Carbon fiber motorcycle bars?

I know on pedal mtn bikes weight is an issue, and I assume pedal road bikes are the same. How come I don't see more carbon handlebars on road motorbikes?

In reply to octavious:

Idk, but the aluminum pieces work well.

Maybe because carbon fiber shatters instead of bends?

I have seen them twice, Not one person liked the "feel" of them. No way in hell I'd try them, with what they cost and so little benefit.

Appleseed wrote: Maybe because carbon fiber shatters instead of bends?

Doesn't stop people from doing complete carbon bodywork on sportbikes....

My guess is the cost-benefit isn't as great. Saving 1/4 lb on a bicycle that weighs 20 lbs or less is significant. Saving a few ounces on a bike that weighs hundreds of lbs...

Even in the DH racing world, carbon bars have only recently started to become popular. Personally, I run alloy bars. And I have a spare one in stock in case I wreck really hard and the bike goes flying.

Amusingly, the bars on my DH bike are the same width as the bars on the DRZ400 I just bought.

exactly, the type of bike that would use CF bars is going to use a clip-on, not a full handle bar. The aluminum clip-on tubes weigh nothing and cost next to nothing. A CF clip-on tube is an order of magnitude more expensive and still somewhat unproven in comparison. You would have to run out of stuff to blow money on before you got to those.

http://motowheels.com/i-8410519-cf-handlebar-tubes.html

I would prefer my bars to not shatter if my motorcycle gets knocked over

Yeah... you can ride a bike home with bent aluminum bars. Shattered shards where the bar used to be are harder.

I didn't realize carbon fiber shattered into splinters.

I guess I was thinking with all the flat blacks, carbon fiber wraps, and such that carbon bars would be more common.

I believe Easton mtn bars are actually aluminum bars with carbon fiber wrap. I assume 100% carbon fiber anything would be fairly expensive.

octavious wrote: I assume 100% carbon fiber anything would be ridiculously expensive.

FTFY

RealMiniParker wrote:

octavious wrote: I assume 100% carbon fiber anything would be ridiculously expensive.

FTFY

It depends. In the bicycle world, it's about a wash. I can buy a carbon fiber frame made in Taiwan for less than most aluminum frames made in the USA - and way less than steel frames. And the carbon frame will usually be stronger, lighter and easier/cheaper to fix if damaged. I still went the AL route for my race bike because I still have a problem spending well over $2000 for a frame made in Taiwan, although I often lust after the carbon bikes weighing a good 4 lbs. less...

My problem would be the vibration, followed by crash damage. I like a little bit of flex in my bars to keep it from feeling buzzy and high-strung all the time, and I've been known to crash before...

What I read was that benefits of cf clip ons are reputed to be: 5x stronger than alloy, 50+% reduction in transmitted vibration, 50+% lighter.

Vibration is apparently one of the pluses for carbon bars - they dampen vibration more than aluminum.

Really? I would have thought that being stiffer, they'd transmit more vibration.

They are supposed to be very nice on dirt bikes. No personal experience.

http://twistedengineering.com/products.php

Appleseed wrote: Really? I would have thought that being stiffer, they'd transmit more vibration.

Nope. One of the early complaints about carbon road bikes is they had a "dead" feel to them because they absorbed so much of the usual road chatter. They've since learned a lot more about how to lay-up the carbon to get frames to feel right while still being stiff yet comfortable.

Ian F wrote:

RealMiniParker wrote:

octavious wrote: I assume 100% carbon fiber anything would be ridiculously expensive.

FTFY

It depends. In the bicycle world, it's about a wash. I can buy a carbon fiber frame made in Taiwan for less than most aluminum frames made in the USA - and way less than steel frames. And the carbon frame will usually be stronger, lighter and easier/cheaper to fix if damaged. I still went the AL route for my race bike because I still have a problem spending well over $2000 for a frame made in Taiwan, although I often lust after the carbon bikes weighing a good 4 lbs. less...

Doesn't that prove my point?

In reply to RealMiniParker:

But the MSRP on the aluminum frame I bought is over $3000. Bare frame (with shock), mind you... I still had to buy everything else to bolt on to it: fork, wheels, brakes, drive train, etc...

In reply to Ian F:

I understand it's for a bare frame. I also understand that $2000 is less than $3000. However, regardless of how much you spent on an AL frame, the CF frame cost more than you cared to spend on one, correct?

How much does a Made in USA CF frame cost, compared to a Made in Taiwan AL frame?

I'm not trying to argue. Enlighten me.

In reply to RealMiniParker:

Unfortunately, there aren't any. All of the carbon frames are made in Taiwan or China. I'm not sure there are any carbon fiber companies even doing bicycle frames in the US anymore. Kinda depressing.

The manufacturer we have a deal with (Intensecycles.com) makes all of their DH frame in-house (California) out of aluminum. They do have some carbon trail-bike models with equivalent Al versions. The CF models (made in Taiwan) cost more than their AL models (made in Cali).

Similar frames MiT out of Al are a fair bit cheaper, but it depends on the manufacturer.

In reply to Ian F:

Sad that none (CF) are made in the US.