Which handlebar type gives the best leverage for slowing down a fixed gear?
 

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Caliper brake(s) gives the best leverage for slowing down a fixed gear. Handlebars should be chosen based on comfort and application.

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Wider bars of any shape give you more leverage than narrow ones for accelerating from a stop or braking with your legs. There's no magic, undefinable quality in play. Leverage is simple geometry. Wider = more. With that said, I happen to prefer a bullhorn bar vs. a flat or riser bar when it's time to put some power to the crank. This has to do with ergonomics/physiology of my hands and wrists, not something mathematical like leverage.

A flat bar is probably easiest to shove between the spokes.

I never noticed a difference in breaking power between handlebars on a fixed gear bike. I thought it was all legs, no matter if my grip is narrow or more wide I see no benefit, standing or sitting.

Bar type aside, I think body positioning is more important. You can adjust your body to make a stop while using any configuration of bars and you get used to what's most comfortable for you. Choosing bars purely based on leverage for stopping seems silly, since most of the time you're moving. Slowing your cadence will mostly be legs but can be helped by pushing forward on straight bars, or pulling up on drops/horns. Or if you want to initiate a skid it helps to get your weight forward and lessen the weight over the rear wheel.

bullhorns. Theyre sticking up and out and gives you the most leverage when leaning forward allowing you throw all your weight into the straps

bars don't matter when your balls are on the stem laying down a sweet fixie skid

bullhorns will get your weight forward to unweight the rear tire to make a skid easier. Once the tire has gone from static to sliding contact, coefficient of fraction drops and you don't slow as fast.

I suppose the best bars would keep your weight back and allow your front brake to apply max stopping force.

Ya but you lose all style point with your balls on the stem.

I thought that's how you got style points!?! I'm old and can't keep up with all the latest trends.

no brakes you say :popcorn

wider is better when you want to whip it.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...80ee3f728c.gif

Someone should make that helmet for bikes.


-Tim-

maximum crumple zones, i'd wear it.

"Straps"? :eek:
Is it 1983 again? :foo:

-Bandera

^ Just curious, what's wrong with referring to them as toe straps? Didn't realize that was an outdated term.

Life is too short for no brakes, and even the coffee shop downtown uses a traffic signal to tell you the restroom is in use.

Old LBS guy, quite a lot of fun.

in Not sure about bracing for deceleration on a fixed gear, but my opinion the strongest position on a bike is in the drops. I don't decelerate hard enough on my FG to ever feel like I must brace, unless its a panic stop. Then I'm bracing wherever my hands were when I had to initiate the panic stop.

I learned the difficult way that many handlebar positions is most important on a fixed gear bike, as is an aerodynamic position. Without gears you need to get in the drops in the wind to be able to stay seated without mashing hard enough to strain your knees. If you go slower, you have to stand up in the wind which doesn't work well. I tried buckhorn bars and now only use dropped bars on my fixed gear bikes.

Are those bullhorn bars that always lead to an endo?

I noticed a massive difference when going from drops to semi-wide flats. So much so, that I couldn't believe that I was able to control my bike with what was basically just holding onto bars close to the stem.
It's not THAT bad, but you do notice much more stability with wider bars, but you can't get a good tuck without drops which matters a lot when you ride track geo.
Best of both worlds, get really wide drops.

On a track you won't really need to brake and shouldn't and on the road with cars, pedestrians, light changes and various other forms of complete unpredictability having an actual brake could save you and your life someday. Plus you can run nicer tires that give you a better ride quality and won't run through them so much. You can get some really lightweight stuff and some really nice stuff braking wise and on a drop bar you can have a place to put your hands which is handy.

I feel like I haven't said it in a while but if you don't skid your undies why would you skid you bike?

A skidding tire has lost traction, a rolling tire apply deceleration to the maximum threshold will stop quicker than a skidding tire.

Yeah, but I feel like you'll slow down slower too with all of your weight forward on bullhorn's.