ever1ast15

Anyone running the Jones Loop bars on a Trek 520. I am thinking about changing my stock drop bar handlebars out and I want a more upright sitting position and this the Jones will work. Would like to hear from someone who did this already.

fietsbob

Ask people about the bars separately from also needing to own the same bike as you bought .. as a combination.

did you buy the bars yet ? , have you looked for images of other peoples use of those bars on diverse bikes ,

not just Trek 520?

veganbikes

I have been using the Surly Moloko bars on my Parts hybrid for a little while and it was been quite nice. I like the multiple hand positions but then again I moved from flat bars on that bike. My current touring bike is still using drop bars along with several other bikes in the stable. I have also tried out the VO Crazy Bars and like those quite a bit. I did briefly try the Jones bars but couldn't really give much feedback as it was literally a short test ride and I felt the stem was too short for me on that particular bike (I believe a Disc Trucker) but the concept seemed right and I think I would end up loving them (especially in Ti).

Certainly an alternative bar would work fine on your bike but you will have to get new parts to make everything work shifting and brake wise and you may find out they don't work. They may work well but you won't know till you try it but you might need to also figure out stem length and angle and such. However I recommend trying alt-bars because they can be quite nice.

seeker333

That's going to be an awfully upright / short reach combination - drop bars locate your hands up to ~100mm in front of stem center, while Jones Loop bar locate your hands 100mm behind stem center. I recommend you try finding the JL bar at a LBS so that you may measure and estimate the likely change to your grip location and resulting posture.

Assuming this is typical older Trek 520, in addition to the cost of a JL bar you'll need compatible brake and shift levers, and cantilever brakes are not compatible with MTB levers, so you will have to change brakes to Vee type, or use a cable pull adapter (V brakes are probably cheaper than adapters). Plus you may need a longer, larger bar clamp diameter stem. And you might need to replace cables and housing. So about 200-275 bucks....

Rick

I currently have the Crazy Bar from Velo Orange. It is a more direct replacement for a drop bar. It has enough hand positions also. After trying the Jones bars and trekking bars the Crazy Bar is a keeper for me. I read the article about it from cyclingabout

revcp 

It's counterintuitive, but the Jones bar actually requires a shorter stem than drops. I really liked my Jones bars on my Surly. Interestingly, considering the unique challenge of sizing for you, in building up a Soma DoubleCross for a friend, I put the Surly Moloko bars on for him. He loves them. The Jones bar is really the inspiration for the Moloko (and perhaps the Crazybar as well). I would recommend the 720mm for you instead of the 660mm.

schoolboy2 

I was of the same mind as the OP last spring. I swapped out my drop bars, shifters and brake levers for a Jones H-Bar. This seemed like a great solution for me as I was older and wanted to have a more upright position. What I hadn't figured on was how the change in riding position would affect my hands. With drop bars my hands spent more than 50% of the time on the hoods in a neutral position. With the H Bar my hands were now rotated 90 degrees to a flat position. I started having numbing issues during my training rides but ignored them as they resolved after a couple of hours off the bike. However, once my tour started, I was riding 6+ hours per day and the numbing didn't resolve each evening; instead it got steadily worse to the point where I had no dexterity in my right hand and had to suspend my three month tour after four weeks.

I shipped my bike home and flew home to spend the summer off my bike waiting for the damage to my Ulnar nerve to recover. It finally resolved after 8 weeks off the bike. I'm back to drop bars now.

There are plenty of endorsements for the H Bar in forums like this as well as many other on-line groups. I'm certain it works for many, many people. But it didn't work for me. Hopefully it will work for you.

BTW, the riding position, the MTB shifters and brakes, I loved everything about that setup ... except for the nerve damage.