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Questions on flared bars (may have been asked, I'm asking again)

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Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational) This has to be the most physically intense sport ever invented. It's high speed bicycle racing on a short off road course or riding the off pavement rides on gravel like : "Unbound Gravel". We also have a dedicated Racing forum for the Cyclocross Hard Core Racers.

Questions on flared bars (may have been asked, I'm asking again)

Old 07-20-19, 06:29 AM
  #26  
DrIsotope
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Originally Posted by pennpaul
Well that explains my lackluster reception to these bars then!

What did you get instead?

Anyone want to buy a barely used set of FSA Adventure "46cm" bars?
Thomson Dirt Drop. Love ‘em. But 25° probably isn’t for everyone.
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Old 07-21-19, 10:15 PM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by u235
Short answer to your question, "I'm always wondering, do the flares really make a difference? My gravel bike is really more of a do it all bike, shod with file treads, blocks, or slicks, depending on my mood....so while doing it all, flares or no flares?"

Depends, if you are comfortable, confident, and have total control that and you are happy with what you have, stick with what you have..
I am. I ride the drops now, pretty regularly, and have for years...I think it's the roadie in me. That said, I cannot shake the feeling at certain points, especially when railing downhill on a winding maintenance road at 50km+, that wider position on the drops might add just a bit more stability and control. I appreciate the advice on the brifter set up. I have a set of Spec'd Hover Flares coming (12° flare, and appear to be about 2cm wider, 4cm total, at the ends), and it's clear that I'll need to do some experimentation to get the right position for the controls. Thanks!
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Old 07-22-19, 02:12 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Badger6
I have a set of Spec'd Hover Flares coming (12° flare, and appear to be about 2cm wider, 4cm total, at the ends), and it's clear that I'll need to do some experimentation to get the right position for the controls. Thanks!
Please update with a review when you've had a chance to use them.
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Old 07-28-19, 10:33 AM
  #29  
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I may be the weirdo then because I don’t care for a lot of flare. My old bike had Eroica bars and I couldn’t stand the amount of flare the had. I don’t know if that’s just because of the roadie in me not being used to it or not.
My current Giant Revolt Advanced has drops that i have heard nothing but bad things about but I really like them for whatever reason. They don’t have much flare are all.
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Old 08-05-19, 09:27 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by BluFalconActual
I may be the weirdo then because I don’t care for a lot of flare. My old bike had Eroica bars and I couldn’t stand the amount of flare the had. I don’t know if that’s just because of the roadie in me not being used to it or not.
My current Giant Revolt Advanced has drops that i have heard nothing but bad things about but I really like them for whatever reason. They don’t have much flare are all.
I am not a fan of switching something just because. If the bar you have works, stick with it, that is all that matters. In my case a compact always had me uneasy on anything but road, after a few hours my hands were cramped from the death grip and my relative stumpy fingers had a hard time braking from the drops. I have hyd brakes and usually one finger but the remaining four were not up to the task. I was missing confidence and control and the experience off-road was not what I wanted. Flared bars solved a problem for me. I went way flared with a 24 degree, probably the "flat bar rider" in me. Good or bad I use my "gravel" bike a lot more and my XC bike a lot less now.

Last edited by u235; 08-05-19 at 09:40 AM.
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Old 08-11-19, 02:23 PM
  #31  
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Hover Bar

Originally Posted by gravelED
I really like the Specialized Hover Flare bar. The shallow drop and flare make a huge difference when riding in the drops during technical descents. Like Dsaul, I will also be putting a flared bar on my new road build.
I was told by a guy at a bike shop that the hover bar may put things too high on my diverge, because it's so high already. What kind of bike do you ride ?
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Old 08-13-19, 01:51 AM
  #32  
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I have always wanted to try them and I am definitely going to now...
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Old 08-13-19, 08:16 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by TXBDan
Has anyone gone too far with flare and regretted it? My bike (Trek Checkpoint) is 85% commuter/pavement, but i'm interested in some shallower drop bars and like the idea of the flare ergonomically as well as for control. I'm leaning toward Cowbells (12deg) or Ritchey Evomax (12deg) or Easton AX (16deg) as they aren't as extreme. Would i regret not going for more?
I also have a Checkpoint, at first I wanted a little less reach and drop and some flare so I went with the Salsa Cowchipper and liked it, a few months later I switched to the Pro Discover Big Flare which has even less reach and drop and more flare and I loved it. Going from the stock Bontrager bar to the Cowchipper felt good but I also felt it could be a bit better, going for the Discover Big Flare was just that. I ride mostly off-road on stuff that's a bit rougher then the usual gravel roads I see people ride and just this weekend I rode on some technical singletrack and it felt very good. I feel like I can spend more time in the drops now and I have greater control of the bike. All handlebars are/were 42cm.

