Scott bars had it?

[Jiveman60]

I'd love to keep these, and spray up. But?

 

[Fat Tire Trader]

If it was mine, I would strip and polish or paint, but... I don't weigh a lot and I rarely break things.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Surface corrosion is different to fatigue - but any 30 year old lightweight aluminium bar is beyond its life expectancy.
How much they've been used probably has a bigger effect than corrosion, but is sometimes less obvious.

 

[pigman]

Surface corrosion is different to fatigue - but any 30 year old lightweight aluminium bar is beyond its life expectancy.
How much they've been used probably has a bigger effect than corrosion, but is sometimes less obvious.

Really? Most of the bikes on this site have bars over 30 years old. Does that mean we're all risking it? Genuine question, not trying to catch you out

 

[bikeworkshop]

Depends on weight, alloy, level of use, design and corrosion.

Any 30 year old bar will be weaker than when it was new, but the difference might be insignificant.

Try asking the manufacturer if the bar is still safe to use as designed

Few retrobikes are used to their original limits though - but I accept my 30yo mtb is more likely to break than my newer stuff.

What made me raise the issue though is that in my experience, lightweight handlebars with the sharp-edged shim in the middle, like these pictured, can be prone to sudden failure at that exact point

 

[vtwinvince]

LOL, I have a set of mint Drop-Ins on one of my builds. They take a lot of bar tape.

 

[Russell]

Really? Most of the bikes on this site have bars over 30 years old. Does that mean we're all risking it? Genuine question, not trying to catch you out

No need for anyone to beat around the bush with this one.

All materials have a fatigue life. Lots of higher end retro kit was engineered to be as light as possible, not to last 30 years.

Answer Hyperlites, Controltech, Pace RC130s and numerous others. Caveat Emptor.

Most people have no idea of the use (abuse) that the handlebars, seatposts, stems etc they are using have had.

Not a problem for a garage queen, but anyone riding the old stuff should be ‘respectful’ of the age of the kit they’re rocking.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Always surprises me how rarely we see broken bars without evidence of prior crash - but that sensation of a handlebar breaking when riding is never forgotten

With motor vehicles, driver error is around 95%, mechanical failure 5%
Retrobikers is probably no different.

In Bristol, a deliveroo rider on an illegal Ebike is probably more of a threat than ageing components tbh.