Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 51 total)
  • Lucky escape – handle bar fail
  • brack
    Free Member

    Mid road ride… Handle bar failed .

    Resulting in me sprawled in the fortunately empty main road. Big gash to both knees, smashed helmet and bruised elbow.

    Thank god there was no traffic and that I wasn’t descending a hill !!

    Is this common ?

    Teetosugars
    Free Member

    Is this common ?

    No.

    Glad yer not too mashed up.
    Heal well..

    muppetWrangler
    Free Member

    I’ve had a super lightweight carbon bar gradually come apart on its first ride and I’ve seen a few lightweight aluminium bars snap at the stem. Carbon bars was a clear manufacturing fault and fortunately wasn’t an instant fail and I always assumed that the near the stem fails were due to the stem wearing a bit of a groove in the bars and weakening them over time.

    Glad to hear that you are in the big scheme of things ok.

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    B.A.Nana
    Free Member

    You weren’t the only one this weekend

    brack
    Free Member

    New stem and carbon bars me thinks

    murf
    Free Member

    Karma for being a roadie 😉

    Joke btw, for those out there lacking a sense of humour.

    neilsonwheels
    Free Member

    Karma for being a roadie

    Burn him.!

    chip
    Free Member

    When I read smashed helmet in a list of injuries it always makes me wince.

    Glad your still with us.

    munded
    Full Member

    Happened to me twice in past few years. Overtightening stems (before purchase of torque wrench) killed one set and riding drop bars bit too fast and bumpy offroad led to fatigue and later snap. But many folks say change ally bars every few years. Those who saw my snapped bars (and injuries) said things like “mine have been on for 10 years”. One of those it will probably be fine things, but when it’s not it really **** hurts.

    brack
    Free Member

    Waking up aching and battered.

    Jeez I was sooo lucky yesterday ! Mates are disagreeing with my choice of a new bar..

    What would be best ? Carbon vs Alu ?

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    How old was the bar? Happened to a mate, explained a lot when he said the bars were about 10 years old…

    teasel
    Free Member

    You weren’t the only one this weekend

    At the very least it looks like it’ll wake him up, the lazy git.

    eskay
    Full Member

    What material were the bars that failed (can’t seem to see it from posts above, but may have missed it!)?

    Were they oversized or older style?

    Edit: I did crack an alu stem once going up Brassknocker Hill in Bath!

    brack
    Free Member

    Alu standard size

    8 years old

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    8 years old

    Probably partly the reason..

    I think Easton were suggesting 2 year life span

    moshimonster
    Free Member

    I once had a stem clamp crack (Thomson one as well) but luckily I spotted it before it actually broke. Always a good idea to carefully examine your bars and stem regularly, looking for fatigue cracks. Also reminds me to change the bars on my older bike as asking for trouble after 5+ years use. I’m certainly not a weight weenie when it comes to bars and stem!

    Oops, sorry forgot to add that I’m glad you lived to tell the tale!

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I think Easton were suggesting 2 year life span

    I bet they were.

    😆

    plyphon
    Free Member

    Out of genuine interest, why would an alu product have a “lifespan”?

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    plyphon – Member
    Out of genuine interest, why would an alu product have a “lifespan”?

    Alu fatigues – it has a finite number of sterss cycles that will cause it to fail. Might be a million, might be a billion, but every wee bump brings it one closer.

    moshimonster
    Free Member

    Out of genuine interest, why would an alu product have a “lifespan”?

    Because alu suffers from fatigue over repeated usage. Eventually it will crack and ultimately fail.

    nickjb
    Free Member

    I once had a stem clamp crack (Thomson one as well)

    On the face plate? That is moderately common on those. Someone else from here:

    Edit In fact googling Thomson stem crack gives quite a few!

    moshimonster
    Free Member

    On the face plate?

    Yes it was on the face plate, but I think the crack on mine initiated from one of the clamp screw recesses and I spotted it before it actually broke – it started creaking mid ride and I stopped to check. Was torqued up correctly too. The one in that picture looks like maybe due to over tightening?

    At least that kind of failure is not catastrophic in that the bars are still attached to the bike. Much worse when the bar snaps!

    boxelder
    Full Member

    Joe Moses in Bananas photo up there finished 3rd!
    Swap to road bike at bottom of the lane I’m guessing?

    njee20
    Free Member

    I’ve got some lightweight carbon road bars on my Madone, which are now 10 years old, just ordered some replacements as they’ve been bothering me for about 2 years and I’ve just not got around to it!

