I broke my carbon chiner handlebar today... and survived

[rvc]

I went off a mild roller in front of my buddy today (who was filming), landed a little crooked and snapped my chiner handlebar clean off. Somehow, I managed not to impale myself with the remaining razor sharp nub that was left. I have watched the video over and over, and can only attribute my correctly torqued stem to having saved me from a trip to the hospital. It seems that when the bike hit the ground,the stem twisted relative to the steerer, pointing the leftover handlebar away from my abdomen.





I gotta thank my lucky stars today...

I'll post the video in a bit...

[rvc]

Here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/6QBRjp9-uJg

[Vipassana]

Wild!  I'm glad you're ok.  Where did you order this bar from?

[RS VR6]

Yikes! Good thing you came out ok. I saw a pic of a local guy that snapped a Race Face carbon bar. I guess any carbon bar has the potential to fail.

[LHSN]

I'm glad you're OK.
Don't get me wrong but I must say that I noticed lot of you guys "chinese and carbon" consumers are relatively novice in MTB.
Carbon in cycling is not made to stand all these rigid riding and jumping from 80+ kilo guys. Is't not good for your carbon and your health 
Just because it's relatively cheap and affordable doesn't mean it best suits your needs, ambitions or wishes.

Take care and stay safe
 

[rvc]

Thanks guys.

I ordered the bar a few years ago on eBay for $35, mfg unknown.

This very bar was formerly on my freeride bike, and has taken many, many bigger and harder hits before. It's a big reason I began to trust Chinese carbon goodies. But LHSN is correct, the material, manufacturing, and usage/skill/wear all play into the reliability of the product. On this bar, perhaps it's fatigue life was up, or there was unseeable UV damage or something--but the reason I wanted to share is that this was a pretty  mild jump (although I am 80kg / 180lbs).

I will be ordering a Taiwanese titanium bar to replace 

[Oolak]

Yep, glad you're OK. Sounds like the bar actually held up pretty well to the abuse you've put it through, but a Taiwanese titanium one sounds like perhaps a better fit for you.

Be sure to share your thoughts on the new bar, your source, price, etc, if you don't mind. Would be interested in hearing

[cmh]

I guess any carbon bar has the potential to fail.

Remove "carbon" and you've got a more accurate statement.

"but metal bends first!" - yeah, not always, I've seen aluminum bars with failure similar to that, just sheared right off.

I've also seen $$$ name brand parts fail - one particularly interesting one was a seatpost. The bit remaining in the frame was jagged and nasty. The rider was pretty lucky his weight wasn't heavy on the saddle when it failed.

rvc, glad you're okay!

[SportingGoods]

It's good you clarify that this bar had been abused a lot before, because that jump was as small as can be and does not justify to break the bar. My take is:
- I'll never buy a 35$ carbon bar or stem from an unknown ebay vendor. A well known Chiner vendor would be OK, but honestly I've never seen anything interesting, their bars are always too heavy. If a cheap aluminum bar or stem is lighter (like a Ritchey) I'll go for that.
- I would not use a carbon bar for anything harder then Enduro type of ride. I don't mean Pro riders don't do it, just that I will not.

[RS VR6]

An unknown or generic carbon bar is something I'll never buy. The consequences for me are just too high. I'm using an Enve bar now, and occasionally the thought of what happens if it breaks comes to mind while I'm riding.