canklecat

(Oops, I meant to post this to the general forum. Mods can move it if they wish.)

I'm wondering whether there are any reasons not to put swept back bars -- albatross, North Roads or similar -- on this Globe Carmel comfort hybrid (compact frame, sloping down tube). I'm betting it would be more comfortable on days when back and neck pain would discourage me from riding at all, especially on my rigid fork mountain bike.

I resumed cycling in summer 2015 with this bike, after a 30-year hiatus. Back and neck injuries (including a permanently damaged C2) make it impractical and sometimes painfully uncomfortable to ride drops or even low flat bars. The flat bar pictured below are about as low as I can manage for rides up to 60 miles in a day (with occasional breaks to stretch and rest).

The Globe Carmel original came with slight riser bars, the type commonly found on mountain bikes. After a year back in the saddle I wanted to lower the bars a bit, but the long quill stem won't go any lower than shown in the photo (a bit lower will put the wedge in the sloped inner head tube section, not reliably secure). The quill stem is upright with no extension. It's a very strong four bolt clamp design, so a shim could be used if needed.

The black flat bar shown in the photo came from a 1992 Univega Via Carisma I bought in August 2016. The flat bar was too low and stretched out for comfort so I swapped with the Globe. The Globe's riser bar was perfect for the Univega, shortening the reach about an inch and placing the grips slightly above saddle height.

The Globe with the flat bar feels much livelier and more efficient when climbing hills. It's not uncomfortable. But after trying a friend's city bike fitted with an albatross bar I realized I could be even more comfortable without sacrificing much efficiency.

My friend rides a Gary Fisher Simple City 8 and Jamis Commuter 3, both originally equipped with riser bars similar to mine, but replaced with albatross bars. When I first rode with him I thought his riding position seemed inefficient. His arms are nearly fully extended, with the grips near thigh level and near the knees. But we've ridden together many times the past year and he consistently drops me on climbs, pushes me to my fitness limits (16 mph average) and looks incredibly relaxed the whole time.

I tried his bike Sunday and while the frame was too small and saddle too low, it gave me a very good impression of comfort and efficiency. On sprints and climbs the downward pressure on the pedals felt very well balanced against the normal grip on the handlebars -- better than my Globe Carmel with flat bars.

There was some toe overlap, probably due to the smaller frame and my fairly large feet. And I usually prefer platform pedals with my foot's arch centered over the pedal axle, rather than the ball of the foot centered over the axle. That wouldn't be a problem with my own bike.

I also noticed the albatross bars interfered with tight turns at slow speeds. Probably not a problem with normal cycling speeds. But I'm wondering whether I'd need to adapt to less aggressive slow speed turning maneuvers with albatross bars, and perhaps North Roads or similar bars with angled grips might be better.

My friend suggested my Univega Via Carisma with horizontal top tube might be a better candidate for albatross bars, but I'd rather leave that bike set up as it is now for days when my back and neck aren't bothering me. It feels great as-is on good days.

But making the comfort hybrid more comfortable? Seems like a win if the swept back bars are compatible.

sunburst

As I've aged I've converted most of my road bikes to uprights (4 so far with 2 more in the works). I've got one flat bar folding bike that is a perfect fit, but my most expensive bike (carbon, Dura-Ace) is still drop bar, and I can't seem to make it fit, even though it's designed for comfort, a Giant OCR C-1, iirc. So I'm thinking of putting risers on that.

At any rate, my uprights have : Nitto albatross, Dove, Promenade, and North Road bars. I'm so used to this riding position that it seems like normal and I hardly notice the aerodynamic hit. Nitto Promenades actually have one model with zero rise, which had the effect of hitting your knees in low speed turns (sold those - couldn't even make them work with a tall Technomic stem). Another Promenade has a great deal of rise and they come straight back at you, essentially parallel with the top tube. Avoid these also if you are concerned about speed, or control for that matter. Great for putting around and taking in the scenery though. The other three I mention are fine and I like them all. The Albatross are pretty wide and feel very stable. I got mine on cl, and was shocked at the retail price when I saw them at a SF bike shop last week. My North Road are a cheap chromed steel knockoff, but I like them.

