On 1/16/2020 5:57 AM, AMuzi wrote:
On 1/16/2020 4:25 AM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
I've advised people not to drill an alloy handlebar in order to route
their brake cablesĀ* and/or derailleur cables inside the handlebar. I
looked on the web for images of broken alloy dropbars that have failed
because of being drilled but can't find any. I KNOW I had such images
on my other computer that dies. Can anyone here give me links to such
images of broken drilled alloy dropbars?
Cheers
Broken handlebars are well documented:
http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-001/000.html
But although the principle of a hole in a dynamically stressed tube is
clear, I could not find an image. I have seen home-drilled bars
propagate cracks but not actually fail. That may be a function of low
mileage on specialty bicycles.
Apparently it's not uncommon to drill holes in motorcycle handlebars,
and there's even a tool for that
https://www.kiwavmotors.com/en/tools-accessories/controls/kiwav-motorcycle-handlebar-drill-guide-detail.
Probably you wouldn't want to do this on an aluminum alloy handlebar
though. As you stated, the principle is clear. People do dumb things all
the time and get away with it, but it still doesn't make doing these
things a good idea.
As Jobst Brandt once said, "I don't know many riders who believe that
drilling a hole in a frame tube is a reasonable concept." The same
applies for drilling holes in handlebars.