Weird discolouration in carbon handle bar?

What is this weird thing on my handle bar? Can’t be a crack.

Looks like the carbon layup has been messed up. Return/replace if you can. That doesn’t look like it’s designed that way, and could be much weaker then intended.

Looks like a wrinkle, and that’s not good. I wouldn’t ride that.

1 Like

Does it look the same (identical) on the other side?

That was gonna be my question - shocked it could leave the factory like that unless it was meant to look like that. If it’s symmetrical on the other side then I’d say intentional.

There is very little of the bar showing on the other side of the stem but it looks like it has similar lines. :man_shrugging:

Also, there may be a vertical hairline crack toward the end of the ‘wrinkle’ on the right. I’d definitely not use it and contact who you bought it from. Not sure I’d even use it on a trainer.

Have the bolts on the stem been over tightened?

Hey everyone I just came back from the shop I bought this bike from.(Bicicletta) their pro mechanic went through the bike and said it was perfectly normal and safe to ride. They said every other handle bars of the same bike have the discoloration and if it did crack it will be under warranty. Thoughts?

1 Like

I have seen similar oddities in other carbon handlebars and bike frames that lack paint or “cosmetic” carbon layers (that often hide details just like this). They have had no external feel of a deformation or other evidence of a flaw that would lead to failure. Essentially, this is rather normal in some cases and if you are in doubt of your shop/mechanic, perhaps best to return it and pick another model of bike/handlebar.

5 Likes

That will be cold comfort to your teeth when you hit the deck. :scream:

That said, @mcneese.chad hit a key point…do you feel any physical irregularities? It seems like there are from the picture, but it is hard to tell. If it feels smooth and “regular” and the shop said the bars on other bikes look the same, chances are it is just a cosmetic weave issue and not something to be concerned about.

Can you find and share the price model of bars you have? (Usually listed on the spec sheet.)
We may be able to find some quick reference pics on the web to compare.

“3T Superergo Integrale LTD”

1 Like

Not an exhaustive search, but most of the pics I find are factory one (no surprise) and they lack the detail seen in yours. A few review or dealer pics also lack it but this is a less common bar so we may not have the best chance of seeing legit production examples. :frowning:

1 Like

Please take my comments with a grain of salt. Firstly a mechanic, pro or otherwise may not be a carbon expert and surely did not do any non destructive testing to determine the bars suitability for use. Secondly if those are true 3T handlebars I’d say that is a defect. I have personally owned a few sets of different 3T bars and the finish quality on them has been equal to the best I have ever seen. If you can get a replacement my suggestion would be to do so. A fissure like that in such a highly stressed part would absolutely give me pause. Please don’t continue using those handlebars, your safety is not worth the risk.

To me it looks like the carbon layers are not right. The prepreg (pre-imprgnated carbon fibre fabric used to make carbon fibre parts) parts don’t meet up well, and/or the bladder inside has moved them during curing. Chad is right that the outer layer is usually just cosmetic, but considering even that does not look positioned right, I have doubts that the inner, more structural pieces are layered correctly.

You wouldn’t neccessarily feel that on the surface, because what you feel is just resin, but the resin does not provide the structural strength.

The shop mechanic might have had a few similar looking bars, because who ever messed up the layup might have done that one a couple of bars in a row. (For example, picking the wrong part of prepreg for that area, or cutting it wrong). And the quality checkers must’ve let a whole load of them through at the same time too…

I’d replace if you can.

(I’m not sure if there is also a crack - the thin dark line running down vertically?)

Should I go back to the shop and tell them it’s a defect? Three workers there, who are semi-professional riders and mechanics, said everything is fine. I did mention my concerns about the thread, but they advised me not to pay attention to random opinions online. The shop is a well-known, reputable road bike shop in Canada.

I’d ask a carbon expert, maybe a company that repair carbon bikes, for their opinion. It’s hard to tell from the pictures.

I’m not a carbon expert, I just work with people now and then who work with carbon fibre.

While they (at the bike shop) may want to tell you everything is fine please be aware that pro rider or mechanic means nothing as that does not give them any expertise with composites by virtue of being in the cycling industry. Composites, while now very common in our sport are very specific in their failure mode and what can contribute to it. Your bars may indeed be just fine but an actual composites expert such as a company that does composite repair would be a much better and safer guide. Additionally, 3T is a premium brand and what your photo indicates is not a first quality product and personally I would not accept that. Just for a bit of context I give my opinion not as a cyclist but a professional aviation mechanic with qualifications in composite repair for Boeing aircraft. I would not even add to this thread if I did not feel that I could give you an honest opinion based on my training and experience with carbon composites.

1 Like

Even if it’s just cosmetic, which it very well might be, I wouldn’t accept it.

That is 100% just my opinion as a random on the internet.