WhyFi

'cause this is damn sexy!

colnago62

Definitely makes more sense to know what you are looking for first.

Sy Reene

Might look funny if you flip the stem though.

Rides4Beer

I went from 44s to 42s with no issues, and was going to drop to 40s on the new road bike, but decided to make the jump to 38s. After a couple of rides, I didn't even notice it. I def felt the difference when I got back on the gravel bike tho. lol

WhyFi

I bet - the bars on my gravel bike feel wide to me, too, more so that I would have guessed for 2cm difference. I suppose it's possible that they're being measured differently, though, and the the difference is even more than the nominal would suggest.

mstateglfr 

Are you measurably more aero with bars that are 2.5" narrower? If not, whats the benefit? I dont know how I could even accurately measure how much faster I am due to 6cm narrower bars- so much of my speed(or lack of) varies on a given day due to how I am feeling that day, wind, surface quality, route I ride, etc.
If the trend is for bars to go back to the widths they were between the bike boom and mid90s, I will happily add the trend to my long list of trends I dont participate in.

I could see someone adjusting their bar width between bikes based on trail geometry. A higher trail bike having wider bars for leverage and a lower trail bike having narrower bars.

WhyFi

So there's no benefit to something unless you can personally measure it? While you may not see the value in specific, small optimizations, in and of themselves, it doesn't mean that they're not there and it doesn't mean that they don't add up. Hell, much of the recent history of road cycling, both professional and enthusiast, has been shaped trampled by this concept.

That said, cyclists have been able to measure the drag differences between balls, 2", 3" and 4" in diameter, using methods like RChung's virtual elevation; bars that are 6cm narrower should be much more significant and much more easily observed.

mstateglfr 

The concept of marginal gains- I get it.
I was asking if the gains arent measurable, what is a measurable benefit. Examples could be the narrower bars are noticeably more comfortable, or stable, or faster steering.
But if its just marginal gains, then cool. Thats as legit a reason as any, but I wasnt sure if there was something noticeable too.

Psimet2001 

Narrow bars will be the Faux-hawks of the 2020's

seypat

Interesting article. Pro and cons each way. To stay on topic though, you better get that stuff worked out before you get an integrated cockpit!

https://www.starbike.com/weightweenies/blog/?p=870

Psimet2001 

I went from 42's back in the day to 44's when i was putting in a ton of heavy efforts in training and then racing. It instantly allowed me to feel "like I could breathe". That was because I have very wide shoulders. The kind where when I walk in any crowded area I constantly have people bumping into my shoulders. I walk around rolling them in subconsciously to make myself less wide. Grabbing narrower bars forces me to roll my shoulders in and has my upper arms pushing against my chest near the tops of my lungs. If I am in a TT position (that's been years) then that goes away as my arms are nearly completely out of the way.

So...the blog - skinny and small dude. He could ride anything he wants and really not notice much of a negative physical effect....and yet has issues with narrower positions.

So to get back to what I was saying earlier....like long negative stems that are slammed and huge saddle to bar drops - these narrow bars will remain the thing all the young skinny kids will want because they think it looks cool and they believe it makes them faster.

Removing one's head will make you faster as well....at least aerodynamically.

vane171

I just came across this integrated cockpit assembly video, it leaves out quite a bit of the process to qualify as instructional video but still gives an idea how complicated it is. But if you master the process, so you don't need to backtrack because you forgot to slide some nut on the assembly, it is doable.


The only part I didn't get is at the start of the video, just 15seconds in. He tapes something on the top frame tube? I think what is seen at those 15s is the frame end where the seat post goes into the frame. No idea what that is about.

Otherwise I think that outside of the pro racing where it might do better in aero considerations, this will always remain and be motivated as a 'bad ass look' purchase for the top end of the bike lineups.

WhyFi

The battery for the groupset - looks like he's taping it in place while he connects the leads.

Litespud

I think, in the fullness of time, we'll see a fully electronic cockpit, with brake-by-wire, or even wireless braking, with some sort of haptic feedback for the brake levers and electrically-powered disk calipers. It'll open up antilock braking, multiple braking points (eg, levers and bar tops), adjustable front-rear braking bias etc. I think if the systems are sufficiently robust, the manufacturers will cover themselves with disclaimers like "remember that cycling is an inherently dangerous activity.... etc etc".

Rides4Beer

I don't have a wind tunnel, but as anecdotal evidence, I will submit that in the last year and a half or so of riding my regular loop 3-4 times a week, ~42 miles w/ ~3,000ft of elevation, I have only averaged 20mph once, and that was last spring, on my previous road bike, in good weather, with deep wheels. Well, that was until I got the new bike, not sure how much is attributable to the narrow bars, or the fact that Cannondale put some aero focus on the new SuperSix, but I have now averaged over 20mph four times in the last 10 days on that loop, all on windy days, with shallow wheels. I will allow for some new bike magic, but it has been consistently faster, and I would guess that at least some of that is due to my narrower position.

mstateglfr 

Well there ya go! New bike plus experimenting with setup is always a fun time of ownership.
4 long rides in the last 10 days? And here i am looking forward to just getting out on a bike at all tomorrow!

woodcraft

Do you mean like the 38cm bars that were normal in the '60s-'70s?

79pmooney

psimet, I watch the bars go wide and narrow with amusement. I find the old adage, the width of the balls of your shoulders, works very well for me. 39s fit exactly on mine (or at least did before I broke each collarbone twice). I raced 39s and loved them. I've gotten a little soft and not quite as strong so I prefer 40s now 40 years later and I go 42 on city fix gears and gravel, 44 for fix gears that will see real hills. (Wider for leverage going up, wider for speed control as well as bike control gong down. Aero is not a plus on fix gear mountain descents!) I envy your wide shoulders. I can walk straight through any gap in a crowd!

I'll stay away from these integrated cockpits. I hear the "fit is everything" but I can set up a new rig as an exact copy of the fit of another bike and I am still going to tweak stuff. Handlebar height and rotation. Lever placement. (In recent years I've started rotating my bars and levers far down so my wrists are turned down to avoid hand numbness and pain, both riding and after. Nobody is going to make tooling for what my hands need.)

And last, the idea that anybody can fine tune my fit better than I can out on the road with a wrench?

rubiksoval

At 5'11 and 165 lbs, I ride 38cm bars and 165mm cranks and have for a few years now.

Aero is vital for speed.

aclinjury

what's up with the big ugly shifters?? Whatever aero gain is made with integrated stem is now negated by those big shifters. Subtraction by addition.

WhyFi

You do understand the the SRAM rhino levers aren't required, right?

smashndash

Corollary: Wireless shifting and hydraulic brakes will become the only option for high end or even mid-grade groupsets in the future. Hell, it's basically true already.

smashndash

I'm 5' 7" and people have an aneurysm when I tell them I ride 165mm cranks. I watched a bike fitter have a meltdown over it. I have a friend who's 5' 5" with legs so short that he couldn't ride a size S emonda (seat mast wouldn't go low enough) and even he was told he didn't need anything less than 170s.

I have 38cm bars too but somehow that seems more acceptable to people.

rubiksoval

Many bike fitters don't seem to have a clue. I know people who have gone to 2-3 different bike fitters and been given a pretty different fit from each one. It may be fine for the general population, but when you start getting into performance, it becomes a pretty big deal.

79pmooney

Black woman in the pilot's seat, Hispanic co-pilot? I think we are still a few years away. (But I can dream.)

How 'bout black anodized stem, gold anodized bars. Now I could ride that. It would look good on my Mooney.