alloy road bar fatigue life...carbon replacement?

i'm still running the original 7075 AL modolo xtenos bars on my scapin
el-os...never crashed, maybe 5k miles on 'em, but ~13yrs old. should i be
worried?

i recently put a carbon fork on it (ouzo pro) and am very impressed with the
change in ride quality, so i've been watching carbon bar auctions on ebay.
why do some easton bars call for 2-bolt stems only? i've got a
removeable-face 4-bolt ritchey pro. can i use carbon bars? suggestions?

thx,

dookie

On Thu, 04 May 2006 16:50:04 +0000, dookie wrote:

i'm still running the original 7075 AL modolo xtenos bars on my scapin
el-os...never crashed, maybe 5k miles on 'em, but ~13yrs old. should i be
worried?

5000 miles? That's not much use.

i recently put a carbon fork on it (ouzo pro) and am very impressed with the
change in ride quality, so i've been watching carbon bar auctions on ebay.
why do some easton bars call for 2-bolt stems only? i've got a
removeable-face 4-bolt ritchey pro. can i use carbon bars? suggestions?

I _think_ they just want to avoid people using 1-bolt (quill) stems with
carbon bars. Such stems would scratch the bars during installation, which
would weaken carbon fiber bars significantly.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Some people used to claim that, if enough monkeys sat in front
_`\(,_ | of enough typewriters and typed long enough, eventually one of
(_)/ (_) | them would reproduce the collected works of Shakespeare. The
internet has proven this not to be the case.

On Thu, 04 May 2006 15:59:27 -0400, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:

On Thu, 04 May 2006 16:50:04 +0000, dookie wrote:

i'm still running the original 7075 AL modolo xtenos bars on my scapin
el-os...never crashed, maybe 5k miles on 'em, but ~13yrs old. should i be
worried?

5000 miles? That's not much use.

i recently put a carbon fork on it (ouzo pro) and am very impressed with the
change in ride quality, so i've been watching carbon bar auctions on ebay.
why do some easton bars call for 2-bolt stems only? i've got a
removeable-face 4-bolt ritchey pro. can i use carbon bars? suggestions?

I _think_ they just want to avoid people using 1-bolt (quill) stems with
carbon bars. Such stems would scratch the bars during installation, which
would weaken carbon fiber bars significantly.

There's some belief by Easton that four-bolt faceplates create more
stress on the bars than two-bolts. There was info on their website or
at velonews.com about this. Not sure I believe it. But I don't have
carbon bars, so it's perhaps moot for me.

JT


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5000 miles? That's not much use.

i know...

but 13 years? which matters?

i'd like to keep the xtenos and spend $0, but i thought i'd get some
groupthink. your ascii art is hott!

word,

kjt


i recently put a carbon fork on it (ouzo pro) and am very impressed with
the
change in ride quality, so i've been watching carbon bar auctions on
ebay.
why do some easton bars call for 2-bolt stems only? i've got a
removeable-face 4-bolt ritchey pro. can i use carbon bars? suggestions?

I _think_ they just want to avoid people using 1-bolt (quill) stems with
carbon bars. Such stems would scratch the bars during installation, which
would weaken carbon fiber bars significantly.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Some people used to claim that, if enough monkeys sat in front
_`\(,_ | of enough typewriters and typed long enough, eventually one of
(_)/ (_) | them would reproduce the collected works of Shakespeare. The
internet has proven this not to be the case.

On Fri, 05 May 2006 03:41:01 +0000, dookie wrote:

5000 miles? That's not much use.

i know...

but 13 years? which matters?

I'd say it's the use. Maybe a metallurgist will contradict me. Usually
the problem with aluminum bars is metal fatigue, which is a function of
use.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I can
_`\(,_ | assure you that mine are all greater. -- A. Einstein
(_)/ (_) |

"dookie" wrote:

5000 miles? That's not much use.

i know...

but 13 years? which matters?

They will last many thousands of years hanging in your garage
unridden... unless they are damaged and show serious amounts of
aluminum oxide ("aluminum rust"), I wouldn't worry about the years.

i'd like to keep the xtenos and spend $0, but i thought i'd get some
groupthink. your ascii art is hott!