Pictured is the 42cm Pro Discover Big Flare on a 54cm Checkpoint ALR 4 with 2cm of spacers under the stem.

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Old 08-22-19, 04:36 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Badger6
I am. I ride the drops now, pretty regularly, and have for years...I think it's the roadie in me. That said, I cannot shake the feeling at certain points, especially when railing downhill on a winding maintenance road at 50km+, that wider position on the drops might add just a bit more stability and control. I appreciate the advice on the brifter set up. I have a set of Spec'd Hover Flares coming (12° flare, and appear to be about 2cm wider, 4cm total, at the ends), and it's clear that I'll need to do some experimentation to get the right position for the controls. Thanks!
Originally Posted by pennpaul
Please update with a review when you've had a chance to use them.
They're mounted and ready to go...I have a cold, so I won't crush too much stone tomorrow, but I'll get a feel... I suspect I will have to play a bit with the exact positioning of the brifters, and I swapped stems, but might go back to the shorter piece.

Last edited by Badger6; 08-22-19 at 11:00 PM.
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Old 08-22-19, 11:02 PM
  #35  
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The sun is up now, so I snapped a couple of photos, the flare is noticeable, but not extreme...whihc in my opinion will give me what I was looking for a bit more width, but not something that is essentially a twisted MTB bar. I still prefer a distinct drop at the bar end...I think.


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Old 08-23-19, 08:06 AM
  #36  
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Hover bars FTW. I'm loving mine.
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Old 08-24-19, 12:22 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by shoota
Hover bars FTW. I'm loving mine.
So far so good...two rides down, both commutes, but to be completely honest, my commutes are never boring affairs that occur at a PE of 1.1 on the shortest route.

I replaced a standard 420mm bar with the 420mm Hover Flare, so I expected some similarity with additional options. Due to a shorter reach on the bar, I also swapped a longer stem back in, effectively extending the bar reach by about 8-10mm (estimated). While I will need to get used to the extension, it is not too dramatic and I haven't noticed an appreciable change in steering behavior. The brighter setup, with the tops of the hoods parallel to the bar top and the longitudinal axis in line with the flare feel a bit more comfortable, albeit my initial riding has been relatively short, less than 2 hours so far. I tested the flared drop on a few fast, winding descents I know pretty well, and the numbers say I was faster by a little bit, but I cannot be certain if that's due to surface conditions or some new confidence.

Regardless, initial impression is that this was a wise upgrade/investment, and it strikes me that the gravel/CX experience is only going to be better going forward.
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Old 12-12-19, 07:17 PM
  #38  
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I'm debating between the Cowchipper Carbon and the Enve Gravel bars. I like the wider clamping area on the Cowchipper, but the Enve looks like it has more flat area on the top for more comfort when riding the hoods or the tops. Anyone have experience with both?
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Old 12-12-19, 08:39 PM
  #39  
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Where did you guys buy your hover bars? I sent an email to the mfgr in England, and the US dealer they recommended is flaky.
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Old 12-13-19, 12:28 AM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by Reynolds 531
Where did you guys buy your hover bars? I sent an email to the mfgr in England, and the US dealer they recommended is flaky.
While I didn't re-read the whole thread, maybe you were looking for these?

Specialized Hover Flare bars

Last edited by Bryan C.; 12-13-19 at 12:32 AM.
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Old 12-13-19, 10:14 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Bryan C.
While I didn't re-read the whole thread, maybe you were looking for these?
I apoligize for not being clear at all. The bars I am intrigued by are these, from England (by way of China I assume)



https://www.geneticbikes.com/shop/ha...riser-16-bars/

UPDATE: The bars are now being sold by Universal Cycles, who are definitely NOT flaky.

