really rather tamely knocking them on the pavement expecting them to shatter into a thousand glittering pieces. Queue increasingly ferociously smashing the bars into the corner of my house, the pavement slabs, the garden wall...I ran out of puff before the bars did, I did manage to put some pretty impressive dents and I think spying down into the bars; I was pretty sure they were starting to delaminate from the inside, but it took a good 15 minutes of me bashing them into things to get even that far.
I stopped worrying about carbon bars after that.
Queue increasingly ferociously smashing the bars into the corner of my house, the pavement slabs, the garden wall
There's a vid somewhere of SC trying to smash one of their frames, doing similar...