We tried several Easton carbon fiber bars, did not have success with them and never started selling them to begin with as a result.

In our opinion, they weren't ready for retail/consumer use. That is why we test what we sell.

We tested the two-bolt Easton EA70 stem on sevral handlebars: Hed, Easton Attack, Kestrel Carbon, Zipp Carbon and Deda 215. The only bars it held securely were the Hed bars and the Deda 215's. WE tested four stems over an eight week period on three different bikes. Mike Aderhold and myself performed the tests and did the rides. I raced on the stem in one Duathlon, the Willow Duathlon this previous spring.

Based on our testing, we have not sold the EA70 two bolt stem at retail. We felt it was not dependable enough for consumer use.

We have had excellent results with Easton Attack aerobars and other Easton products, particularly their fine forks. However, these two products (carbon drop bars and EA70 two bolt front plate stem) were poor.

I doubt many retailers go to the trouble to test things before they sell them. We don't test everything we sell, but we do test a fair amount of it in the real world under the same (or worse) conditions our customers will use them in.

In retrospect though, people still use products we recommend against. They simply choose not to listen.

The customer is always right.

---

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Several issues here. You were smart for using a torque wrench, as now Easton will have no excuse in solving your problem. But good luck in them actually doing that.

Carbon fiber composite materials have many advantages. However, surface hardness and being able to withstand very high and focused clamping forces are not some of them. I have seen several carbon bars badly crimped at the clamping zone by a properly intalled stem. Note how many carbon bars will not allow you to mount clamp-on aero bars on them. And interestingly, carbon drop bars are not even as light as the lightest aluminum alloy bars. But carbon is a big fad and everyone is trying to jump on the bandwagon, including easton.

The fact that your LBS had to refer you to easton only underlines the fact that if a shop will not or cannot help out a customer, what is the friggin' point of buying from the shop?? That is a pathetic policy by Easton and the shop that buys into it. So who pays for the shipping and hassles? You, the customer!

---

---

Where would you want to swim ?

I use an EA70 stem with a Deda 215 bar. It works fine, never had any problem with it. you might want to use a fine sandpaper on the clamp area of the bar to increase friction. this techinique is pretty routinely used on carbon seatposts to prevent slipping.

unlike like Tom's experience, my stem has worked fine and I don't think about it. Which, I guess, is the highest complement, If you have to think about your stem, something's likely wrong.

I'm not a huge fan of carbon bars. I prefer something a bit more substantial in such an important area.

---

*****
"In case of flood climb to safety"

Thank you all for your input, advice, and experience.

LarryCalifornia, I used to have a ttt morphe bar on the old csi. I loved that bar, but was informed that is was no longer available. I requested something similar, if available and the LBS, that I've had great experiences with and confidence in, recommended the Easton products. At that point, why should I doubt their recommendation? They're the "experts" right?

Oh, and it's been a few years since I have ridden at cycling's highest level, like never!

I believe I need some great customer service at this point to properly address this issue and convince me that Easton is a great company. I'll will report back to the group my experience regarding Easton's solution to this issue. Then everyone can make their own informed decisions regarding who to do business with.

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

I've used the easton carbon bars in the past, and broke them. I used the Deda Spectrum bars after that and broke those too. I used a bit of cylindrical loctite on the surface of the clamp area (not where the bars broke) to ensure that it wouldn't slip. Both did at the rec. torque spec with the manufacturer's complimentary stem.

If you like the 3TTT bar you once had, the Biomax II bar from Ritchey will give you the same bend and "sweep" from the stem. At 235 grams it is plenty light, and in fact if you use it with the Ritchey WCS stem, the combo may be lighter.

Who is your LBS? or rather where are they located?

-SD

---

https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era

Easton knows of this issue. You must have one of the "older" EC90 bars. The newer ones have a "roughened" area for the clamp. Having said that, I still never felt very comfortable with my EC90 bar as I felt like I needed to clamp it too hard for it not to slip (and that was the newer one with the roughened area). BTW, I was using a Ritchey WCS 4 bolt faceplate stem. I have also used Ritchey bars (no real issue) and now I have settled on Deda bars (magic, newton, 215, etc. - hey, U.S. Postal likes them). The Deda 215s weigh 215g (imagine the name) and the lightest EC90 is 180g. That 35g is just not worth it; plus, I honk pretty hard on my handlebars when climbing out of the saddle and I like knowing I have a rock solid front end.

I guess the idea of a carbon bar makes sense to absorb some road vibration, but just use the Specialized bar phat/gel tape and be done with it. Ane a carbon fiber stem makes absolutely NO sense (other than aesthetics if you just love that carbon weave).