Last edited by Reynolds 531; 12-13-19 at 10:19 AM.
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Old 12-14-19, 09:34 AM
  #42  
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As companies offer more and more MTB like gravel bikes, the handlebars are following along. Just look at Crust’s Towelrack and the crazy wide ones from Curve.

But it makes sense. The extra flare and width comes in handy for sure the more gnar you ride on the gravel rig. But the opposite is true for me too.

On my Stigmata I have a barely perceptible flare and modest width. They look and feel like road bars and for the riding I do on that bike it’s perfect. The Cutty on the other hand is used for single track, 4x4 roads and other adventures and the classic Woodchippers are great. But seeing such hideous flare on a more road oriented frame would be cringe worthy imo!
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Old 12-14-19, 11:12 AM
  #43  
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It's like a totally different bar was used for the 2nd pic.
The top pic has the bar ends slightly visible from the inside of the drop curve.
The bottom picture has the bar ends significantly outside the drop curve.

I get that perspective changes the look, but wow that's significant, since both pics are from level and direct at the top middle of the bars.
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Old 12-14-19, 03:17 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr

It's like a totally different bar was used for the 2nd pic.
The top pic has the bar ends slightly visible from the inside of the drop curve.
The bottom picture has the bar ends significantly outside the drop curve.

I get that perspective changes the look, but wow that's significant, since both pics are from level and direct at the top middle of the bars.
You can't tell what the perspective is without knowing how close the camera was. It could very well be the same bar.
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Old 12-14-19, 05:32 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by BluFalconActual
I may be the weirdo then because I don’t care for a lot of flare. My old bike had Eroica bars and I couldn’t stand the amount of flare the had. I don’t know if that’s just because of the roadie in me not being used to it or not.
My current Giant Revolt Advanced has drops that i have heard nothing but bad things about but I really like them for whatever reason. They don’t have much flare are all.
I'm with you. I had flared bars on my Revolt and Search XR and swapped them to my normal road bars which now not only are not flared out but are also narrower than stock (my body proportions). Maybe it depends on how gnarly the terrain you're riding on?
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Old 12-15-19, 05:58 AM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by Reynolds 531
I apoligize for not being clear at all. The bars I am intrigued by are these, from England (by way of China I assume)



https://www.geneticbikes.com/shop/ha...riser-16-bars/

UPDATE: The bars are now being sold by Universal Cycles, who are definitely NOT flaky.
Boy, these sure don't give you any room for clamping accessories on them next to the stem from the looks of them, a bike computer mount is about all
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Old 12-16-19, 01:09 PM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by srode1
Boy, these sure don't give you any room for clamping accessories on them next to the stem from the looks of them, a bike computer mount is about all
Out of curiosity, what else would you need besides that other than a bell (shameless plug for commute sponsor Spurcycle). Plenty of mounts now combine computers and GoPro/light...what am I missing that needs to be clamped on up there?
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Old 12-16-19, 03:18 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by Badger6
Out of curiosity, what else would you need besides that other than a bell (shameless plug for commute sponsor Spurcycle). Plenty of mounts now combine computers and GoPro/light...what am I missing that needs to be clamped on up there?
For Dirty Kanza I use aerobars, a light, and a Garmin. The mount for the 1300 lumen light and the light itself is pretty wide. 120mm of clamping space at a minimum is what I need, and that doesn't leave any room for anything else like a second light, camera etc. Most companies are now in the range of 120mm, and some like Salsa are at 140 for their carbon drop gravel bars, there's no reason not to have more clamping space for versatility in my opinion.
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Old 12-16-19, 03:54 PM
  #49  
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Of course...thanks for the enlightenment, I've never considered mounting anything like that. Now it makes sense!
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Old 12-17-19, 07:40 PM
  #50  
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You can buy accessory brackets for mounting more things in a tight space on the bars. I've used similar to the link below with great results. Two headlights with batteries mounted on it all winter long with no issues.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Cycling...t/123551575555

There are larger 2x mount models.

Last edited by u235; 12-17-19 at 07:44 PM.
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