An old lock-on grip works great as a guide for cutting down your bars. I bought the finest toothed hacksaw blade I could find (which is a metal blade) and I've been using it and my old lock-on grip to trim carbon bars for many years with nothing but success. Pipe cutter is 100% the way to go for aluminum bars. The ease, precision, and speed can't be matched.
I think you meant to say carbon cutting blades are "omni directional", which means they cut in both directions. And the half round file you showed when deburring the ends of the ally bars looks a bit too coarse. You'd do better using a finer file, or even a needle file, or just finish the cut end with something like 250 grit wet and dry after filing the burrs off.
You should use a fine tooth file to remove the burrs from aluminium, not that course file shown in the video. NEVER file carbon, but rather use some medium or fine sandpaper to smooth the cut edge. The glue or nail polish is a great pro tip!
Here's an extra tip (or shall I say hack?!): Use a piece of cardboard to mark the position of you cockpit pieces like brakes, dropper lever etc. Otherwise you'll have to figure out the positions again after cutting.
@@rupedog the position will obviously change after trimming the handlebars. That's why a you need to mark the distance to the grips not the old position
Top tip for using the pipe cutter, tighten it with two fingers, just enough, thumb and index finger, rotate 2 turns, tighten with 2 fingers, repeat until cut! Then when done.. DON'T USE A FILE! Get yourself a inner-outer reamer and love your new professional grade cut
I do a lot of riding on forest trails. Those darn trees keep hitting wide bars. The narrow bars allow me to maneuver the bike so mush faster! I measured the width of my shoulders, then added 200mm, then cut the bars to that length. Pro tip: You can always cut more off, but you can't put it back on!
@@saiiiiiii1 Usually we would accommodate arm length by adjusting the stem length and/or saddle position. It also helps to have the proper amount of reach built into the bike frame. That's why some companies like Trek have Medium/Large sizing, and Specialized has their S sizing with overlapping dimensions to accommodate riders just like you! There's been a trend lately for wider and wider handlebars. I don't like the wide bars for several reasons. 1. Having bars too wide will effect your ability to quickly turn the handlebars from side to side. 2. Having bars too wide forces you to lean forward on the bike when making sharp turns. (especially difficult if you have short arms) 3. For those occasions when you're riding fast, wide bars are less aerodynamic. The majority of my rides are in the forest, carving between tightly spaced trees, jumping over fallen trees, hitting roots and rocks... I prefer to have my handlebars narrow. It allows me to fit between the trees without hitting them and the bike turns from side to side much faster. It's just easier to handle the bike with narrow bars. How narrow you may ask? Measure the width of your shoulders. Stand against a wall, and use a flat object (like a book) and place it against your other shoulder. Have a friend measure between the wall and the book. Take that measurement and add 200mm. This would be your handlebar overall length. My person preference is shoulder width + 150mm. I've noticed a significant difference in how well the bike can carve trails now! 🚴
Last year another bike shop, he cut the carbon handlebar using pipe cutter and he said it's normal to use pipe cutter to cut carbon bars and not needed to use hack saw because "p1Pe CutTeR is BetTeR aND cLeaNer cUt". I told the customer it's bad and and it's already frayed and no longer safe to use. Another guy who is road bike in youtube. I saw it in his instagram post and he cut the carbon bar up close without mask and didn't use soap water. Like he did 2 times and if i remember correctly he did inhale the carbon dust while cutting it. Like wtf!?
I seen a few say they break sometimes but they seem to last well for most, I watched a video of someone accident where did Enduro and people in comments spoke of their experience with carbon cranks
I cut the crap out of bars with metal grinder. I used painters tape to mitigate fraying and ensure a clean line. Takes about 1.5 seconds and it’s cleaner than these methods.
We paid a lot of attention to safety. The person who does this must understand his own risks and why it is dangerous. A pipe cutter is best for aluminum but not carbon fiber; your pipe cutter has wound up some carbon shavings that will have to be cleaned up. It’s easier, as they say in the comments: a hacksaw for metal and masking tape. And if you beveled a little, it’s not difficult, you can fix it with sandpaper. I want to say that everything is really simple, but from the video they exaggerated how it will be a surgical operation. Whoever does this should understand perfectly well. It’s like working with an angle grinder; you need to wear protection for your eyes and respiratory tract.
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📏What width handlebars do you run and why?
🪚 Have you ever cut your own bars? Let us know 👇
Just wanted to ask, are you in favour of lock on grips or the ones push on and leave? I'm tempted to try extralite foam grips
Really appreciating Owen's professional and measured approach to these instructional videos.
An old lock-on grip works great as a guide for cutting down your bars. I bought the finest toothed hacksaw blade I could find (which is a metal blade) and I've been using it and my old lock-on grip to trim carbon bars for many years with nothing but success.
Pipe cutter is 100% the way to go for aluminum bars. The ease, precision, and speed can't be matched.
A hose clamp works really well as a cutting guide.
We've seen that done in Hacks & Bodges! Definitely a Hack 👍
Nice to see the carbon h&s and foam hack
Normal hacksaw with fine blade and taped cut line worked fine for carbon bars for me
Glad to see, I done similar but with the guide thing he showed, never taped or use foam when did the cutting
And if you cut too much of your bars off you can just use a handlebar stretcher to fix it!
i have cut and filed $hit loads of graphite in r/c cars ets.....per you video i should have did 25 years ago. glad you promote safety.
Not carbon
When I used a tubing cutter on alloy it left a bulge I had to file down to get stem on. I used a saw guide on my newest fork.
I think you meant to say carbon cutting blades are "omni directional", which means they cut in both directions.
