Carbon bars query

Hey folks, probably a donut question but it's been fussing me quietly for a while...

Why do I never see carbon fibre handlebars on general sale? I mean, I know various people make them. But given that carbon bikes are pretty common, they still seem to come with alu bars at the lower end of the spectrum, rather than a full-carbon setup. I'm wondering why... If you are all set up to make bike frames, surely the bars are easy to fabricate by comparison. Why not make them too?

Too much effort for too little weight saving?
Trouble with making sure the external diameters are bang on for the stem, so it drives the costs up because tolerances have to be just-so?
Is there a lot of force applied on the outer part of the bars with no diagonal struts to brace the (as there is on the rest of the frame) and that means it requires more levels of lamination?

Any clues? I've done some searching but haven't found any conclusive answers about why they are less common than I expect.

good question, I think it could be due to the relatively complicated geometry.

edit - looks like they are just as easy to make according to easton.

http://www.eastonbike.com/downloadable_files_unprotected/r&d_files/R&D-07-EMC.pdf

I think...

carbon is strong laterally, based on the weave. the forces involved in a frame or cranks are generally unidirectional. Forces in handlebars are multidirectional, depending on hand position etc.

eh?

there are loads of carbon bars out there..

Easton do about a million

they are less common because they are expensive considering there is little weight saving.
a manufacturer is not going to spec them on a full bike because the money is better spent on something the customer can see like a dura-ace rear mech over an ultegra

it is partly due to uci weight specifications, bike must be a minimum of 6.8kg for racing and racers prefer to save. Weight in other areas like wheels with carbon and pay a weight penalty where it is less performance inhibiting like the handlebars and stems, also the frequency that racers crash, it makes sense to have something that can just be picked up, dusted off and ridden with like aluminium where carbon may shatter.

What this means is that the development end of things doesn't have the money needed to drive prices down to affordable levels.

The high cost in turn puts off all but the fiddys if this world and means that they aren't coominly available due to high prices and low demand.

I have carbon bars. They come standard on an S-Works Tarmac.
There's plenty of 3rd-party carbon bars available. Methinks you are google fail.

They co$t BIG dowwar, companies save by putting cheap crap on completes to sell bikey fo' less

there are many carbon bars out 'dere, not many shops stock up as they make little dowwar from selling high end stuff, normally there is little demand so shops stock up on what sells well.

it is partly due to uci weight specifications, bike must be a minimum of 6.8kg for racing and racers prefer to save. Weight in other areas like wheels with carbon and pay a weight penalty where it is less performance inhibiting like the handlebars and stems.

This is the story I was told. Bars aren't a bad place to have a bit of weight.

Thanks for the useful replies so far.

To clarify, by "on general sale" I mean: walk into your local bike shop and find some.

Yes, you can find them on the Net. Yes you'll get them on a high-spec bike. No, you don't GENERALLY find them in your local bike shop. I apologise for not being more specific - I forgot that for many people the internet is the only shop they use. (Note: Please don't post "ACTUALLY, they are on sale in MY local bike shop...")

To give you an example, just because it is the next shop I will be passing, the mostly-Specialized-but not-completely shop near where I work sells carbon framed bikes, carbon seatposts, carbon bottle carriers (for the extra 7g weight saving) but no carbon handlebars. The next bike shop I pass after that is On Your Bike at London Bridge - they sell carbon bottle carriers but no carbon handlebars. It just seems an anomaly...

Because they dont sell enough to warrant the storage?
Dont see why not these babies only cost £490

weight saving on bars is important, as any extra weight is resistance when your pumping on the bars (climbing sprinting ect)which will wear out your arms with out helping you go forward faster. Bar+stem weight is not as curial as rotating weight, but its a bigger deal then bottle cage weight for instance.

As for why you can't find them, I don't know I live in NYC, so I can get any thing I want, and I can get it delivered.

useful answer, you can find them in some stores (the snobby lbs in Oxford has some) but Oilver's right, the demand isn't sufficient.

not useful answer:
They're not good at climbing trees, so they can't get at the honey

1. Almost very little weight saving over Carbon bars for a lot of extra money.
   
2. Handlebars tend to take a large part of the impact in crashes, easy to spot if an alloy bar is damaged because of this, not so easy on carbon. The more paranoid/rich/pro teams tend to bin carbon bars after a crash
   

weight saving on bars is important, as any extra weight is resistance when your pumping on the bars (climbing sprinting ect)which will wear out your arms with out helping you go forward faster.

stiffness would have a bearing on efficiency when out of the saddle but extra weight wouldn't. (if we are talking a typical 15% difference in weight between alloy and light carbon bars) it's not the weight that's creating the resistance, rotating weight and the areo factor will have far greater influence.

some people use carbon bars because the claim they reduce road buzz, dunno if this is true but decent alloy triple butted bars that only weigh 225g do me fine.

He's talking about a shop not stocking them.. simple fact is carbon bikes people buy, carbon posts are a piss easy "upgrade" for most people who think they will improve the ride. Carbon bottle cages complete the picture and can be fitted by even the most spako gimboid. People don't walk into a shop and browse a pile of carbon bars, take a set home and then tape them.. fit their levers and adjust their headset, etc. because that's what bike shops do. Most people that would be buying carbon bars would be wheeling their De Rosa, S-Works, etc. into the shop and saying "I want carbon bars.. and some of those nice carbon wheels that fast people ride in the Tour, thanks, here's my Amex". In other words.. Joe Blogs isn't generally going to be hunting in the shops bargain bin for a set of carbon Cinellis.

i have a pair of easton monkey lite carbon bars and they are gorgeous, but they're also gonna snap on me soon because they have deep gash's in them

deep gash

People don't walk into a shop and browse a pile of carbon bars, take a set home and then tape them.. fit their levers and adjust their headset, etc. because that's what bike shops do. Most people that would be buying carbon bars would be wheeling their De Rosa, S-Works, etc. into the shop and saying "I want carbon bars.. and some of those nice carbon wheels that fast people ride in the Tour, thanks, here's my Amex". In other words.. Joe Blogs isn't generally going to be hunting in the shops bargain bin for a set of carbon Cinellis.

Ah, see now that makes more sense. I was looking at it the other way... I would decide I wanted new bars, walk into a shop, browse what's there, see if it looks like what I want, will it make my bike look nice, do I need to look at the internet to see if they make that in another colour... Then I'd sleep on it and decide before walking in with the bike. And I'd expect to fit them myself, cos I'd want the positioning of everything exactly where I want.

Me = posh bike shopper fail
(3/10 - must try harder)

What bike would these look good on?
and why not a picture of a lion instead of a leopard?
Then they would be lion bars
Currently £74 on tut'bay

i have a pair of easton monkey lite carbon bars and they are gorgeous, but they're also gonna snap on me soon because they have deep gash's in them

Still going or have they snapped?