# Bontrager Buzz-Kill Harmonic Dampers



## pjkad (Feb 4, 2004)

I saw these things featured on Tour coverage and wonder if they make a difference.
http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Parts_and_Accessories/Handlebar_Accessories/5882.php
Anyone have experience/comments?


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## 40-ish (Apr 5, 2005)

*Quick Demo at LBS*

One of the sales guys at my LBS (really good store) took an al bar and dropped it on the hard/carpeted floor - lots of ringing noise as you'd expect. Took another one with the Buzz-Kill and dropped it - just a thunk. Then I saw them on the tour. I'll wait till they have some experience with them on the road and see what they think.

Don't know if they were the Al or the Brass version.


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## johndengler (Feb 1, 2005)

I've been using them for several months and in my opinion they make a noticable difference. Much of the road vibration in my cheap bontrager bars seems to be absorbed and are now more comfortable. Also, since Trek is having their tour sale, they should be on sale at a bike shop that features treks. The cheaper set is like 6-7 dollars right now at my LBS because of the sale


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

pjkad said:


> I saw these things featured on Tour coverage and wonder if they make a difference.
> http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Parts_and_Accessories/Handlebar_Accessories/5882.php
> Anyone have experience/comments?


 Methinks that just using some cheap corks would do a similar trick much cheaper...see the thread on General FMI

HTH
YMMV
TIA


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## 40-ish (Apr 5, 2005)

*You would be correct for the demo*



Room 1201 said:


> Methinks that just using some cheap corks would do a similar trick much cheaper...see the thread on General FMI
> 
> HTH
> YMMV
> TIA


As I think of it, an open handlebar is like a brass instrument. With both ends open, it will make quite a bit of sound. A better comparison would be to have both handlebars plugged for the demo. Since we care about road buzz and not cheap tricks, the question is, "Do they work as intended?" My shop is good and they don't recommend stuff until they have some actual time with them.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

pjkad said:


> I saw these things featured on Tour coverage and wonder if they make a difference.
> http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Parts_and_Accessories/Handlebar_Accessories/5882.php
> Anyone have experience/comments?


The saleman's demo was useless. When you're riding, your handlebar is clamped onto a stem, not dropping onto the floor competely unsupported with no handlebar tape and no bar tape end plugs. Marketing dudes are so creative in creating problems where none exist, then creating magic, overpriced solutions to the non-existant problems. 

Road vibration has never caused me any suffering or hampered my riding in any way. If my hands hurt it's because I haven't ridden in a long time or I chose a broken stoney road. . Gel padded gloves, Gel padded shorts, gel padded handlebar tape, CF seatposts-all bought to take the harshness out of our ultralight CF saddles and 20mm tires jacked up to 130psi. 
Now I'm not advocating we all go back to riding pennyfarthings with steel saddles and wool jodpers, but we've starting to strive to isolate ourselves from the experience instead of immersing ourselves in it. 

Here a favorite quote from "The Rider" by Tim Krabbe"
"Velvet pillows, safari parks, sunglasses; people have become woolly mice. They still have bodies that can walk for five days and four nights through a desert of snow, without food, but they accept praise for having taken a one-hour bicycle ride. ‘Good for you’. Instead of expressing their gratitude for the rain by getting wet, people walk around with umbrellas."

End of rant. I'm going to go sleep on an anthill and commune with mother nature.


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## Alpedhuez55 (Jun 29, 2005)

I like to use a thick tape myselt. I use the Stella Azuri Techno Spounga(sic?). It is about twice as think as standard tape. It absorbs pleanty of virbration. I would guess the difference is slight at best with the buzz kill. Maybe it would help on an all aluminum set up. 

THose Tech features seem to be an unpaid Trek commercial. I also saw them push the Buzz Kill on one of the shows on Team Disco on the Discovery Channel where they were seeing if they would help a rider who had broken his broked ride Paris-Roubaix.


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## Howzitbroke (Jun 1, 2005)

Jesse D Smith said:


> The saleman's demo was useless. When you're riding, your handlebar is clamped onto a stem, not dropping onto the floor competely unsupported with no handlebar tape and no bar tape end plugs. Marketing dudes are so creative in creating problems where none exist, then creating magic, overpriced solutions to the non-existant problems.
> 
> Yup. I have often wondered how any vibration that travels up through the fork to the stem and into the bars is going to get through your hands to the "Harmonic Dampeners" and back to your hands nicely muted? I can't think of a better device for absorbing the small vibrations than flesh.
> 
> I think you are correct that many of these questions just wouldn't have weight or matter unless some guy came up with a solution where one really wasn't necessary.