    29erKeith
    Free Member

    boxelder – Member
    Joe Moses in Bananas photo up there finished 3rd!
    Swap to road bike at bottom of the lane I’m guessing?

    Imagine what he’d have done if his bike hadn’t broken and he did it with his eye’s open too 😉 Impressive!

    Glad your ok OP and still have all your teeth

    GregMay
    Free Member

    Imagine what he’d have done if his bike hadn’t broken and he did it with his eye’s open too Impressive!

    Himself and Nick Craig we’re beside each other. Jebbie was about 3mins ahead at that stage – so he’d have maybe got 2nd… but probably still 3rd.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Making me worried now. Carbon for the next set of bars?

    Speshpaul
    Full Member

    Alloy bars “can” rot from the imside, i’ve seen a couple go like that, just turns to just.
    Stef’s (he’ll read this) road bars broke just after a very fast descent in the spin. Rpttened away under the bar tape.
    Why ten year bars on a winter/turbo bike would fail is beyond me. 😀

    njee20
    Free Member

    Alloy bars “can” rot from the imside, i’ve seen a couple go like that, just turns to just.
    Stef’s (he’ll read this) road bars broke just after a very fast descent in the spin. Rpttened away under the bar tape.
    Why ten year bars on a winter/turbo bike would fail is beyond me.

    Surely that’s not from the inside, that’s just under the bar tape – your inference being that it’s from the sweat whilst on the turbo? Removing the bar tape would have shown the problem surely? Not that that’s a likelihood of course, I suspect most folk don’t retape their bars all that often.

    d45yth
    Free Member

    I think a lot can be blamed on heavy-handed spannerers. I know loads of folk who’ve stripped threads, rounded bolt heads, cracked bearing covers, etc. I’m now worried for them after reading this thread!
    I know the recommended torque for a lot of stem bolts is 4-5Nm, which for those who don’t know, is not very much – barely hand-tight. I actually think a lot of folk are best using multi-tools on their bikes, as a lot of the long-handled allen key sets you see are a recipe for disaster in the wrong hands!

    Edit: Pleased you’re OK, OP.

    Speshpaul
    Full Member

    njee20, that’s why i used a full stop and started a new sentence.

    MrOvershoot
    Full Member

    njee20 – Member

    I suspect most folk don’t retape their bars all that often.

    How dare you 😉

    I quite enjoy taping bars & getting it just so 😀

    jameso
    Full Member

    Why ten year bars on a winter/turbo bike would fail is beyond me.

    It’s a guaranteed thing eventually. Alu fatigue, over-tight stem clamps, a lot of potholes or a strong rider hauling up a lot of hills, etc. And one rider’s winter miles will be 2x many rider’s total annual road miles.

    yorkycsl
    Free Member

    Easton Haven 711 carbon bars,New 2012 popped them on my Zesty, all was well did a 58k loop in the peaks coming back over Cutgate at speed which if you know it then you know how fast & rocky it is… so get home clean bike oil chain wipe forks down after applying lube to stanchions.. jump on to have a bounce & the bars snapped between the brake & stem not on a area where there was any clamping force, Here’s the best bit Easton blamed me for over tightening brake & GRIPS …. I’m a engineer in the oil industry & know how to use a torque wrench… gas turbines etc, cheeky **** so I won’t use there products. I can remember this fat git of a rep telling me I’d over tightened them when I had a micrometer in my hand showing him the measurements…. tosser.

    boblo
    Free Member

    A micrometer to measure torque….?

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    boblo – Member
    A micrometer to measure torque….?

    Don’t question it he’s an engineer!

    yorkycsl
    Free Member

    Get with it .. come on…. micrometer to show there was no crush from over tightening on any clamp points dim wit

    Northwind
    Full Member

    yorkycsl – Member

    between the brake & stem not on a area where there was any clamping force,

    That’s the important bit.

    moshimonster
    Free Member

    Carbon bars are plain scary. Ultra-lightweight alloy ones are a close second. For me it’s not a part of the bike where weight saving is a priority at all.

    Waderider
    Free Member

    Who would expect plastic deformation on a bar from overtightning a clamp? Really?

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 51 total)

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