Handbar failure

Johnny Jukebox

I dodged a bullet on this one... failed on a climb.

eeeee

Jesus :eek: :eek:
How'd that happen? Did you remain upright? That's terrifying!

Inquitus

Johnny Jukebox wrote: »

I dodged a bullet on this one... failed on a climb.

Wow, lucky fella, hate to think how that could have ended up.

Zen0

How much use had it had? How old was it? I tend to keep bikes for years, just wondering how long before should start worrying.

thebouldwhacker

Break in one or is there rust showing older cracking?

Lumen

You can cycle a bike with one hand, right? :pac:

The big question is: could you feel it "letting go"?.

I have carbon fibre handlebars on one bike, so when descending I just worry about all the other parts I fitted whilst drunk.

cdaly_

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Break in one or is there rust showing older cracking?

There won't be rust (it being aluminium) but the upper half of the break does look darker than the lower. I'd say there was a crack for a while. When mine went, it didn't snap, rather it broke away over a few seconds while I was pulling on it. I had time to ease off and stop (was just taking off from lights).

Cee-Jay-Cee

Johnny Jukebox wrote: »

I dodged a bullet on this one... failed on a climb.

How old were the bars? How many miles on them? Any previous crashes? Was the stem over tightened? Was it a snap break, ie broke cleanly and came away in your hand or a gradual break?

JOHN_70

cdaly_ wrote: »

There won't be rust (it being aluminium) but the upper half of the break does look darker than the lower. I'd say there was a crack for a while.

This would also be my opinion. Hard enough to spot though. Does anyone have an idea as to the lifespan of an alloy handlebar?

H.E. Pennypacker

JOHN_70 wrote: »

This would also be my opinion. Hard enough to spot though. Does anyone have an idea as to the lifespan of an alloy handlebar?

The Rose catalogue says that they should be replaced (along with the stem) every two years but then they sell them :P

I'd imagine that careful inspection a couple of times a year would catch the progressive failures. It'd probably be safer to replace them if there was crash damage

Johnny Jukebox

The bars were the original supplied with the bike (LaPierre Tech 7), bought in 2007. Never crashed, bar tape replaced once.

It certainly looks like there was a crack under the stem. I was pulling hard on the bars going up a ramp when they failed.

Failure was immediate, I was on the ground before I knew what happened. Luckily it was a low speed fall, so no injuries.

This was a gentle warning from the cycling gods - I will be doing a lot more inspection and preventative maintenance in future.

Many many miles racked up - 3 Etapes, Wicklow 200 every year, numerous sportives, probably ~150-300km per week.

Diarmuid

Any chance of a picture of the cross section ? The top half does look dark but hard to tell if it's a function of the lighting or photo.

triggermortis

Aluminium doesn't rust, but it does corrode. A grey/white deposit is a sign of alu corrosion

Lumen

triggermortis wrote: »

Aluminium doesn't rust, but it does corrode. A grey/white deposit is a sign of alu corrosion

Yes, but the corrosion is protective and therefore self-limiting.

Hunterbiker

I'm just off to check my bars. Back in a bit...

lucky escape OP. Glad it you are okay.

cdaly_

Johnny Jukebox wrote: »

Failure was immediate, I was on the ground before I knew what happened.

Any creaking noises in the days beforehand?

Johnny Jukebox

cdaly_ wrote: »

Any creaking noises in the days beforehand?

Not that I noticed. Ordered some new bars and made a resolution to do a complete check annually from now on....

I'm starting to worry about my fork now.

nailik

I was the bearded Orwell chap right behind you when it happened. Gave me the fright of my life. While I'm glad you weren't hurt, I'm disappointed for you that it happened at all. Especially as we'd just regained contact after the crazy chase after the water stop.
I know it's small consolation, but at least it happened on a steep uphill. Imagine the bars went as you hit a bump descending off the Wicklow Gap at 80km/h!

mp31

Johnny Jukebox wrote: »

Not that I noticed. Ordered some new bars and made a resolution to do a complete check annually from now on....

I'm starting to worry about my fork now.

Jaypers :eek: .. thanks for the warning OP and glad you are OK.

I'm going to have a look at mine tonite as well... one question before I do...should I just take off the stem faceplate and inspect the bar around the clamping area for small cracks etc? Anything else that I need to do?

Johnny Jukebox

nailik wrote: »

I was the bearded Orwell chap right behind you when it happened. Gave me the fright of my life. While I'm glad you weren't hurt, I'm disappointed for you that it happened at all. Especially as we'd just regained contact after the crazy chase after the water stop.
I know it's small consolation, but at least it happened on a steep uphill. Imagine the bars went as you hit a bump descending off the Wicklow Gap at 80km/h!

Thanks again for stopping and helping me back to my feet. I was very disappointed not to finish the day and was really enjoying the spin but it could have been so much worse.

morana

had a stem which developed a load of hairline cracks. Noticed it on the start line but was able to change to a spare.

The thing is the bars will fail without warning when under pressure so usually starting to pull away as happened to me from lights, climbing or god forbid in the sprint. Just check them every time you wash the bike.

Max_Charger

Johnny Jukebox wrote: »

The bars were the original supplied with the bike (LaPierre Tech 7), bought in 2007. Never crashed, bar tape replaced once.


Many many miles racked up - 3 Etapes, Wicklow 200 every year, numerous sportives, probably ~150-300km per week.

Johnny Jukebox wrote: »

Not that I noticed. Ordered some new bars and made a resolution to do a complete check annually from now on....

I'm starting to worry about my fork now.

New bike time. Seriously. For piece of mind if nothing else.

Peterx

mp31 wrote: »

Jaypers :eek: .. thanks for the warning OP and glad you are OK.

I'm going to have a look at mine tonite as well... one question before I do...should I just take off the stem faceplate and inspect the bar around the clamping area for small cracks etc? Anything else that I need to do?

if you take off the stem faceplate do not overtighten the bolts when putting it back on. Over tightening those bolts can lead to your handlebars failing.