CrimsonKarter21

I've got to say that it's rare that I give many bike parts a thumbs down, but i've got to give these a pair.

No cable grooves, and an odd curve, making Sram shifter mounting odd to say the least. They also seem to be really narrow, though I haven't measured them, with an oddly short reach for a classic drop bar.

However, they are stiff. I'll probably be keeping them on my bike until I can get another stem/bar combo. The Arc 130mm stem I got was nice though, even though PBK sent my a -6º instead of the -17º I'd actually ordered.

roadiejorge 

There's an FSA model that's also like that where the advertised width isn't accurate because it is narrower toward the top of the curve by a centimeter. Did you check that they size center to center because some manufacturers measure it differently.

ridethecliche

I know deda measures it differently, but everyone knows about that...

CK, what happened to the deda deep drops you love?

CrimsonKarter21

I just gave the bars another look. They are definetely narrower on the tops than the drops. The drops probably flare out a good 1-1.5cm from the tops.

Stupid. I can't wait until I get new bars.

Bifnasty

You shouldn't be saying this I was planning on the Rotundo's to make my new build......I did noticed that they have no groove whatsoever......and my vanity does not like that....

Second Mouse

I've got a set of Rotundos and am also unimpressed, but for different reasons.

4cmd3

Which Rotundo's are you using? LTD, Team or Pro?

PS. The stem is the "Arx"

grolby

Heh, I couldn't disagree more. I LOVE my Rotundos, and I thought that mounting my SRAM levers on them worked beautifully. Nice, gentle ramp to the hoods, easy to reach and use when hammering in the drops. They're shallow for a classic bar, but 135mm is a good deal deeper than many modern ergo bars. I wasn't expecting to be all that impressed, having previously been a fan of real deep drop bars with near-constant radius bends, but I've been totally blown away by these. I've ridden them since April and they're already hands down my favorite handlebar ever.

By the way, no cable grooves is a GOOD thing. Cable grooves suck. Hard.

Here's a photo of my bike with Rotundos. Note SRAM Rival levers:


3T, it seems, can do no wrong. I LOVE these handlebars.

Mounting tip: the old-school straight-edge along the bottom of the bars method works like a charm with these bars. Perfect. Angle them ever-so-slightly downward. Ah. Comfy.

grolby

No, do it! CK and Second Mouse are the first negative reviews I've seen. Try them for yourself. A lot of folks seem to like this bar. It's really a matter of different preferences. Kind of like saddles; the bars some people rave about (like I do about the Rotundo), others will hate (like CK).

MONGO!

The Rotundo will be my next bar, moving the ergosum to my cross bike.

weavers

hijacking the thread:

i'm looking for a compact/shallow 26mm bar under 50bucks. i don't want to replace my stem(unless i can get a 25buck bar and a 25buck stem), but i am looking for soemthing with a 80mm reach and a shallow drop. i'd perfer classic bends and don't care about oval bars or flat tops. weight isn't an issue either.

Bifnasty

Yeah, I am still going to use them at least to try them out. I traditional drop bar not long ago on a <30 minute ride and I liked the feel compared to my anatomic bars I use now. I just cant find a good hand position in the drops and want to give them a try. My groupset should be in on Monday (thanks Psimet) and then I can get serious about the build.

Will report back....

CrimsonKarter21

No cable grooves are a bad thing. I don't want to grab onto a chunky piece of cush to control my bike.

If I covered up the labels on these bars, a lot of riders would have a hard time believing that these were made after the 80's criterium boom.

grolby

Cable grooves make for a weaker, floppier bar and don't improve comfort. All IMO, of course.

And actually, they are nothing like criterium bars.

CrimsonKarter21

They are everything like the old criterium bars; they're really narrow, short drop, short reach, narrower on the tops than the drops, no cable grooves.

grolby

Let's try this one more time.

Criterium bar:


NOT a criterium bar or even CLOSE to one:


There is a significant difference. Sheesh, I don't care if you don't like the product, but don't compare it to a radically different design and say that it is "everything like" it. They are totally different. It's a traditional road bend, but better-designed than the traditional Italian bars that it is based on. That includes the depth, 139mm, which is not shallow by any standard used today. Deda deep drops are 6mm deeper. That's it.

CrimsonKarter21

Alright. I'm going to admit it. I'm wrong.

Both about the similarity to criterium bars (though not all of them were like that; admit it) and the 3T bars themselves.
I actually like them a lot. The depth is just right, as well as the bend of the drops. I'm still not a fan of the way the shifters sit, but it could be a lot worse. The cable routing isn't what I'm used to, but it's not awful.

I give these a belated thumbs up.

Sea Green Sky

Whatever happened to inside-the-bar cable routing?

rm -rf

FSA Omega Compact bar
These are narrower at the bend than the stated width. I really like the shallow drop, with lots of hand positions. I would rather have a sharper curve from the top to the shifters. I used a 10mm longer stem with these than with my previous bars; they are really short reach.

Cheap, but a bit heavy at about 300+ grams.

grafik1979

Good - these are the bars I'm looking to get soon.

grolby

They do grow on you. I was skeptical, initially. I've never heard of a criterium bar that looked much different than the photo I linked to, but those were well before my time so there may be variants I'm not aware of.

People realized that drilling holes in a handlebar maybe wasn't the best idea? I don't know.

To be clear, I'm not anti-groove per se, I just don't think they're the greatest thing ever... and you can make a stiffer, lighter bar without them.

karesz3

Rotundo is great. It has a longer reach, so you can actually use a lot more hand positions. It's also very stiff.
look_black_r2.jpg

Flatballer

Where do you route the cables (especially non-Shimano) if you don't have grooves? Underneath, on the back?

It seems like it would be uncomfortable, but I dunno.


I'm researching what bar/stem combo I want for my new bike. I don't really know what kind of bars I like. I'm currently using some Ritchey Ergo bars (dunno which model), and they're fine, I don't really think about them, so I guess that's the idea.

ridethecliche

I used campy on old school cinelli bars without any grooves.

As long as you position them where your fingers indent, they're fine.

grolby

Brake cables go on the front, shift cables on the back (SRAM and I think Ergopower do let you run shift cables along the front along with the brakes). They should be halfway down or lower. Running shift cables right is no hindrance at all to comfort, and may actually improve it (not necessarily relative to grooved bars, just compared to no cables). Once you wrap, the grip area effectively becomes more oval than round, which is a better match to the shape of your grip. Think of those drop bars with the broader, oval tops - you get a little bit of that from the cables. At worst, no effect on comfort at all. It's just a matter of what you're used to.