But for this to work, you've got to get everything tweaked reasonably well: stem height, length, and saddle position. You should be able to set the Albatross without the knee problem you described. If I remember I'll post some photos of my bars mounted tomorrow.

canklecat

Thanks. I'm leaning toward a swept back bar with no rise, or very low rise flipped upside down. The tall quill stem can be elevated if needed.

sunburst

An interesting bar, the Midge, that I put on this Trek touring bike. It's used for adding (shallow) drop bars to Mtn bikes. It has a pronounced flair out to the sides. It's an ergonomic marvel.

sunburst

If you want zero rise with lots of pullback, here's one of the Nitto Promenades (they have three different models). This is paired with a Nitto Technomic stem. This bar setup was just weird, so it sold on cl.

sunburst

Nitto Dove bars. Very elegant, imo. Very hard to find. Rivendell used to carry them.

sunburst

$15 Northroad clone (Sunrise?), again on a Technomic stem. A great inexpensive solution.

sunburst

Albatross. Got no complaints about this, but it is $$$. Feels great though.

due ruote 

The VO Porteur bars are quite nice. They have a very slight drop, although some people flip them for a bit of rise. You can get multiple hand positions on them, almost like a variation on a mustache bar. And they come in a road bar diameter version if you want to use road levers and/or barend shifters.

canklecat

Thanks, much appreciated. Some of those look like what I'm aiming for. The Midge and mustache bars probably won't work for me, at least not with that brake lever configuration. Besides the back and neck issues I also have occasional bouts of arthritis pain in the wrists and hands that make odd control positions uncomfortable. I'd need the brake levers to fall naturally under my hands and fingers, with a good grip rather than bar tape.

And I see a familiar, inexpensive and friendly bit of gear -- the Sunrace friction shifters. I got a set a couple of months ago intended it as a temporary fix for a glitchy Shimano RapidFire thumb shifter for my 1992 mountain bike's front derailer. It kept skipping over the middle ring on downshifts and I got tire of disassembling and cleaning it. But the Sunrace thumby turned out to be so functional and easy to use for dialing out chain rub I'm in no hurry to replace the original RapidFire shifter.

The Globe Carmel shown above came with Shimano Revoshift twisty grip shifters, and I have a spare new set, but I may eventually switch it to the Sunrace friction thumbies too.

blakcloud

Albatross bar in the photo below. Since the bar sweeps back so far, I opted for a longer stem to compensate. I tried a 100 but now I think it is a 120. I paired this with Ergon Grips and now Ergon make a style for pulled back bars, which you might want to check out.

sunburst

I like those shifters! Make/model?

blakcloud

Shimano Dura Ace bar end shifters mounted to Paul thumbies.

Grand Bois

Albatross bars swept back too much for me, so I sawed off about an inch and a half.

canklecat

I may need to do that as well. The Globe Carmel's stem has no extension, it's just a big strong fist sticking straight up. So I'll probably need to trim the ends of the bar.

A swept back bar with a slight rise might be a good idea as well for my bike. If I can't get the stem low enough I could always flip the bar.

I've ridden three times this week, since the crash last Sunday, and the back and rib spasms have persuaded me a swept back bar has got to be be more comfortable than the flat bar.

None of the local shops I've visited this week has a bike in my size with swept back bars, but I got a rough idea of how it might fit from the smaller women's size bikes with those bars.

Retro Grouch 

Every bike has just one purpose - to absolutely delight only one person in the entire world. Your responsibility is to do whatever is necessary to help it along. There's lots of different handlebars and "stuff". That's because there are folks who like, and who hate, every single one.

So you've already tried a friend's bike with an albatross bar and you liked it. That's the only opinion that counts.

SquidPuppet

Upright and swept back are musts for my comfort and relaxed riding pace.

$10.86 from Husky Industrial bike. I cut them to achieve my desired reach and width, glue on $4.95 grips that are comfy as hell. Then I wrap them in expensive leather because I am a weirdo. Oh, and the extra hand positions are nice too.

sunburst

This is another style of Nitto Promenade. Wasn't going to post them until I saw the Husky bars. Very similar with a pronounced nise. This puts the rider in a very upright position, so not very efficient, but they are so appropriate for this bike. In fact, I've got another mixte I'm going to add a triple and use for the hills of SF, and these bars are a dilemma. I've got another very similar set by VO (and two or three competing styles that are a bit more efficient), but love these bars on this bike.



ps. this may seem familiar to another I posted. Well, I've got four white Peugeots, two are mixtes. So for some big time diversity among my collection, I bought a blue Peugeot mixte a couple of months ago. What can I say, love Peugeots, love mixtes. And this one is a 56cm. Fits me great.

sunburst

Retro, thx for posting this. You just justified my whole vintage collection!

SquidPuppet

I searched for that bend for years and years to no avail. Then by shear dumb luck I stumbled onto those Husky bars. I wanted wide bottoms by the stem for the extra hand position.

Nitto Bosco bar at $97.00 vs Husky. Is the bend similar enough? It is for me.

PS, I dig you Mixtes.

canklecat

Thanks for the Husky tip. That's more in line with my budget for this Globe comfort hybrid. I like the Nitto and Velo bars, but I'm on a Husky and Dimension handlebar budget.

somepetalhead

I know this is a old post but the baby bosco bars are a smaller version of the bosco (less width and cost about $30 bucks cheaper) and happen to be the tits