I'd like to get some carbon bars for the road bike - maybe even with the stem integrated. Branded ones at several hundred £ are out of the question, so I guess I'm looking at China.
I'm aware that there are lots of products out there, but also aware that some suppliers have a better reputation than others. Anyone got experience and able to recommend some sites or Aliexpress sellers?
Brand x ones are £69.99 on Wiggle and they also have some Zipp ones for £99.99. Is it worth messing about with Chinese bars of dubious origin to save a bit over those prices?
I'd watch this video
And the. Very quickly this one....
Prime Primavera have felt so comfy even without tape for two months.
I've had a few pairs but I've always gone for discounted bars from reputable brands like 3T, FSA and Ritchey - and buying from mainstream retailers so I know they're not fake.
Merlin have some bargains despite the current supply issues:
https://www.merlincycles.com/handlebars-75312/
And I'd rather have a nice Ritchey (or similar) alu bar over a Brand-X carbon bar - which will likely be heavier and less ergonomic.
Thanks Joe - hadn't spotted those Zipp bars. Slightly narrower than my usual but could be an option.
Monkeyboy - I really appreciate you taking the time to warn of the perils. Toseek bars are one of the ones I'd read about and I'll be staying clear of them. However, given that >95% of the branded bars will be made in non-exclusive far eastern factories, there must therefore be some decent alternatives out there. Lightcarbon and ICAN seem to have good reputations (although only the latter seem to do bars), so was just asking if there are any others of that ilk I should have a look at.
I've had several Chinese unbranded and branded bits (forks,rims and road bars). But sometimes cheap really doesn't mean best.... I had one set of toseek that felt fake in them selves - really noodley and one set that were fine. More recently I've also had 2 carbon seatposts that were bought from the same supplier - bought about 18month apart, one was great the other you could just tell by the bolts was 2nd rate.
If you do go down the carbon route, go direct to a manufacturer web site and not through AliExpress.
If your going down this rabbit hole then avoid any branded names, they are bound to be cheap copies.
I'd recommend picking named stuff you've probably never heard of like airwolf and ican etc as they are starting to make their own brand and are bothered about their reputations. They also won't be forgeries.
You will be able to review these brands and see what real people think of them on Google or on here.
Good luck and feed back what you buy and how you find it.
3T carbon bars under 200g on merlin for £90… why take the risk 🤷🏻♂️
I have a couple of carbon road handlebars.
An FSA K-Force New Ergo handlebar on one road bike - really nice feel / comfort although def not "compact" so puts you in quite a racey position on the drops. It replaced a Deda Zero100 alloy bar and gives noticably less road buzz which is probably the main advantage. I got it for about £120 at the time (2016), think they are pushing £200 now.
On my other road bike, recently bought a 3T Tornova carbon bar. Slightly wider for the same stated size (42cm) than the FSA. Like the round drops, again not compact - this is probably the best bar I have for riding in the drops. Not 100% taken with the "ergo" flattened tops, and also the internal routing - the outer ports just did not feel like they were in quite the right place, meaning the gear cables in particular go around more bends than I would like, although they seem to work ok. I tried routing the gear cable both round the outside but settled on inside (using 2013 SRAM Red shifters). Of course would be no issues with di2.
Thanks everyone - after much deliberation I've decided that the bike I got is just too big for me and all the fancy bars in the world won't change that. So time to sell on 🙁
