Will Carbon Bars make my Turbo Levo less vibey?

[Mac Sinclair]

After watching lots of Rob's great videos I've finally signed up.

I live up in Cumbria and ride a 2018 Turbo Levo Comp, but it will be sold soon to get a 2020 model (not sure if Comp or Expert) for the bigger battery.

However, here's the big 1st world questions...

Will Carbon Bars give me a smoother ride for my old bones (I've already played a lot with tyre pressures, suspension and put on new grips)? And if so, which make and why?

All ideas much appreciated.

 

[MinusPrevious]

Welcome to the boards. Yeah, CF bars are a known vibration damper & the felt difference maybe slight
For sure, i say go for it & order those bars Many of us run the 800mm Renthals

Joe

 

[paquo]

i switched from carbon to aluminum because i needed a different size and i did notice the increase in vibes. Ergon gp1 help

 

[steve_sordy]

On my clockwork bike I changed from alloy Renthal Fatbar to the exact same size carbon Renthal Fatbar Light. My first ride out was eye-opening. The edges of every single rock felt like they had been rounded off just for me! That feeling soon passed when I got used to it and it became "normal", but the reduction in buzz was still there.

Caution: Not all carbon bars do this, some are heavy duty or have different mixes of carbon fibre and resin so that the vibration reduction is not noticeable. But Renthal CF bars do it for sure. You can however get alloy bars that have been filled with a vibration deadening foam. Google "Vibrocore" and see what you get. The reports are good in that they do what is claimed. Also, there will be no worries about the carbon bars shattering etc, etc.

 

[steve_sordy]

Those Ergon GP1 grips are absolutely great for reducing hand problems with numbness, pins & needles etc. I've been using them for over ten years and they are the very first thing I fit to a new bike.They make a nicely priced Xmas present from your relatives too!

 

[Mac Sinclair]

Those Ergon GP1 grips are absolutely great for reducing hand problems with numbness, pins & needles etc. I've been using them for over ten years and they are the very first thing I fit to a new bike.They make a nicely priced Xmas present from your relatives too!

I have got some nice grips, Orange Ergon ones which really help.

 

[Mcharza]

I think if you choose 31,8 it's ok, but 35mm thick was like an iron bar. And yes, it was a Renthal

 

[Mac Sinclair]

Welcome to the boards. Yeah, CF bars are a known vibration damper & the felt difference maybe slight
For sure, i say go for it & order those bars Many of us run the 800mm Renthals

Joe

Thanks for the recommendation, are yours 31.8 or 35mm?

 

[eabmex]

I switched to Sqlab 30X 12 degree carbon bar and the combination of carbon and increased sweep Made all the difference! Gone are numb hands and palm pain!

 

[MinusPrevious]

Thanks for the recommendation, are yours 31.8 or 35mm?

35mm Stem / 40mm rise

 

[YrianX]

Renthal bars are great but known for being stiff though... Even stiff in Carbon standards. Don't get me wrong I love'em and have several that I ride. I have ended up using the 31.8 version. Keep in mind I'm pretty big and heavy.

A bit softer and more compliant might be something like the One'up or maybe the Nukeproof Carbon bars?

Check this video for some thoughts and testing on one up, Raceface and Renthal at least.

 

[06z]

Love my one-up carbon bars. Recently installed revgrips. Best setup I have ridden.

Revolution Suspension Grips

 

[Mac Sinclair]

Renthal bars are great but known for being stiff though... Even stiff in Carbon standards. Don't get me wrong I love'em and have several that I ride. I have ended up using the 31.8 version. Keep in mind I'm pretty big and heavy.

A bit softer and more compliant might be something like the One'up or maybe the Nukeproof Carbon bars?

Check this video for some thoughts and testing on one up, Raceface and Renthal at least.

Thanks for this video link, very interesting design... obvious when you think about it, but best suggestion so far, hugely appreciated

 

[Mac Sinclair]

Love my one-up carbon bars. Recently installed revgrips. Best setup I have ridden.

Revolution Suspension Grips

Another great suggestion. This an the OneUp bars could be the ultimate answer!

 

[Pabs]

My 31.8mm Enve Minar bar has been following me around on my clockwork bikes for the past few years and it is good. As soon as I rode my EMTB I knew the alloy bar had to go. It is a 35mm though so went for a One Up bar this time, comparisons suggest it should be even better at damping those vibes.

 

[Mac Sinclair]

My 31.8mm Enve Minar bar has been following me around on my clockwork bikes for the past few years and it is good. As soon as I rode my EMTB I knew the alloy bar had to go. It is a 35mm though so went for a One Up bar this time, comparisons suggest it should be even better at damping those vibes.

Can I buy these directly in the UK do you know?

 

[Pabs]

Can I buy these directly in the UK do you know?

They ship from the UK, possibly Europe I believe. You pay in dollars on their site, but you select where you are and they ship locally. Had mine in a few days with no customs charges or anything to worry about.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

decent grips or, if you dont mind the weight use the old MX trick of filling the ends of the bars with silicone

 

[Mac Sinclair]

My 31.8mm Enve Minar bar has been following me around on my clockwork bikes for the past few years and it is good. As soon as I rode my EMTB I knew the alloy bar had to go. It is a 35mm though so went for a One Up bar this time, comparisons suggest it should be even better at damping those vibes.

Lots of thumbs up for the One Up bars, I'll have to give them a go.

 

[FishyBob666]

I have some Ragley carbon/kevlar bars which are quite soft and chewy, perfect on my rigid bike. on the other hand I have some Easton Havoc 35mm carbon bars and they are the stiffest things ever.

