Material
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Having a ton of drop may look pro, but it'll fatigue your back and neck quickly if you're not used to it, and may mean you never even get down on the drops while riding
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Fabian Cancellara is an example of a pro rider who favours the comfort offered by ergo drop bars
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The tops of the bars come in all shapes and sizes, one of the most extreme examples being the super aero road bars on Cervélo's S5
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Carbon might be all the rage, but you can still make an exceptional - and light - set of bars from aluminium like the Ritchey WCS Neo Classic
Material
At one time, handlebars were made of steel but today, unless you’re looking at bars for track use, there’ll be the choice of aluminium or carbon fibre.
The final decision as to which material you decide to opt for generally comes down to cost and weight. That’s not to say that there aren’t other influencing factors. However, most people will choose carbon fibre because it weighs less and, if the handlebar’s designers have given careful thought to the lay-up pattern of the carbon, there can be an element of shock absorption too. Should you want to emulate some pro riders and have the bars and stem integrated into a one-piece unit then carbon is the only option. Of course, all this costs and that’s where aluminium has the upper hand.
Six of the best… handlebar upgrades
Aluminium bars may not soak up the effects of small road imperfections in the way carbon can but for a relatively small weight penalty they have the benefit of costing much less – and they’re more durable in the event of a crash, which is one of the reasons why you’ll see a lot of pros using an alloy bars. With hydroforming, manufacturers can now manipulate the tube used to create aluminium bars in various ways that means they can offer various aero shapes not unlike moulded carbon bars, but again at a much lower cost. Plus, those advances in aluminium development mean that you can get an alloy bar which weighs very little indeed. In reality, the main justification for going for a carbon handlebar over an aluminium one is if you’re building a super-light machine and need something like 3T’s 180g Ergonova LTD bars to try and save every gram.
At the end of the day, if the cost factor is removed, the final choice of handlebar should simply come down to the design that fits and feels good, with the material choice being secondary, not the primary reason for making the decision.