A customer came in today during our big spring cleaning sale with a set of handlebars that have the worst case of toxic sweat corrosion I’ve ever seen.
He uses this bike on a home trainer in his garage and had noticed that his bars were flexing quite a bit. After unwrapping the bar tape, he saw the nearly complete disintegration of the aluminum alloy caused by exposure to toxic sweat. We’ve seen this on the occasional bike, with parts literally being eaten and destroyed, but this is the worst case I’ve seen.
Aluminum was completely eaten through, kinda reminded me of those pictures you see at the dentists to scare you into flossing.
What’s the lesson? This definitely isn’t an April fool’s day joke, but if you sweat a lot you should check your handlebars regularly (once a year or so).
Sweat is the acid of the body. Don’t forget to take a shower after you ride.
I’m glad I wear gloves and wash them on regular basis.
Doesn’t spend much time on the drops, eh!
Probably just as well though, because that bar would have disintegrated!! :-O
I run carbon, no worries.
Me too
That damage is unbelievable, especially that they were still riding it and didn’t break completely and bust some teeth on the stem. New tape is less than $20! This should be part of annual maintenance.
I’m glad Pamela washes her gloves too!
Oh, and don’t lick your sweat, you may go on a longer trip than you expect!
LO