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## 40-ish (Apr 5, 2005)

*Nice Rant*



Jesse D Smith said:


> Now I'm not advocating we all go back to riding pennyfarthings with steel saddles and wool jodpers, but we've starting to strive to isolate ourselves from the experience instead of immersing ourselves in it.
> 
> End of rant. I'm going to go sleep on an anthill and commune with mother nature.


As rants go, you get major style points - move over Dennis Miller. Thanks for keeping the forum interesting.


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## terzo rene (Mar 23, 2002)

Who cares if they work? It's a great product name. I am guessing Zap had something to do with that.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

Alpedhuez55 said:


> I like to use a thick tape myselt. I use the Stella Azuri Techno Spounga(sic?). It is about twice as think as standard tape. It absorbs pleanty of virbration. I would guess the difference is slight at best with the buzz kill. Maybe it would help on an all aluminum set up.
> 
> THose Tech features seem to be an unpaid Trek commercial. I also saw them push the Buzz Kill on one of the shows on Team Disco on the Discovery Channel where they were seeing if they would help a rider who had broken his broked ride Paris-Roubaix.


I like that tape too. I have long fingers. I'd have to use two rolls of Cinelli to get it thick enough so my fingers would wrap around the bar. I only have to use a single wrap of this. I've had it on a year and it shows no sign of wear, never gets slippery and stretches just enough while wrapping. I wish more places carried it.


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## Road cyclist (Jan 15, 2005)

*In use*



pjkad said:


> I saw these things featured on Tour coverage and wonder if they make a difference.
> http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Parts_and_Accessories/Handlebar_Accessories/5882.php
> Anyone have experience/comments?


I have been using them. I am not convinced they make a difference with regular 
road buzz. I think that one may need electronic monitoring equipment to really see a 
damping improvement. I think I may do this one day, get an acceleration transducer 
and circuit and attach it to my handlebars. You think Bontrager should have done this
already, maybe they don't want to publish the small incremental improvement.
I think the handlebar drop test is useless, but the LBS people do it anyway. 
There is a valid vibration principle behind this invention, it wasn't created for cycling.
Finally, brass being heavier than alum should provide more dampening. I don't think
6 -12 dollars is too much to conduct an experiment, its probably the only thing on my 
cycle that will never wear out.


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## cmg (Oct 27, 2004)

*they're a pretty color*



Road cyclist said:


> I have been using them. I am not convinced they make a difference with regular
> road buzz. I think that one may need electronic monitoring equipment to really see a
> damping improvement. I think I may do this one day, get an acceleration transducer
> and circuit and attach it to my handlebars. You think Bontrager should have done this
> ...


i've been using them for about a month, haven't noticed any road buzz elimination. I'm on the lighter version though. they look pretty and match the color of the frame.


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## Road cyclist (Jan 15, 2005)

*Go for brass*



cmg said:


> i've been using them for about a month, haven't noticed any road buzz elimination. I'm on the lighter version though. they look pretty and match the color of the frame.


I hear you. I feel I am getting scammed, but I will conduct my road buzz experiment before the summer ends and post my results. I have a MSEE, I think I can come up with a 
transducer circuit. But my reply to you is to subsitute the suspended alum for brass.
Brass being heavier Should? work better in theory. Any scrap brass in a rod shape can
be cut off and used.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Road cyclist said:


> . But my reply to you is to subsitute the suspended alum for brass.
> Brass being heavier Should? work better in theory. Any scrap brass in a rod shape can
> be cut off and used.


 If you want a heavier metal use lead shot-alot denser; just be sure to protect yourself and seal it adequately.


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

pjkad said:


> I saw these things featured on Tour coverage and wonder if they make a difference.
> 
> 
> > It seems to me that encasing a large length of the handlebar in a visco-elastic sheath should provide far more vibration damping than a small visco-elastic chunk only at the end. Any of the thicker cork/composite handlebar tapes could provide such a visco-elastic - with the added advantage of actually isolating the user from the handlebar itself.


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## Squint (Jan 22, 2004)

Why not fill the hollow interior of bars with expanding polyurethane foam if you're going to do anything at all?


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## jaxpaw (Mar 7, 2005)

*IMHO no difference*

Saturday the guy I was riding with was raving about them so I made an effort to pay far more attention than I normally would as to how my hands were feeling during our ride. Went out and bought a pair and then tried them today. I realize this is far from scientific but I just couldn't feel a difference, even though I wanted to believe my LBS "they _really_ work". Oh well, they have helped me out with some problems in the past but to me these things are just a gimmick.


