Is too much really always too much or can it simply not be enough in some cases? Punctures when biking? Too many. Women biking? Okay, too few. Trails forbidden for bikers? Definitely too many. And what about safety? Safety should be the top priority, especially when it comes to handlebars and stems. If the handlebars break, the rider's bones usually break too. Ergo: The cockpit must be absolutely reliable!
Fortunately, handlebar breakages are relatively rare in practice. Nevertheless, 6 per cent of our readers broke their handlebars. Therefore, you should choose handlebars and stem carefully, the differences in durability are enormous, as our laboratory test at the independent testing institute Zedler proves. The fact that a product with a bombproof image like the Renthal "Fatbar" (which is used in many big bikes) was the first to break in our test gave us pause for thought. Is the test exaggerated? Are the loads too high? Why do many people swear by a product that breaks after around 64,000 cycles on the test machine when the best handlebar in the test (Syntace Carbon) can withstand more than 15 times as much and is also significantly lighter?
In order to test as realistically as possible, our test is based on real data. These are forces that were measured while riding on the trail and are not just based on theoretical assumptions. The simulated loads of a test cycle reflect the different riding situations: from pedalling to a moderate load, which corresponds to cross-country use, to downhill and crash or jump simulation. In particular, the camber load after all 4000 load changes places high demands on the material, but we think it is part of everyday freeride riding. Or who consistently replaces the handlebars and stem after every crash? The multi-load test is therefore demanding, but entirely realistic.
"Handlebars that manage more than 200,000 load changes on the test bench usually last for several years in tough freeride use without any problems," explains graduate engineer Zedler. However, three out of eight handlebar-stem combinations in our test gave up the ghost much earlier. In order to analyse the variation within a model production, we tested three handlebars and stems of each model. The first test sample had to prove itself in the DIN EN 14766 test with moderate requirements. As expected, there were no failures with the outdated MTB standard. Test samples two and three were subjected to the more informative multi-load test.
Especially with carbon handlebars, the variation in durability is extreme, as the test in our sister magazine (BIKE 5/14->) has shown. The load changes achieved by carbon handlebars of the same model differed by an incredible 74 percent, while aluminium only differed by 13 percent. This is an argument in favour of aluminium, which, unlike carbon, is machined and therefore has significantly lower tolerances. In addition, many carbon manufacturers have deficits in quality assurance and are pushing the weight limit in the battle for ever lighter products. In our test, the carbon handlebars from Easton and Syntace fortunately delivered consistent and very good results, despite downhill, jump and crash loads. Both manufacturers thus prove the high potential of carbon. Despite being lightweight (220 grams), the Easton "Havoc Carbon" achieved 462,308 load changes, while we even switched off the test bench for the Syntace "Vector Carbon" at one million load changes! The best aluminium handlebar (also Syntace) achieved 416,811 load changes.
Surprising: The new 35-millimetre clamp (Easton, Kore, Race Face) hardly seems to have any influence on safety. Both Syntace and Spank also achieve top results with the old clamp. So can a handlebar really be too secure? We say: NO! A plus in safety doesn't hurt anyone.
The test results of these handlebars and stems are available below as a PDF download:
- Easton Havoc 35 with Havox 35 stem
- Easton Havoc 35 Carbon with Havoc 35 stem
- Kore OCD M35 with Repute M 35 stem
- Race Face Turbine with Atlas 35 stem
- Renthal Fatbar Riser with Duo stem
- Spank Spike 777 FR Bearclaw with Spike Bearclaw (FREERIDE tip)
- Syntace Vector 7075 with Megaforce 2 stem
- Syntace Vector Carbon High 10 with Megaforce 2 stem (FREERIDE tip)
