Anyone else experienced corrosion on Zipp aluminum handlebars?
Indeed I rode the bar tape for a year and just wanted to replace it. Then I saw this.
Yes, I ride a lot, I also train indoors and it can be sweaty. Yes I should have replaced the bar tape earlier. But this after one year?
by rdiunn
22 Comments
Anecdotally, Some people just have more corrosive sweat than others it seems when it comes to certain parts/metals.
Sweat is insanely corrosive… it’s literally just salt water and any aluminum surface exposed to it will look like this in short time. Doesn’t matter the brand… cleaning after each use is the way. Side note… this will also happen with carbon fiber bars, as the sweat will eat through the resin.
I mean you rode it indoors and said you sweat on it.
It’s aluminum. Salt corrodes.
If you ride indoors, keep a towel over every aluminum part.
You probably sweat more than you realize.
Yeah, submerging metal in super salty solution and leaving it there will very much corrode it quickly
See also: wash your bike.
Oh man, my bike spent a lot of time on the trainer over the winter. I should unwrap my bars and check…
This is like beating the shit out of your kid and then getting angry at them because they’re showing bruises and will get you in trouble.
Don’t beat your kid.
It’s called “neglect”.
The handlebar is not the problem.
It’s almost a meme how common this is with indoor trainers. I guess you could switch to a carbon or titanium bar, but then you’ll want to keep an eye on the stem and shifter clamps. Can’t escape the galvanic series.
Heavy riding = try swapping tape every 6 months, cleaning the aluminum bars before reapplying tape.
As far as I’m aware this is normal from heavy use, just from sweat corroding the aluminum. Just replace handlebars every couple years if you ride a lot, I could be wrong though.
brooo should use a towel on his handelbars just covger them completly ..
this sweat seems corrosive toxic ^^
hardcore what salt can doo to metal its eating it away
Time for carbon bars. It’s cheaper than tape + new bars every so often
Do you live in the rust belt. I feel like this isn’t a problem in the west.
I have very corrosive sweat, Zipp bars tend to corrode worse than any other alloy handlebars I have used. Deda was probably the best, but honestly I got tired of replacing handlebars every season and now I have carbon bars on all my bikes.
Some people will tell you that this doesn’t happen if you clean your bike, rewrap the tape periodically, or keep it off the trainer, but these people must not sweat like I do!
It’s not the bar’s fault
When the brand name isn’t enough to stop the reality of science.
This is what happens when you leave salt on aluminum. This is 100% on you for letting it get gross and never cleaning it.
Wrap the bars with an elastic foam rubber tape like Lizard Skinz or something similar. The cork tapes are like sponges.
My sweat has changed the color on some T-shirts. It is definitely not as corrosive as your sweat.
Makes me wonder if we are both eating too much acidic food?
Had the same thing happen to my bars. Almost corroded all the way around the bar so if I would have put much pressure on it, would have snapped. Only two years of use on it
I have Zipp XLRP 70, sweat like crazy and my handle bar looks like new. But I wear gloves all the time, especially when working out indoor. Towel also helps.