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Other Resources => Component Deals & Selection => Topic started by: Zhu Tou on May 27, 2025, 12:29:35 PM

Title: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: Zhu Tou on May 27, 2025, 12:29:35 PM
Panda Podium indicates on its website that Canary and Falcon handlebars are currently unavailable due to large and unpredictable backorders, while these handlebars are readily available from Avian directly, and from Aliexpress. When I asked PP about fitment on my bike, PP stated that Avian are struggling to make bars that meet our QC. This YT video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yzQQ37Yp58&t=54s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yzQQ37Yp58&t=54s) - seems to back up PP's statement.

What are your experiences with Avian handlebars?
Title: Re: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: toxin on May 27, 2025, 01:29:45 PM
there's a pretty sizeable thread on weight weenies, and reports are all over the place. Some fine, some with aesthetical defects, some poor insides and a safety hazerd here or there. I would recommend staying away, based on that thread.
Title: Re: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: Lotnik on May 28, 2025, 06:52:31 AM
There's a lot bad  reviews on Ali as well. I would skip it for now. I'm looking right now for quick pro Zephyr SL right now, but I need to do bike fitting first.
Title: Re: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: Gus on May 28, 2025, 09:53:13 AM
It sounds like in that video he hit a big pothole (presumably at fast speed in a race) which resulted in a serious crash, severe enough to damage to his bike, damage his bars, and dnf the race. Seems to me like the bars are not to blame. If the crash was bad enough to damage his bike frame, why is he emphasizing that the bars cracked as well? It’s not like the bars failed under normal riding…. In fact he even says prior to this he rode the bars over really rough roads without any issues.

Title: Re: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: 00Garza on May 30, 2025, 10:20:45 PM
It sounds like in that video he hit a big pothole (presumably at fast speed in a race) which resulted in a serious crash, severe enough to damage to his bike, damage his bars, and dnf the race. Seems to me like the bars are not to blame. If the crash was bad enough to damage his bike frame, why is he emphasizing that the bars cracked as well? It’s not like the bars failed under normal riding…. In fact he even says prior to this he rode the bars over really rough roads without any issues.

I think he asserts that the pothole hit broke the bars which caused the crash. He’s also assuming a name brand would fare better. A big pothole hit at speed can easily destroy anything carbon.
Title: Re: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: toxin on May 31, 2025, 01:04:48 PM
IMO handlebars are the last thing in the steering assembly that should fail when a bike is submitted to an impact at the wheel
Title: Re: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: Gus on June 01, 2025, 05:00:31 PM
I think he asserts that the pothole hit broke the bars which caused the crash. He’s also assuming a name brand would fare better. A big pothole hit at speed can easily destroy anything carbon.

Yeah, I went back and re-watched. And in his description and his reply to the top comment he does claim that the bars caused the crash. But several commenters have expressed skepticism about his claim and his replies are not exactly illuminating. One commenter asks "how do you know that they cracked before the crash and not during?" and his response is "I couldn’t see any crack on them before and it was stage 7". Follow-up comment: "I am not defending these bars, but to this question, how are you certain on the sequence of events? Hit a pothole > bars crack > crash > bike destroyed... how are you sure the bars didn't break when the rest of your bike did? In my crashes while racing, everything happens so quick and its so traumatic, everything is a blur". He did not respond to it. As far as I can tell, he assumes that the bars cracked on hitting the pothole, thus causing the crash, but he is basing this purely on the fact that after the crash, the bars were cracked. They could have easily been damaged by the crash itself.

I have no dog in this fight, although I'm not convinced that these bars are dangerous. I don't doubt that superlight bars are less robust than heavier bars. But 240g of carbon fiber in something the size of a bar is still a LOT of carbon fiber. A whole S-Works SL8 frame is only 680 grams lol.
Title: Re: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: toxin on June 03, 2025, 08:33:22 AM
Because they're a contact point. If they fail, the rider is going face and teeth first into the stem.

If the fork or wheels fail, at least the bike and crucially your arms are still more likely to make contact with the road first.
Title: Re: Avian Handlebar Quality?
Post by: Mariuszuzd on July 28, 2025, 12:50:05 AM
I have Avian canary in size 110/400 mm for some time already. I installed it in my second bike - Elves falath EXP. I must say that I'm very satisfied with that build and handlebar. The weight is 264 g, it's stiff, comfortable, I feel safe. Maybe I'm not a sprinter but I have around 1400 w and I weight around 77 kg. I didn't notice anything unsafe, any bending, anything unusual.