---

____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

LarryCalifornia,

The use of a carbon bar over an aluminum bar was recommended as an "upgrade" to improve ride comfort.

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

SuperDave,

Thanks for sharing your own carbon bar experiences and your suggestions for alternative bars.

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

rroof,

Thank you for "weighing in" on my experience and sharing yours.

I'm certainly not a weight weenie!

The stem is forged aluminum.

I never really had any complaints about the ttt morphe bar and would have put another one on if it was still available.

Just because a component "flexes" does not necessarily make it weaker. If airplane wings didn't flex, then they would break off and the planes would come crashing down. But as one makes a carbon bar "rock" solid it would seem to lose much of its ability to absorb road vibration. Then I would ask, "Why use carbon at all?" The stiffer carbon bar is heavier, to be more solid. At that point, what is its advantage? Don't get me wrong, I, too, like a solid front end and the sense of confidence that comes with it.

My expectation was that I would be hard pressed to notice much of a difference between aluminum and carbon bars. After three rides on them, maybe there is a little less vibration tranmitted to the hands, but this has been far outweighed by the lack of confidence I now have in my front end.

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

I could kick myself. Instead of going with the DEDA Newton stem and bar, I went to Easton. If you look at the EA70 stem, it's got this rather large face plate sticking out from the two bolts. It LOOKS like it would slip. Deda has two rings...

Is the EA70 stem going to slip on Aluminum bars. I just spent 60 freaking bucks on this very, exact stem, except mine is OS, and using it on a Profile Design Lava OS handlebar. I'm fixing to put on all the levers, and gears, cables.

For gods sakes....

Booth,

Thank you for adding yur two cents.

It sounds like we may be in nearly the same boat. Depending on the resolution, whether satisfactory or not, we may need to drown our sorrows/regrets. If so, I propose hoisting a cold one in unison at a specified time.

However, I hope you have better experience with that stem than I have so far. An oversize bar will have more surface in contact with the clamp. This will increase the force required to cause a slip. This may be greater than you can apply to your bar when it is clamped in the stem. I think this stem will work better on an aluminum bar than on a carbon bar because you are not so limited in applying torque on the clamping bolts.

My shop called Easton this morning and Easton recommended "scuffing" up the surface of the carbon bar in the clamp area with sand paper to increase the friction between the bar and stem clamp surfaces. I'll test this procedure and go for a ride tomorrow and report back to the group.

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

We did that. Didn't work.

Bottom line: If it wear a parachute, would you jump it? Remember Steve Babcock's face after his stem broke two years ago? Not good.

---

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

last weeks roadbiker newsletter was about bars. here's an excerpt.

www.roadbikerider.com/169l.htm 2. Jim's Tech Talk: Carbon Handlebar Hazards RBR has received several inquiries about the durability of carbon-fiber handlebars. These new bars promise to save some weight, damp vibration (i.e., increase comfort), improve climbing/sprinting power and give your bike the latest high-tech look. They’ll lighten your wallet, too. Due to the lofty price and uncertainty about durability, lots of riders have stayed with affordable and extensively proven aluminum handlebars. But they’re curious about carbon.

At Interbike last month, I spied a display of carbon bars in the Quality Bicycle Products booth. (QBP is a major bicycle, component and accessory wholesaler.) So I decided to ask some pointed questions about this trendy upgrade. I'd heard rumors of bars breaking. Here was a chance to find out. I expected QBP to stonewall, so it surprised me when they said that carbon bars can and do break -- but only if the bar or the brake/shift levers are incorrectly installed. Unfortunately, according to QBP, that’s an all-too-common problem, even for professional team mechanics who don't completely understand the pitfalls.

QBP says that bar failure most commonly occurs at the levers because of overtightening. This is an easy mistake to make because carbon is slick. You keep cranking the levers tighter and tighter until they stop slipping, which makes the clamps crush and cut the carbon fibers. Then the bar breaks sometime down the road.

QBP showed me several new handlebars with roughened lever-clamp areas, the manufacturers' solution to give the levers a firm hold before a mechanic is tempted to tighten them too much. In fact, QBP says savvy mechanics now check the clamp area of new bars. If it’s slick, they’re using emery cloth to roughen the insides of the brake-lever clamps before installing the levers. Another risk is burrs inside the lever clamps or stem. All sharp edges should be smoothed so they can't cut the carbon. Also, a stem’s bar clamp should always be tightened to the manufacturer's specifications with a torque wrench. And you should double check the stem and bar diameters to ensure that they match. A poor fit can lead to the damage that causes carbon failure. According to QBP, as long as you take these preventive measures, carbon handlebars should not break (barring crashes). Whether they're worth their typical $150+ price, only you can decide.
______________________________________ Former pro mechanic Jim Langley works full-time for a provider of online content in the cycling industry. More Tech Talk appears on RBR's Premium Site.