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## Number9 (Nov 28, 2004)

These things are more likely to do harm rather than good. Randomly adding mass and damping material might help in some scenarios, but can also hurt since not all handlebar systems, in situ, have the same materials, resonant frequencies, etc... Since, it's not clear at which frequencies the vibrations are the most problematic, I would argue that these things are useless, and since they add mass and cost money - they are worse than useless. No one-size-fits-all solution here. Looks like the marketing guys prevailed over the physicists at Bontrager...


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

*I tried them*



pjkad said:


> I saw these things featured on Tour coverage and wonder if they make a difference.
> http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Parts_and_Accessories/Handlebar_Accessories/5882.php
> Anyone have experience/comments?


After reading the other lukewarm reviews, I decided to give them a shot only slightly altering the installation procedure. I crammed one up my butt to see if it damped the nasty road vibrations that get transferred to my backside. I have to say, they totally took my mind off of any road vibrations.


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## the flying moose (Jul 12, 2005)

at the shop i work at we sell these things. we had a guy come in and took them off the wall and proceeded to walk to the front and purchase them. we rang through his transaction and he left. about 5 minutes later he comes back in and says to the salesguy, "By the way, what are these for?" it was quite humorous.


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## Road cyclist (Jan 15, 2005)

*I gather*



Jesse D Smith said:


> After reading the other lukewarm reviews, I decided to give them a shot only slightly altering the installation procedure. I crammed one up my butt to see if it damped the nasty road vibrations that get transferred to my backside. I have to say, they totally took my mind off of any road vibrations.


I gather you were not impressed with them either.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

Road cyclist said:


> I gather you were not impressed with them either.



Quite the contrary. They made a big impression on me. They made an even bigger impression on the salesman when I returned them asking for a larger size.


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## big wheel4300 (Mar 31, 2003)

pjkad said:


> I saw these things featured on Tour coverage and wonder if they make a difference.
> http://www.bontrager.com/Road/Parts_and_Accessories/Handlebar_Accessories/5882.php
> Anyone have experience/comments?


I have been using them for about a month and they definitely make a difference .Contrary to what anyone who has to say who have not used them they work. and even if they did not i don't think $8.00 will kill you.


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## JimP (Dec 18, 2001)

I can see how they help. Help the bike shop that is. They sell a 10 cent item for 10 bucks and make a good profit.


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## colker1 (Jan 2, 2003)

Squint said:


> Why not fill the hollow interior of bars with expanding polyurethane foam if you're going to do anything at all?


why not ride a bit more? say ... take a longer route? a harder climb? and forget about it..


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

Squint said:


> Why not fill the hollow interior of bars with expanding polyurethane foam if you're going to do anything at all?



My friend, you have just invented the $200 aluminum handlebar. Just buy a bulk supply of Modolo X-Eras bars (on sale at Nashbar for $15) and a case of the foam. 
Drop of few of these babies on some LBS floors and you're a rich man. Just send me one for free and I'll post a thread about how they made my cycling a much more fufulling experience.


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## thedips (Mar 26, 2007)

im sorry im going to have to bump this thread.. put them in the bars i have on my cervelo soloist and wow... my bike was extreme in harsh and vibrations at highspeeds on my local crit course... and seriously these little bar ends took off a solid 60-75% of the road vibe.. now it didnt totally solve my problem.. but it took off enough like i said to notice.... 

at low speeds i felt some relief ... but nothing like it at higher speeds 20+ even bombed down a local hill of mine a few times with them on and off to really get the feel.... i will never turn back on this again! awesome product!!


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## Val_Garou (Apr 30, 2002)

Wow. I was really experiencing some deja vu while reading about the salesman dropping the bar to the floor. You dug deep for this one.

That said, these things are amazingly common in the motorcycling world.


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## CFBlue (Jun 28, 1999)

*I like them.*

They came with my bike. The first race my front wheel hit some sand and me and my brand new bike hit the deck hard. The bike recieved a few chips, I recieved some grazes and the bar end plugs went into orbit never to be seen again... After riding without them I felt I could notice a difference and got some replacements. I got some Shoe Goo to keep them put in case of another crash. They're good but don't expect the earth to change or anything. The Bontrager bar tape is good too if you want vibration dampening.


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

I have a much better solution for getting the buzz out of stiff wheels. I tie rubber bands from spoketo spoke. I use skinny round ones for my climbing wheels, and flat ones for my aero wheels. 
Now I'm looking for dimpled rubber bands to improve aerodynamics. 
I can't use corks cause the wine I drink only comes in a box. But if you fold up the box properly, and push really hard, it will fit up there.


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## slicknick (Apr 12, 2007)

jhamlin38 said:


> I can't use corks cause the wine I drink only comes in a box. But if you fold up the box properly, and push really hard, it will fit up there.