And the half round file you showed when deburring the ends of the ally bars looks a bit too coarse. You'd do better using a finer file, or even a needle file, or just finish the cut end with something like 250 grit wet and dry after filing the burrs off.
You should use a fine tooth file to remove the burrs from aluminium, not that course file shown in the video. NEVER file carbon, but rather use some medium or fine sandpaper to smooth the cut edge. The glue or nail polish is a great pro tip!
Here's an extra tip (or shall I say hack?!): Use a piece of cardboard to mark the position of you cockpit pieces like brakes, dropper lever etc. Otherwise you'll have to figure out the positions again after cutting.
Just mark with a sharpie around them... Far easier
@@rupedog the position will obviously change after trimming the handlebars. That's why a you need to mark the distance to the grips not the old position
Can i still cut a mtb handlebar if it is a integrated handlebar?
Top tip for using the pipe cutter, tighten it with two fingers, just enough, thumb and index finger, rotate 2 turns, tighten with 2 fingers, repeat until cut! Then when done.. DON'T USE A FILE! Get yourself a inner-outer reamer and love your new professional grade cut
Ive used a pipe cutter and a saw guide on aluminum steerers. Saw guide was much easier.
I’ve used a pipe cutter on carbon bars several times. It works just as good as sawing.
Good luck!!
@@pmaui Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
10:58 shouldn't it be bidirectional?
My favorite bars are about 420. Wide bars are for people who love back problems! ... That's not a joke. ... I ALWAYS cut my bars down!
I do a lot of riding on forest trails. Those darn trees keep hitting wide bars. The narrow bars allow me to maneuver the bike so mush faster! I measured the width of my shoulders, then added 200mm, then cut the bars to that length. Pro tip: You can always cut more off, but you can't put it back on!
@@TrekSLDuraAce I'm curious if there's any correlation between shoulder width and arm length. I have quiet wide shoulders but really short arms 🤔
@@saiiiiiii1 Usually we would accommodate arm length by adjusting the stem length and/or saddle position. It also helps to have the proper amount of reach built into the bike frame. That's why some companies like Trek have Medium/Large sizing, and Specialized has their S sizing with overlapping dimensions to accommodate riders just like you!
There's been a trend lately for wider and wider handlebars. I don't like the wide bars for several reasons.
1. Having bars too wide will effect your ability to quickly turn the handlebars from side to side.
2. Having bars too wide forces you to lean forward on the bike when making sharp turns. (especially difficult if you have short arms)
3. For those occasions when you're riding fast, wide bars are less aerodynamic.
The majority of my rides are in the forest, carving between tightly spaced trees, jumping over fallen trees, hitting roots and rocks... I prefer to have my handlebars narrow. It allows me to fit between the trees without hitting them and the bike turns from side to side much faster. It's just easier to handle the bike with narrow bars.
How narrow you may ask? Measure the width of your shoulders. Stand against a wall, and use a flat object (like a book) and place it against your other shoulder. Have a friend measure between the wall and the book. Take that measurement and add 200mm. This would be your handlebar overall length.
My person preference is shoulder width + 150mm. I've noticed a significant difference in how well the bike can carve trails now! 🚴
Don't trust the printed lines on the bar, measure the center of the bar yourself and confirm. Seen a few printed limes.that weren't accurate.
💯 Never had one that was printed correctly centred, no matter what make or cost
Last year another bike shop, he cut the carbon handlebar using pipe cutter and he said it's normal to use pipe cutter to cut carbon bars and not needed to use hack saw because "p1Pe CutTeR is BetTeR aND cLeaNer cUt". I told the customer it's bad and and it's already frayed and no longer safe to use.
Another guy who is road bike in youtube. I saw it in his instagram post and he cut the carbon bar up close without mask and didn't use soap water. Like he did 2 times and if i remember correctly he did inhale the carbon dust while cutting it. Like wtf!?
You need a bike specific angle grinder
#ASKGMBNTECH People have snapped carbon bars and rims before, how sustainable are modern carbon cranksets?
I seen a few say they break sometimes but they seem to last well for most, I watched a video of someone accident where did Enduro and people in comments spoke of their experience with carbon cranks
That pipe cutter was way way too tight... Shouldn't deform the bar as it rotates!
I'm pretty lucky, I cut my 800 bars down to 800.
🤣
What made you decide to cut them down so much? 😱
👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
Nice informative video, but that still of you in the mask .... Psycho eyes 😂
I cut the crap out of bars with metal grinder. I used painters tape to mitigate fraying and ensure a clean line. Takes about 1.5 seconds and it’s cleaner than these methods.
Just curious, how accurate can you get with a powerful machine?
Really doesn't matter at all if the cut is slightly crooked
Que pasa con estas generaciones que necesitan 50mil advertencias
With time passing, people learn more and more about hazardous stuff, you know, like dangers of smoking or using asbestos
A pipe cutter used correctly shouldn't leave all that swarf, especially on outside... Your did because it was too tight
didn't u already make one of these videos? loop of videos every year.
I never cut mine i leave it at 820
We paid a lot of attention to safety. The person who does this must understand his own risks and why it is dangerous. A pipe cutter is best for aluminum but not carbon fiber; your pipe cutter has wound up some carbon shavings that will have to be cleaned up. It’s easier, as they say in the comments: a hacksaw for metal and masking tape. And if you beveled a little, it’s not difficult, you can fix it with sandpaper. I want to say that everything is really simple, but from the video they exaggerated how it will be a surgical operation. Whoever does this should understand perfectly well. It’s like working with an angle grinder; you need to wear protection for your eyes and respiratory tract.
What
@@balsawood what what ? striped pants
Lol this channel has really ran out of content. No wonder Doddy left, he was bored talking about the same crap all the time.