trail_monkey

Has anyone tried these dirt drops? Can anyone give a comfort comparison vs cowbells? Thought about trying a drop with more flare but not sure what it would feel like on longer rides. The only reason I don't look at cowchipper is cause I want to stick close to the same reach as the cowbells and the chipper has more reach.

Dajia Far Bar Handlebar, Noir - Handlebars - Components

wheelsmcgee

Never tried them, but contemplated giving them a shot, still might. FWIW, they seem to be identical to the Genetic Digest bar, so if you're looking for reviews, you might search for that one as well.

mstateglfr 

...which in turn look like the Origin8 Gary Ergo Sweep OS.
Interesting.

I have the traditional Gary OS sweep bars and love em, but i dont know the reach on those to then compare em to the 3 identical looking ergo bars.
Ergo bars arent my bag.

trail_monkey

I'll check those out. Never heard of them. Thanks for the info. What looks awkward to me is how they would feel while riding on the hoods with the hoods flared out as they would be. Does this feel un natural operating brake levers like this?

egear

While I have not tried these bars I have used a set of On One Midge bars. The problem I find with any of these "high" flares bars is the angle the flare places the brake hoods at. Just to uncomfortable for me.
I recently switched back from On One Midge to a pair of Cowchipper 3 bars.

trail_monkey

Yeah but isn't the cow chipper just as radical of a flare as these bars?

mstateglfr 

The dirt drop/gravel drop bars really arent made for riding on the hoods. The drops are, in theory, level with the group which places the levers canted inwards and pointing down a bit due to location of the hooks.

With that said, i have seen many people set the bars up so the ramps are level with the ground and the drops point down to the ground in order to make the hoods a more comfortable riding spot. I question this since if they want to do that, just get some mixed road bars.

A higher stack height and angled stem helps to get the hoods up to a manageable height for use while still having the drops set level with the ground.

My Origin8 Gary OS Sweep bars, with the hoods canted in and pointing down more than on a road bar, is still comfortable when riding on the hoods. I set the bar height so it is just slightly below saddle height and have legitimate hand positions on the tops, ramps, hoods, and drops. The hoods are held differently than how I hold them on road drop bars due to the angle of the hoods, but its a comfortable position for me.

Tim_Iowa

No. Salsa Cowchipper bars have 24 degrees of flare. The Salsa Woodchipper bars are similar to these, with around 45 degrees of flare.

I do not like the 45 degree flared bars like these, or Nitto RM-14s, for the reasons shared by others.

However, I love the Salsa Cowchipper bars, which feel like just the right amount of flare. Cowbells (with 12 degrees) are probably also pretty good.
I also like the Nitto B135 Randonneur bars, which start their flare across the tops, not just the drops.

egear

For me the whole flared out thing is a minor item. I still have to ride some asphalt to get to the gravel so I like the "Road Bike" feel on the hoods. I will say one thing for the Midge Bars they are shallow in the drops. This is nice as some of my rides include sections of railroad ballast and in drops is the only place to be. Also one of my gravel bikes is a single speed and it requires more leverage at times then a geared bike.

tyrion

I have On One Midge bars and in comparison to conventional compact bars I find:

* drops more comfortable and better control than conventional bar
* hoods usable and decent braking from there but less control than conventional bar
* the cross bar is effectively narrower, so less control there

I keep the bottom of the bar angled, pointed at the rear axle.

trail_monkey

I think I will stick with my cowbells. I have always like these drops but seeing these radical flared drops just had my curiosity. I ride in the hoods 95% of the time. I just bought new tires today so any money I may have used for bars is gone lol! Priorities!

DarKris

Luckily when I went to a LBS the other day, one of the techs had a Gary Ergo Sweep bar (which is what this is a clone of) on his Trek Crockett. While I couldn't test ride it (obviously) I got to get a feel for how they actually feel. Long story short the hoods felt very weird but the drops felt extremely comfortable.

Also OP: How are the Cowbells? I wanted to get those but went for the Ritchey Evomax Comp bars instead bc it had a shorter reach and drop (73mm, 120mm). The 2 main functional differences are the drops hare a more traditional bend however the tops are oversized.

trail_monkey

I have nothing to compare them against unfortunately. These were my first drops I have owned since I was a kid in the 80s lol. I really like them though.