Tom,

You make a good point! I do remember that incident. I didn't see his face after, but it couldn't have been pretty. I do recall that he was unconscious for a time and sufferred a concussion. Some juicy red stuff too.

You're right, I don't want to go there. Better to learn and benefit from the misfortunes of others than to repeat their same actions and suffer their same consequences. That would be supremely foolish.

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

IMO, there is no real reason to go with carbon over aluminium. The tape you chose will give you more road shock ride insulation than will the bar material. Of course I only figured this out after I replaced the aluminium bars on two road bikes with $$ carbon.

However at least I made the right choice with the carbon bars I chose and IMO there are only two choices - Kestrel EMS Pro or the Oval Concepts equivalent(can't remember the model no. at the moment). Both these bars are kevlar re-inforced and will accept clip on aero bars.

DO NOT PUT CLIP ON AERO BARS ON ANY OTHER CARBON BARS. Sorry for yelling but the above mentioned carbon bars are the only ones that it is safe to do this with. Anything else and you've got an accident waiting to happen. The downside is that being kevlar re-inforced these bars are heavier than other carbon bars, but whats a few grams?

My wife purchased a very high end titanium road bike a few back and it came with an Arricle (sp?) carbon bar that was ultra lightweight. Since she wanted to put shorty clip ons on the bike she replaced it very quickly with a Kestrel EMS Pro bar.

My advice - put the Easton junk up for sale on eay and get yourself a either a Kestrel/Oval bar or go back to aluminium.

nickc,

Thank you for the roadbikerider excerpt.

I do remember seeing that, but being so personally embroiled in this issue caused my memory to lapse. Or maybe it was the cold one I was saving for hoisting with Booth. Anyway, it seemed to be a totally foreign item until I had read into the second paragraph.

Thanks again.

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

Cerveloguy,

Thank you for your input and sharing your experiences with carbon bars.

You guys have been great. Thank you all again. I hope others who are contemplating a switch from aluminum to carbon bars can benefit from all this experience and advice on the front side rather than having regrets after and being the poorer for having made the decision to go with carbon bars.

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

I benefited! I literally was just going to buy a pair for a training bike. Talk about timing. I also checked out www.roadbikereview.com and found similar reports... Thanks for posting this thread.

I have this exact bar/stem combo on my cross bike. I am a big, strong, fast riding man and have had zero problems with slippage. My bars are the "roughed up" version. Couldn't be happier.

davidd.

Thank you for your contribution on this subject. Maybe there is hope?
Is your "roughed up" version of the bar one that Easton "roughed up" as part of its manufacturing process or a bar that you "roughed up" after purchase? If you did the "roughing up" what grit sand paper did you use or was it emery cloth?

---

Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

  
Let me introduce myself. My name is John McGuire jmcguire@eastonsports.com and I am the carbon R&D engineer at Easton Sports. This posting was brought to my attention by our distributor Veltec. I understand that there is still a great deal of skepticism about carbon products. I will not speak for our competitors, but I can speak from my own experience. At Easton, we go to great lengths to bring lightweight reliable products to the consumers. We thoroughly test each product before releasing it to the market. All of our research and testing shows that our carbon bars are superior to aluminum bars. In fact, no aluminum bar we have ever tested has survived the tests that our carbon bars survive repeatedly.

The statement made about none of the professional riders using carbon bars is mostly true... except for Easton bars. Both CSC and Phonak informed us that none of the racers will use any carbon bar other than Easton's. This is also a good place to point out that the Equipe bar is compatible with clip-ons. The original EC90 was not compatible with clip-ons because of its geometry. The flat section where the bar clamps to the stem did not extend wide enough to allow clip-ons. This problem was addressed on the new Equipe bars.

The EA70 stem (which I have nothing to do with since I am a carbon engineer) is a very reliable product. The shape of the faceplate was designed specifically to work with carbon bars. Anyone who has ever stripped or broken a wimpy 5mm ti bolt will appreciate the replaceable hardware and 6mm steel bolts on this stem. If your bar slips, put the sand paper and loctite away. Instead, wrap a piece of scotch tape around the center of the bar. This will increase the diameter of the bar slightly and increase the clamping force and friction between the bar and stem.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions about Easton's carbon products.