davei1980

My current bike has flat bars, a 525mm (c/c) top tube (non sloping) and a 70mm stem.

I am interested in a frame but the smallest size which makes sense is one with a 590mm (c/c) top tube. I can get a 35mm stem so the overall difference in reach will be +30mm.

I know it’s not fair to throw in multiple variables but I’ll also be running Jones H bars with a 45 degree sweep.

Being that the new frame comes with a fork with an uncut steerer, I can raise it up a bit higher than my current setup.

So between the backswept bars and the ability to customize the bar height, is 30mm extra reach a big deal or not?

Andrew R Stewart 

So the prior numbers are with using what kind of bar? Andy

davei1980

pretty standard flat bars. Maybe 15mm rise, 6 degree sweep. Origin8, I believe.

nomadmax 

Measure your current set up using the 80mm wide point of the saddle to the center of the grips where your hands go. Then install the new bars (or lay them over the current bars) and measure again. When it comes to fit, only a tape measure will tell the truth; the rest is just something somebody said on the inter-net.

Andrew R Stewart 

Thanks for the added details. Generally I follow nomadmax's advice. Careful measuring, careful "lay over" placement of the new, then the judgements and follow up fine tuning. One aspect not easy to anticipate is the wrist angle between the two bars and how that effects the feel of the fit. I have a few customers/friends who have installed similar bars and they have mentioned this wrist angle as being a big part of the improvement in comfort as the miles add up. Andy

davei1980

Great idea! I even have a set of measuring calipers and some blue masking tape and a metric measuring tape at home!

Wilfred Laurier

If it is a new frame you are looking at, see if the manufacturer has a similar model designed for use with drop bars - it will almost certainly have a top tube a few cms shorter.

davei1980

Thanks all, very helpful!

As mentioned above, my Ridley XBow is a CX bike with short everything, made for drop bars. I like it in its current config. with ghetto aerobars.

I want to build a 27.5+ rigid bike and the Crust Scapegoat is appealing to me but has 65mm longer top tube.

I have also ridden the Jones Plus LWB with these bars in the SM and MED sizes with 584 and 609mm top tubes, respectively (I just found out these lengths, Jeff Jones is somewhat secretive about the details of geometry). The SM fit just fine and the MED was even better with 50mm stems so I am now a little LESS apprehensive that the MED size Scapegoat with the 590mm top tube will work.

See below for picks of my current ride, the Crust Scapegoat and the Jones Plus LWB:

Crankycrank

I think you would have better luck by mounting the new bars on your current bike, find a comfortable setup and then do your measuring. As mentioned having such a different wrist angle is going to change your riding position enough that just measuring hand position distances between the two different bars is not going to transfer into rider feel.

Wilfred Laurier

Look at the Crust 'Evasion' - good for 26+ and 650B up to 2.5", but designed around a drop bar so shorter top tube.

davei1980

I don't have the Jones H Bar yet but there is a guy on Seattle Craigslist with a used carbon fiber H bar and he's willing to ship.... soooooo tempting.......

Good advice by the way and thank you

nomadmax 

What kind of pedal retention system is that on the bike with the H bars?

davei1980

You mean the Crust Scapegoat? I have seen them advertised, it's like a strap which goes diagonally across your foot.

Call it a compromise, I don't care, but I am happy with my platform/SPD combo pedals I am using now. Not the lightest things ever but they work well on my commute and just tooling around with my kids in street shoes....

GamblerGORD53

How tall are you?? Looks like 6'+ in your pic. The Ridley is obviously too small for any other bar.
If anything the 590 TT will be a bit small too. You will not need a shorter stem for sure. The Jones bar is very wide, but likely OK for you.
I am 5'8" and made my custom tourer with old style 70d swept upright bars with 6" grip area, so back farther than the Jones B. My TT is 610 and stem is now 76mm with 13d rise. I still get knee overlap with sharp turns.
Actually my other 1973 CCM 3 spd has a slack 23" ST and 23 1/2" TT with a level 70mm stem. Fits perfect, with the same SB bar. I have had 3 different width bars, 47.5 to 51 cm CC. I liked the one half way the best.

nomadmax 

Diagonal straps aren't a compromise to me, I used them in NORBA races

davei1980

I am exactly 5 8 with long appendages.

My Ridley is compact in every way - it's a CX race bike 1st, I just have it set up for commuting and I have tubeless gravel tires on it.

I am not thinking of putting a Jones H bar on my Ridley because I think it's just too compact, not without at least switching to my 100mm stem (70 mm stem w/ 45 rise pictured.)

Thanks for your input on the 590mm frame (Crust Scapegoat) I am pondering - let me leave you with this and you can let me know what you think:

I test-rode a Jones Plus LWB with the Jones H Bar in two sizes: SM and MED. The small has a 563mm top tube and the MED has a 588mm top tube. Both had a 50mm stem or close to it. The small fit me well in the legs but the cockpit was a little cramped. The Med fit better but standover at 31.5" was too tall. If I were to buy one I would get the small and put a 75mm stem on it.

The Crust frame I am posting about here has about a 29" standover (perfect) and 590mm top tube so I am thinking I can marry the benefits of the lower standover and the roomier cockpit. I can always add up to about 60mm or subtract about 15mm of reach with the stem.

It's worth noting both the Jones bikes I test rode had a set back seatpost.

Kapusta

"Reach" and "top tube length" are not the same thing. The former (the horizontal distance from the BB to top of the head tube) is a more useful means of comparing how two frames will fit.

You have to be careful using just top tube lengths for comparing how frames will fit. The problem you can run into is that they are not directly comparable if the seat tube angles are different.

davei1980

thanks! I thought back to my test ride on the Plus LWB mentioned earlier - it just so happens that bike and the crust scapegoat have identical seat tube and head tube angles (73/69, respectively) so i am sure that’s a better guide than my current Ridley.

davei1980

nice!!! I meant MY pedals are a compromise, not the strapped ones

those handlebars are next level!!

Ironfish653

Scott AT-4's
I had a pair back in the day; I wrapped them in OffTheFront neon orange cheetah tape, though.
Wish I still had them, they'd be fun on a city bike.
Think I had that Pro-tec helmet, too, lol.

davei1980

I did a little more research -

The Jones Plus LWB has a ETT length of 24.0" (the bike I have ridden and feel comfy on, except a bit too tall) - fitted with 50mm stem on my ride

The Crust Scapegoat has a 24.4" ETT length. I can put a 40mm stem on it to shorten the reach by about 0.4"

I plan on using the same bars as I test rode the Plus LWB with. Both bikes have a 69 degree eff. seat tube angle and a 73 degree head tube angle.

They should fit very similarly in the reach, then, correct?

I like the Crust Scapegoat a little better for a few reasons, just making sure the Medium size will fit ok because the small size is built around 26" wheels, not 27.5+

well biked

Power Grips! I hadn't seen or thought of those for a long time. NIce photo ^