Was wondering, has anyone ever tried filling their alloy bars with insulation expanding foam? cheap vibrocore or waste of time?

 

[Mac Sinclair]

Was wondering, has anyone ever tried filling their alloy bars with insulation expanding foam? cheap vibrocore or waste of time?

One of the guys mentioned putting silicone in the ends of the bars, an old motocross solution apparently... so could work a bit... maybe

 

[steve_sordy]

..........Was wondering, has anyone ever tried filling their alloy bars with insulation expanding foam? cheap vibrocore or waste of time?

I suspect that something as light as insulation expanding foam will have zero impact. The silicone sealant that was mentioned previously works because it is heavier.

 

[Winryn]

Guys I fancy some of the carbon nukeproof bars but when I was changing the dropper position on my focus jam2 I noticed all of the steps cables are routed inside the bars. Are there specific bars for ebikes to hide the cables or am I going to have to run the cables externally if I change to some nice Carbon bars?

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I had carbon monkey bars on my last bike but I didnt find them at all compliant, pretty much the opposite.

the silicone in bar ends I mentioned was really for enduro/long bike rides and used to seem to affect the 2 stroke riders more.. without engine vibration im not sure what benefits youll get but more mass will have a dampening effect

 

[Mikerb]

….....or try not gripping the bar so hard or adjust your riding position to reduce weight over the bars. I use carbon extensively in another sport and a lot depends on the layup of the specific bars you buy as to whether they will resolve vibration through them. Carbon can be ultra stiff in which case it will be decidedly worse than ally which always has flex. A different layup can produce a more flexible carbon bar and one of the main attributes of carbon v ally with that type of layup is that reflex is faster, but I doubt many use that type of layup since it would feel a bit like you were holding a pogo stick. The same could be said for ally bars depending on the type of ally used...ie a very stiff 7000 series ally or a softer 6000. In the end I would guess that with either material an internal filling would be more effective at absorbing vibration than anything else.

 

[kendo]

After watching lots of Rob's great videos I've finally signed up.

I live up in Cumbria and ride a 2018 Turbo Levo Comp, but it will be sold soon to get a 2020 model (not sure if Comp or Expert) for the bigger battery.

However, here's the big 1st world questions...

Will Carbon Bars give me a smoother ride for my old bones (I've already played a lot with tyre pressures, suspension and put on new grips)? And if so, which make and why?

All ideas much appreciated.

In my experience no, there are a few articles saying the carbon absorb the vibration better and I have found this to be untrue as have many other riders. I run carbon bars on three other bikes bikes inclusive of enduro and downhill and because the carbon is stiffer the impacts are more pronounced, same principle applies to suspension. I run intermittently carbon or ally on my ebike for comfort. Carbon is great for keeping things stiff but it can lead to twitchy steering and lots of wrist ache because of vibration, depends how hard you hit the trails. I'm now beginning to go back to using aluminium bars on all bikes because there is better give/flex so less vibration...quite a few pro-riders are doing the same thing. The weight loss on carbon bars is minimal at best. I would recommend aluminium bars and the good thing is they are loads cheaper. Again personal preference on choice but the carbon does transmit more vibration. Currently using Renthal Fatbar Carbon and Ally...previously used Enve Carbon (which I found to be horrible and resold them after two rides because of vibration), Nukeproof (pretty good), countless other brands of Aluminium bars which in general were all pretty good.

 

[Cyclopath1000]

My hands got so thrashed from my stock aluminum bars on my commencal 650b meta that my index metacarpal-phalangeal joints swelled up and we're even catching my flexor tendons. And I'm a physician. X-rays showed no erosions of the joint but it's taken over 6 mo of careful buddy taping and more padded gloves to quiet it down. But a change to a renthal.fattie carbon bar was the most useful of all in addition I added rev grips at yes an insane price. I basically urge anyone with hand pains to do this. It's like night and day.

 

[gaba]

I’m actually surprised to hear that the Renthal Fatbar is considered so stiff. I went to a Fatbar several years ago from ENVE bars and was immediately amazed by how much better they felt. I can actually bend them somewhat in my hands and the ENVE is STIFF. No compliance in any direction with the ENVE. Honestly I’m not sure I’d want any more flex in my bars than the Fatbar. I’m a 6’4” 225# Clydesdale. I’m interested in trying the OneUp bars but seems like an expensive experiment. It’s my opinion that you will still get very good vibration damping from the FatBar over alloy bars and even some other carbon bars. There is likely some trade off in handling performance with more flexible bars.

I rode the revgrips for a while. Tried a few different inserts etc. I did like the vibration damping but I couldn’t get past the handling changes. The biggest issue for me with the Revgrips was the power transfer in bunny hops was terrible. I couldn’t hop my bike the same and it felt unpredictable off of jumps. I went back to the old trusty ESI foam grips. Cheap, reliable and great vibration damping.

 

[gaba]

My hands got so thrashed from my stock aluminum bars on my commencal 650b meta that my index metacarpal-phalangeal joints swelled up and we're even catching my flexor tendons. And I'm a physician. X-rays showed no erosions of the joint but it's taken over 6 mo of careful buddy taping and more padded gloves to quiet it down. But a change to a renthal.fattie carbon bar was the most useful of all in addition I added rev grips at yes an insane price. I basically urge anyone with hand pains to do this. It's like night and day. View attachment 22969

A gas passer eh? Me too.

 

[Cyclopath1000]

Ancient gas passer...still doing it part time ...I won the e bike race at sea otter , for over 60, most simply stated because most of the competition is either dead or smart enough not to enter.