BEHAVIOR OF BIKE HANDLEBARS MADE OF BRAIDED CARBON FIBRE

Abstract

The mechanical design of a bike handlebar made of  carbon fibre is presented. Usually carbon fibre  handlebars are constituted by unidirectional (UD)  carbon fibre prepreg. That configuration usually leads  to a light design of the piece but fragile. The proposed  design allows the handlebar to withstand as high  efforts as a steel bar could. On the contrary the  carbon handlebar presents a weight much lower. This  can be achieved thanks to the selected carbon  braiding. Design, manufacturing on cheap PolyLactic  Acid (PLA) 3D printed moulds, FEM calculation and  testing of the developed carbon fibre handlebar are  shown in this paper.