Are Steel stems, bars, seat posts safer? Discuss...

[ultrazenith]

Are Steel stems, bars, seat posts safer? Discuss...

Throwing my hat into the ring, my prejudice is that steel is safer (I like the extra damping of trail buzz too, but that's secondary), and where possible I use steel seat posts, stems, and bars just to have the extra peace of mind when I'm hammering my retro mountain bikes off road.

Summarizing my prejudices:

Steel: strong and least likely to crack / snap.
Titanium: stronger than aluminium but not as fatigue resistant as steel.
Aluminium: can be build lighter than steel, but much more prone to metal fatigue / snapping.
Carbon: now marginally stronger than steel, but somewhat delicate with regards to tightness of clamping and crash damage.

Am I right/wrong/stupid? :facepalm:

 

[barry2017]

Interesting....

Personally, I don't believe handlebars could move enough to provide suspension without premature failure in any materials. Grips and gloves would make a difference, but it is easy to convince yourself of these things.

I would say you can make a strong bar in any of the materials you've listed. It's making something that's strong enough to last a long time. Expecting any really lightweight bike component to last 20+years is asking for disappointment.

 

[mattr]

It's ti that has the almost infinite fatigue life. A steel bar stiff enough not to suffer fatigue would distort space and time.
Light weight carbon can be fragile, anything with any sort of weight to it will be as tough as old boots.

Best way to prolong the life of light weight load bearing parts is to reduce your stress risers (take off sharp edges on all clamps etc), minimise the torque needed (use fibre grip) and replace if it gets scratched.

 

[hamster]

Steel has a practically limitless fatigue life, although any material will fail if overstressed. There are enough pre-war steel frames around as evidence. I would avoid anything ultra light.

 

[jaypee]

Re:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=271633

 

[Ollie]

The only reason I like steel over aluminium apart from the ride is that aluminium breaks suddenly without notice and can be dangerous to the rider if it finally goes whilst being riden. Steel doesn't break suddenly but a crack develops over time and then goes. I know aluminium cracks over time but can break suddenly.

 

[ultrazenith]

Ironically, the only seat post I have ever snapped while riding was a steel tioga T bone post - not due to fatigue, but because it had been perforated by several pin-holes due to rust from the inside.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Ironically Pt2. The only stem I can recall snapping was a Tioga T-Bone (2 of them actually, bitd) due to heavy landings from jumps on a local motocross track
Luckily they both sheared and bent but didn't completely seperate (good ol' steel!! )
I moved to a Control Tech stem, which never broke....

 

[bm0p700f]

Aluminium bars, stems and seatpost only really snap if overloaded in a crash or simalr. Carbon part normaly fail if clamps to tight or crashed. None of which can be blamed on the part. Steel bars, stems and post are simply heavy well maybe not the post so much but weigh your bike down unnecessilarly.

 

[marc two tone]

Re:

Something that has to be factored in is point of sale/manufacture.

On that, all the usual materials will be safe and subject to coded tests(or should).

Then comes the "yes, but for how long" factor?

TI, carbon and alu have a well documented reputation for failure, where steel can fail, seems to take more punishment. I've seen cracked orange p7's before now.

So, the suspect materials should be safe if used to it's limitations and replaced/inspected as per the ideal time frame or hours in use. You could look at rider style too.

Is steel safer? It can take more stick according to the bikes i've owned, do own, seen around on trails etc...

per example..

Alpinestars alu stems= recalled due to failure.
Hope ti hubs = I've seen loads cracked.
Marin alu frames= seen loads cracked.
Ti frames= say no more.

Just some loose references there. Before anybody asks the basis for that, just use the google search in top right hand corner

Let's kick off a "let's see your failed steel " thread. Bend mech hangers not counted