and how does this differ from buying a secondhand bike with carbon bars on it?

Yes and it doesn’t. HTH 🙂

1. yes, but only eastons and only if mint

2. there’s no bike attached to them

Yes. Postage will be cheaper.

of course, I have done on here, mint easton havens.

I have done, but for mincecore not thrashing. Look for indicators of how the bike’s been treated and ask where it’s been used.

1) Yep, many times.
2) Easier to post

I’ve bought two pairs from the classifieds here, no problems with either.

lol @ easier/cheaper to post. a lot of confidence in carbon then. (Eastons anyway)

I’d probably trust secondhand carbon bars more than secondhand alloy bars…

No I wouldn’t buy secondhand carbon bars for the simple reason you don’t know what you are getting, there are so many Chinese knock off copies out there at the moment, its a danger buying new nevermind secondhand. Some time ago I bought a new FSA K-force light carbon bar from the big auction co, yes they were cheap. I remember being a bit disappointed at the time but now I realise they are probably knock offs. Not in any original packing, silk screening slightly out of register, silk screening marked too easily, 20g over specced weight and poor finish on ends. By contrast I bought an Easton Haven bar from a reputable source to replace them and no regrets as they are perfect. I personally won’t pass the K-force on secondhand as I’m not convinced they are real but there are many out there who would. So from then on I have always bought new from a reputable source.

Wouldn’t buy new ones tbh never mind used

I’d probably trust secondhand carbon bars more than secondhand alloy bars…

This.

Wouldn’t buy new ones tbh never mind used

Why? still on the ‘all carbon will snap if you look at it funny’ bandwagon? That pulled over and stopped years ago.

Three times 😳

Easton CT2 on my rigid singlespeed… these must be 10 years old now 8)

Kinesis Strut on my hardtail – Theses were new in package though

Easton Havoc on my Helius – these were damaged under the grip but had been repaired.

None of the above have caused me any concern. But as with anything buy clever… look at the sellers other kit and other forum posts to see what they get up to 😉

No coz I’ll never trust it’s damage bag it carries.

I’ll second nigelb001’s comment. I too bought a new Ritchey WCS carbon off a the same auction site, for alot cheaper than its RRP. Turned out to be too good to be true. I have an eye for detail and this bar just didnt have it, the decals were off alignment, the UCL colours were off colour and the thickness tube was alot thinner than the real item. Do a search for big brand carbon manufacturers on a site called alibaba.com and you’ll be suprised with what comes up.

Why? still on the ‘all carbon will snap if you look at it funny’ bandwagon? That pulled over and stopped years ago.

Carbon bar salesman?

what’s up with secondhand ally? is the worry that they may have been straightened after an accident (which would of course mean that they are more brittle/fatigued)

Yep at least 4 pairs never any bother most recent a set of Raceface SIXC IN MINT CONDITION £50 POSTED

Carbon bar salesman?

Nope I suspect he is just wondering why someone would not buy them

none of the carbon bars I own were bought new by me [ nor the seatposts actually

Probably not, but I’d not buy any handlebars second hand, I’d always wonder if they’d had some horrible accident.

coincidentally I “threw” a pair of CNT monkeybars away yesterday. I think I got them second hand 7 years ago. I dont trust them anymore, havent used them for a few years, and I wouldnt want them to be out in the wide world either.

whne you say threw away do you mean ebay:-)

Ragley Wiser bar from the classifieds here.. flippin’ ace, raw finish, look like they’ve been nicked off some part of a prototype racing yacht..

They are wrapped in Kevlar though so even if I break them I shouldn’t get too many shards of carbon piercing my heart.. 😉

No I mean theyre sitting in the bin in my shed at the moment.

It’s funny, I play hockey and both carbon fibre and aluminium have been used for stick construction over the years.

Aluminium was banned because of sudden and dangerous breakages and carbon is the fully trusted material. This is in a sport where the stick is used to impact a hard ball many hundreds of times. The state a carbon stick can get in before it breaks is crazy – worn away by the pitch, eroded by many bad tackles, de-laminated after water gets in the exposed fibres and they’re dried on a radiator! They still don’t snap. Amazing stuff.