Straightening Alloy Bars...Bad Idea?

[DRZ400SK4]

I'm guessing that putting these in a vice and trying to straighten them is a bad idea, because even if I can get them back to shape they will be too weak afterward.

Yes/no?

I crashed pretty hard today, but somehow only suffered a few scrapes and bruises. I lofted the front wheel while crossing a small stream bed, and the back wheel slipped out from under me on the slippery baseball-size rocks.

Man oh man I hate that feeling of the bike folding up while it's stood up on the back wheel!

[Neil Claydon]

If they have not "kinked" I would have a go at straightening them, what have you got to loose.

If they pull back into shape too easily, they will need to be replaced, but I reckon you will be OK.

Neil. ?

[Aaron_Silidker]

Get a set of oversize renthal twinwalls and never worry about them again, 5 years and counting, with frame cracking crashes on my MX bike and they are still straight.

[hksimpson]

Maybe you could bend the other side to match and then you would not risk them becoming weaker on the other side.

So, if you were on a three day ride and they bent on the first day I would say bend them back. If you were at your house asking the questions, I would say replace them and consider some fat bars or at least some Renthal bars. They seem to handle the abuse pretty good.

H

[DFXXX]

Maybe you could bend the other side to match and then you would not risk them becoming weaker on the other side.

So, if you were on a three day ride and they bent on the first day I would say bend them back. If you were at your house asking the questions, I would say replace them and consider some fat bars or at least some Renthal bars. They seem to handle the abuse pretty good.

H

Well, that's "thinking outside the box" at least.

[drzrobbcanuck]

those are torqued/twisted-they will staighten ok. the amount of movement the metal is going through is spread out over a long length so there will not likely be any localized stresses.-not sure how you're going to do it though.

[drjack]

If they were steel I'd say straighten them, but they're not so replace them. Aluminum fatigues too quickly when 'worked' like that. You don't want to have one side snap off the next time you hit the ground.

[slowpoke079]

Those aren't that bad. Don't use a vice though. Get a long pipe that will fit onto the bar. One bend should be ok. It's only when you keep bending, re-bending, etc. is when you will have work hardening issues.

[goodluckmonkey]

If you bend them replace them.

Consider the potential injuries you'd sustain next time you grab some air, and the right hand side of the bar snaps upon landing, hammering you and your bike into the floor.

Now weigh up the cost of a broken wrist, lost riding time, and the time off work vs. the cost of a set of bars.

For what they cost, you'd be stupid to not replace them.

[DRZ400SK4]

I have a set of MSR RM bend high bars on the way!

I figured I'd use the crash and damaged bars as an excuse to try a hi-rise bar, since I'm tall and find I hunch too much while standing on the pegs. Which is pretty much all the time up here on the rocky trails we ride.

[palys2]

Never bend aluminum back into shape. You will work harden them and make them more brittle than they already are. You risk snapping them off next time you crash.