If I replaced the bars on my road bikes every 5000 miles, I'd be
getting rich from recycling the old ones. ;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame

word,

kjt


i recently put a carbon fork on it (ouzo pro) and am very impressed with
the
change in ride quality, so i've been watching carbon bar auctions on
ebay.
why do some easton bars call for 2-bolt stems only? i've got a
removeable-face 4-bolt ritchey pro. can i use carbon bars? suggestions?

I _think_ they just want to avoid people using 1-bolt (quill) stems with
carbon bars. Such stems would scratch the bars during installation, which
would weaken carbon fiber bars significantly.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Some people used to claim that, if enough monkeys sat in front
_`\(,_ | of enough typewriters and typed long enough, eventually one of
(_)/ (_) | them would reproduce the collected works of Shakespeare. The
internet has proven this not to be the case.

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

There's some belief by Easton that four-bolt faceplates create more
stress on the bars than two-bolts. There was info on their website or
at velonews.com about this. Not sure I believe it.

It's not just Easton. With a four-bolt faceplate it is at least
_possible_ to stress the handlebar unevenly if you don't tighten the
screws carefully to the same torque. With a two-bolt faceplate there is
no such problem.

-as

dookie wrote:
i'm still running the original 7075 AL modolo xtenos bars on my scapin
el-os...never crashed, maybe 5k miles on 'em, but ~13yrs old. should i be
worried?


Nope-


i recently put a carbon fork on it (ouzo pro) and am very impressed with the
change in ride quality, so i've been watching carbon bar auctions on ebay.
why do some easton bars call for 2-bolt stems only? i've got a
removeable-face 4-bolt ritchey pro. can i use carbon bars? suggestions?

Cuz Easton wants you to buy a Easton stem.....use the Ritchey, they
have worked well for carbon bars for years....BUT don't expect magic
from a carbon hbar and I would be leary of buying a used carbon
anything....

thx,

dookie

i recently put a carbon fork on it (ouzo pro) and am very impressed with
the
change in ride quality, so i've been watching carbon bar auctions on
ebay.
why do some easton bars call for 2-bolt stems only? i've got a
removeable-face 4-bolt ritchey pro. can i use carbon bars? suggestions?

Cuz Easton wants you to buy a Easton stem.....use the Ritchey, they
have worked well for carbon bars for years....BUT don't expect magic
from a carbon hbar and I would be leary of buying a used carbon
anything....

I'd also recommend buying from a "deep pockets" source. Sometimes bad things
happen, and being able to track backward through legit resellers &
distributors makes it a whole lot easier to make a claim in the event
something fails when it shouldn't have. For what it's worth, we've become
extremely careful about the companies we deal with as a retailer. Our own
insurance would only go so far; safer for us to have someone standing behind
us who will sign off on the situation and take it from there.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"Qui si parla Campagnolo" wrote in message
ups.com...

dookie wrote:
i'm still running the original 7075 AL modolo xtenos bars on my scapin
el-os...never crashed, maybe 5k miles on 'em, but ~13yrs old. should i
be
worried?


Nope-


i recently put a carbon fork on it (ouzo pro) and am very impressed with
the
change in ride quality, so i've been watching carbon bar auctions on
ebay.
why do some easton bars call for 2-bolt stems only? i've got a
removeable-face 4-bolt ritchey pro. can i use carbon bars? suggestions?

Cuz Easton wants you to buy a Easton stem.....use the Ritchey, they
have worked well for carbon bars for years....BUT don't expect magic
from a carbon hbar and I would be leary of buying a used carbon
anything....

thx,

dookie

On Sat, 06 May 2006 04:29:00 +0000, Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

I'd also recommend buying from a "deep pockets" source. Sometimes bad things
happen, and being able to track backward through legit resellers &
distributors makes it a whole lot easier to make a claim in the event
something fails when it shouldn't have. For what it's worth, we've become
extremely careful about the companies we deal with as a retailer. Our own
insurance would only go so far; safer for us to have someone standing behind
us who will sign off on the situation and take it from there.

I agree. Besides this kind of documentation and support, big companies
are more likely to have real engineers in their employ, overseeing design,
manufacture, and quality control. A lot of bike stuff is of dubious
origin, IMO.

Matt O.