I have a pair with a nasty hairline crack running 75% of the length of the bars. It was mostly covered by bar tape, but fortunately I carefully inspected the bars after warnings from Sheldon and others. These are the old AVA's with no marking or only a tiny AVA marking. These are the ones which were infamous. I also have a later pair of AVA bars, extensively and elaborately ingraved, which are entirely different and look much more substantial. I would have no hesitation riding these.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> Sheldon Brown says that AVA handlebars are subject to breaking. Anybody
have
> experience with this? They were used for many years on Peugeots and
probably
> other bikes, and it seems they would have been discontinued if this was
true.
> Josh Berger
> Bronx, NY