Steel bars vs. aluminum bars

PB Forum :: Dirt Jumping & Street
Steel bars vs. aluminum bars
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O+
Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 0:14 Quote
Just want to get everyone's opinion on the subject. I have BlkMrkt 31.8 badaboom bars right now and they're sick but i really want to hear from the other side of the spectrum. Thanks

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 0:54 Quote
I love steel bars, they flex a bit and really dampen vibration.

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 0:57 Quote
I love aluminium bars, lighter and look rad although they don't offer higher rise bars so I ride Steel bars Big Grin

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 4:49 Quote
good quality, well manufactured 7075 T-6 aluminium alloy handlebars are a great choice for all kinds of riding = strong, durable, light


*HOWEVER* due to the manner in which aluminium fatigues over time, I would suggest replacing an aluminium bar every 12 months for dirt jumping / freeride / downhill, and probably every 18-24 months for all-mountain and cross country riding

its always better to be safe with bars, than sorry...


a cromoly steel bar will not fail unless you push it past its yield strength, or the corrosion (rust) gets inside it, cromoly steel does not fatigue like aluminium alloy

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 8:27 Quote
my preference for bar material depends on which frame they're being used with.
Skinny steel frame? then get some steel bars to match, especially if going rigid as it has a slight flex that will keep your wrists happy.
Chunky Alu frame? then get some bars to match.
I think oversize alu bars on skinny steel frames looks unbalanced and nasty, thats just my opinion though

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 8:46 Quote
hampsteadbandit wrote:
good quality, well manufactured 7075 T-6 aluminium alloy handlebars are a great choice for all kinds of riding = strong, durable, light


*HOWEVER* due to the manner in which aluminium fatigues over time, I would suggest replacing an aluminium bar every 12 months for dirt jumping / freeride / downhill, and probably every 18-24 months for all-mountain and cross country riding

its always better to be safe with bars, than sorry...


a cromoly steel bar will not fail unless you push it past its yield strength, or the corrosion (rust) gets inside it, cromoly steel does not fatigue like aluminium alloy

what he said.
Basically Rigid fork=steel bar
suspension fork=alu bar

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 10:01 Quote
hampsteadbandit wrote:
good quality, well manufactured 7075 T-6 aluminium alloy handlebars are a great choice for all kinds of riding = strong, durable, light


*HOWEVER* due to the manner in which aluminium fatigues over time, I would suggest replacing an aluminium bar every 12 months for dirt jumping / freeride / downhill, and probably every 18-24 months for all-mountain and cross country riding

its always better to be safe with bars, than sorry...


a cromoly steel bar will not fail unless you push it past its yield strength, or the corrosion (rust) gets inside it, cromoly steel does not fatigue like aluminium alloy
and steel will usually only bend

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 10:04 Quote
Race face claim 3 years on there aluminum diabolus bars.

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 10:27 Quote
and steel will usually only bend

that is a good point - the "failure" mode of steel is generally to bend, rather than suddenly shear without warning as aluminium can, its a difference in the physical structure of the 2 materials that causes this effect


*however*, I have seen cromoly steel BMX frames and more often cromoly steel crank arms suddenly fail, and the crank arm going flying off across the skatepark floor, or the BMX frame headtube suddenly snap off Frown


the modern, heat treated aluminium alloys like 7075 T-6 normally have enough redundancy in their profile (tube thickness) that they will also tend to bend....

...unless your aluminium bar is 5 years old, has been repeated crashed and never replaced, the fatigue has built up to a level where 1 last bump and SNAP!



recently there was a court case in the UK where a XC rider sued "Marin" bikes importer ATB SALES because the aluminium handlebar on his old Marin XC bike had reportedly snapped, and caused horrific injuries to him

he successfully argued in court (the judge agreed) that his bar had snapped and cause the crash, despite evidence being presented that he should have taken responsibility to replace the bar regularly as advised in the owners manual, and expert witnesses for Marin saying it was actually the crash that caused the bar to break, not the other way round Frown

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 10:39 Quote
hampsteadbandit wrote:
and steel will usually only bend

that is a good point - the "failure" mode of steel is generally to bend, rather than suddenly shear without warning as aluminium can, its a difference in the physical structure of the 2 materials that causes this effect


*however*, I have seen cromoly steel BMX frames and more often cromoly steel crank arms suddenly fail, and the crank arm going flying off across the skatepark floor, or the BMX frame headtube suddenly snap off Frown

the modern, heat treated aluminium alloys like 7075 T-6 normally have enough redundancy in their profile (tube thickness) that they will also tend to bend....


almost always along a weld though, i think normalizing would help that

Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 10:45 Quote
I've bent a couple of alu bars, but never broke one..

But a friend of mine suddenly snapped his steel bars in 2..

O+
Posted: Feb 21, 2010 at 22:54 Quote
Thanks for all the feed back guys... much appreciated. The thing i love about my bars is that they are really stiff but because they are, i tend to hurt my wrists a lot. I've heard that steel bars tend to bend rather quickly. That makes sense how frame materials correspond with bar materials.

Posted: Aug 27, 2014 at 11:28 Quote
Me and a friend both snapped our steel bars instantly, whether the two aluminium bars i broke only bent.

Maybe it's anecdotal evidence, but so far i think aluminium bars are safer when they fail.

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