Are you replacing your handlebars after a crash? Do you prefer to retire your old handlebar/stem combination after several years of off-road use on your mountain bike? Do you always use a torque spanner when tightening the stem bolts? Is aluminium really superior to carbon? When it comes to the cockpit, the questions keep piling up.
You can't tell from the outside whether a handlebar will hold or break
You must always be able to rely on the handlebars and stem. Hardly any other part of the bike is more crucial for safety. However, it is impossible to judge from the outside how durable and long-lasting the selected handlebar/stem actually is. Unfortunately, you won't find a best-before date.
Realistic tests uncover every weakness
Three test samples each of 17 Handlebar/stem combinations had to prove themselves in our complex laboratory test. The test candidates had to undergo a multi-stage fatigue strength test based on measured real-life data. Including narrow 700 mm handlebars for cross-country use, right through to wide 780 mm enduro handlebars. The test samples also include all materials: aluminium, carbon, titanium and a carbon/aluminium mix. Also represented: the new Handlebar clamp dimension 35 millimetres.
Alarming spread in carbon handlebars
The results of the two-stage BIKE breakage test are alarming. While one of the aluminium handlebars failed the extremely low requirements of the EN test, the subsequent multi-load test showed serious fluctuations in the carbon handlebars. On average, the handlebars of one model were 74 per cent apart. Whether you get a good or a bad handlebar seems to be a matter of luck. If you want to be on the safe side, you should take a look at the complete test throw.
You can find these MTB handlebar and stem models in the break test:
- Answer Pro Taper SL/Rove G2 AM
- Crankbrothers Iodine 2/Iodine 2
- Crankbrothers Iodine 11/Iodine 2
- Enve Riser Mountain Bar/Stem (BIKE tip lightweight construction)
- FSA K-Force XC Riser/OS-99 CSI
- FSA SL-K/SL-K
- Pro Tharsis Riser Carbon/Tharsis Carbon
- Race face Turbine/Atlas 35
- Ritchey Trail Rizer Alloy/WCS Trail
- Ritchey WCS Trail Alloy/WCS Trail
- Ritchey WCS Trail Carbon/WCS Trail
- Syncros FL1.0 Carbon/TR1.0 Carbon
- Syntace Vector 7075/Megaforce 2 (BIKE Tip test winner aluminium)
- Syntace Vector Carbon/Megaforce 2 (BIKE Tip test winner carbon)
- Thomson Titanium/Elite X4
- Truvativ BlackBox Jerome Clementz/AKA 60
- 3T Exsero Ltd/AR X 2 Team