I think you are on to something here but the box will not work. You need to finish the wine and insert the bag into the handle bars and inflate the bag by blowing into the spout, or better yet....cut out the spout, get some epoxy and fix a presta valve to it so you can vary your pressure. Then we can start a new thread about when pressure you run in your handle bars and what boxed wines have the lowest weight bags in them. This makes getting a flat in your handle bars enjoyable since you just have to finish another box of wine to repair them :thumbsup:


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## Jim Nazium (Feb 3, 2004)

Too bad there isn't something you could wrap around the handlebars that would absorb vibration and provide a grippy surface for your hands.


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## B15serv (Apr 27, 2008)

Im pretty sure that the reason the dropping the bar test made a different is because they were just a pair of bars falling to the floor. The better question would if those bars were wrapped in bartape with a pair of shifter/levers on them, a stem attatched, and a guy with cycling gloves holding the bar would it have made any different noise when whacked against the floor. I dont doubt that they made a thud instead of a ringing sound when dropped because a bare set of bars with holes in the end will do that. When they plugged the holes it stopped the ringing. A plastic bar plug properly installed with a halfwrap of bartape shouldve done the whole thing. The fact is that your stem, levers, and you should dampen the ringing vibration enough when riding. What you still feel while riding is road noise which is being translated by the whole bike up through the stem. Theres nothing that a barplug can do about that. I understand what trek is going for with these and it makes sense that a rubber plug will stop the harmonic noise in the bar but that what I wonder is if theres any harmonic noise at all once the bar is fully set up and equipped.


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## Don Duende (Sep 13, 2007)

The real test would be to swap these in and out of the handlebars and have the riders evaluate the "feel" without knowing if they were in or out. The old double blind, placebo controlled study.

Everything else is just heresay.


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## Don Duende (Sep 13, 2007)

The real test would be to swap these in and out of the handlebars and have the riders evaluate the "feel" without knowing if they were in or out. The old double blind, placebo controlled study.

Everything else is just heresay.


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## russotto (Oct 3, 2005)

jhamlin38 said:


> I have a much better solution for getting the buzz out of stiff wheels. I tie rubber bands from spoketo spoke. I use skinny round ones for my climbing wheels, and flat ones for my aero wheels.


You'd kill a lot more vibration, and extend the life of your wheels, if you put pneumatic tires on them instead.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Don Duende said:


> Everything else is just heresay.


The real question is why anyone resurrected this ancient thread.

BTW, it's not "heresay," but "hearsay" (I hear it, then I say it to you). And what you're talking about here isn't objectionable because it's hearsay, but because it's ancedotal evidence from uncontrolled experiments.


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## thedips (Mar 26, 2007)

wow this thread again... oh and btw.. .a month after i got them... friends swore i was crazy... and took the little bar end caps out and put just regular bontrager ones.. i did a long weekend ride an my hands were hurting and my arms were fatigue alot more than usual.. i was like wtf is going on here.. i was like these dampening things must be off... of course found out that a buddy of mine swaped them out when i was unloading my car without me knowing... 

got a new bike with new fsa compact bars... gonna use them in that as well.. also some new cushy cinelli jelly tape..


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

JCavilia said:


> The real question is why anyone resurrected this ancient thread.
> 
> BTW, it's not "heresay," but "hearsay" (I hear it, then I say it to you). And what you're talking about here isn't objectionable because it's hearsay, but because it's ancedotal evidence from uncontrolled experiments.


unless they meant heresy.....in which case it is still misspelled.....


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## Solo with others (Jun 21, 2005)

I like them. On my harsh Allez Pro they made a big difference in the feel of the bars as soon as I put them in. Now I have a Surly Pacer with 32c tires and we'll see if they are even needed in that application.


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

It's BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK !


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## Solo with others (Jun 21, 2005)

What? is this thread a buzz kill or something?


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

Solo said:


> What? is this thread a buzz kill or something?


sorry, lol, but this thread has been floating to the surface since July of 2005.........

The bottom line is........lowering your tire pressure is FAR more effective than buzz-kills!


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## kiwisimon (Oct 30, 2002)

Jesse D Smith said:


> I crammed one up my butt to see if it damped the nasty road vibrations that get transferred to my backside. I have to say, they totally took my mind off of any road vibrations.


Okay this thread needs a revisit. With the prevalence of damping seatposts a la Ergon or Ritchey Flexlogic is it a good time to think about giving up this butt plug application?


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Nothing like a good thread dredge. Better than taking a good dump.


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## duriel (Oct 10, 2013)

I missed it the first times???? still works!


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