mstateglfr 

The bars I am thinking about replacing are Ritchey WCS Curve in 46cm.

I like the 73mm reach and 128mm drop, but wish the drops extended further back. In 46mm, they weigh 277g which is really good, at least compared to what I see in that same width online.

Any suggestions that are a similar drop, reach, and weight- but with drops that extend further?
Closest I've found the Zipp Service Course SL 80 with 125mm drop, 80mm of reach, and probably 295g in the 46mm width.

Below is the current bar.

aliasfox

The FSA Omega Compact has similar dimensions, might be worth a look. Even if they don't extend any further, they're relatively flat on the bottom. I have them on my Lynskey, and I like them.

jideta

Deda RHM 01 or 02
I think they are 75/130.
Discontinued so cheap enough to try.

str8jakett

Seconded. Ten years on the Omega Compact, currently on it's fourth bike.

Sy Reene

Deda looks like a good option, even the Zero 100s may fit the bill. Fizik Cyrano R3 "Bull" perhaps.. though a bit larger than OP's original bars (80/130).

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/.../rp-prod166246

Kimmo 

Just go with champagne cork bar plugs.

Clipped_in

I'm a big fan of Zipp aluminum bars. My go-to is the Service Course SL-70 Ergo.

noodle soup

I have the CF version of those bars, and love the shape.

The tops sweep back slightly, and are a little flatter shaped.

mstateglfr 

I had dismissed the 70 model based on a compilation drawing of the 3 bars- the shape didnt look like what I want. But looking at pics, the 70 looks good. The drawing had a noticeable flat spot near the hooks, almost ergo style.

Thanks- Ill consider the 70. It would mean not changing a stem since its close enough to my current bars, which would be great!

zatopek

3T Ergosum Pro

tagaproject6

Another option is to move the shifters further up cloer to the tops and tilting the bar down forward. It will effectively shorten the tops and extend the bottoms a few millimeters.

seau grateau

+1 I feel like a lot of people place their shifters in weird places on the bars like this. You get a flat transition to the hoods but the drops are basically unusable.

mstateglfr 

For what it's worth, the hooks and drops are totally useable in current setup and often utilized.
I would just like more drop space. If my drops came back another few cm, that'd be fantastic since it would be like another hand position.

canklecat

Another vote for the FSA Omega Compact. Outstanding value. I've had one on one bike for several weeks. Combined with a 90mm FSA stem, it significantly improved the fit of that bike. Shorter reach on the hoods to offset the longer brifter hoods, but same drop length as my other bars.

It's similar to the Soma Highway One bar a friend has on his older steel bike, but for threadless instead of quill stems.

I like it so well I'll probably get another for a Diamondback Podium frame I'm cobbling together from bits and pieces from the parts bin. I have some spare drop bars already, including a nice older Nitto compact drop, but that FSA Omega Compact suits me pretty well.

tagaproject6

You can try the free option first and see how you like them. You don't even have to move the shifters yet. Just rotate/tilt the bars more downward to extend the useable space on the drops. If you feel you have enough, then you can move the shifters up higher on the bars.

Voodoo76

Used to ride Zipp bars and really liked the shape overall. However I've spent the last 5 years on 3T Ergonova, both AL and Carbon. Similar in drop/reach & I really find the oval shaped tops to be a significant improvement in comfort over any round bar I've ridden.

Clem von Jones

I also think it would be desirable to have the lower bars extend backward about an inch more they generally do. That area would be ideal to rest on when spinning up long-duration climbs. The 4 degree outward bend of the lowers on some FSA bars is really nice too. My ideal handlebars would have those two features and also flat tops. Origin 8 has several intriguing new drop bars out but I haven't studied them yet.

canklecat

Ditto. That's what I like about the FSA Omega compact drops. My various drop bars range from 40 to 44 across the hoods and usually 2cm wider in the drops. But the drops were too deep to use comfortably for long. And while my wider bars are comfortable there's a lot more aerodynamic drag. I'm 40 across the shoulders so I don't need wider bars, even though they're comfortable and I like 'em on my casual bikes.

I got the Omegas in 38 across the hoods (40 in the drops) and found them comfortable to get into the drops for climbs. Just enough wider to help expand the chest. Nice to have a choice between the hoods, bar tops and drops for climbs, whether it's longer gradual climbs or short, steep sprint-climbs.

Reportedly Chris Hoy prefers 38 wide bars on his road bike, which is surprising considering his muscular physique. So I figured it was worth a shot defying the current conventional wisdom and going narrower. Worked for me.

Recently our roadie club has sponsored some steel bike rides for the B-group. It's been interesting to be reminded that narrower drops were pretty common on those 1970s-'80s bikes. Plenty of 38 wide bars, both across the hoods and drops since some of those bars didn't flare out in the drops. With the right bike and bar tape they look pretty darned good too.

A friend recently put some Soma Highway One drops on his '80s Bridgestone. The profile sure looks just like the FSA Omega. I may take a closer look next time I see him. Might try a set of those on my Ironman, although I'm pretty satisfied with the original Win Pistas and a sweet Nitto B65LL that's a similar classic crit style bar with just a wee bit less reach and drop, sort of a dinky version of classic crit bars.

Problem with choosing bars is most manufacturers and sellers don't do a good job of showing off the profiles, contours and relative sizes. It's hard to photograph, I suppose. I was sold on the FSA Omega by a demo video from a bike shop. The Full Speed Ahead manufacturer's website has minimal illustrations and doesn't do a good job of selling the benefits of their own products.

canklecat

Another bar type that's tricky to pin down is the Cinelli Eubios type. Not sure if there's a catchword that describes this 1990s bar type -- multi-angled drops rather than swoopy curves.

I got one of those Cinellis from a friend and tried 'em on two bikes but couldn't figure out how to set them up correctly. I used a Google photo search for reference and set 'em up like some folks did, with the bar tipped forward/upward. And it felt weird: too long across the hoods; really off balance in the drops.

Only after removing them and digging them out of the box recently did it occur to me I was setting them up wrong. I should have set them up with the final short straight segment of the bar ends horizontal with the ground. This would shorten the reach across the hoods and provide a more natural wrist angle in the drops. I'll try them again on another bike someday. At the moment I'm thinking of converting my Univega from albatross to drop bars, using these Cinellis.

Here are the various iterations my 1993 Trek 5900 has been through this year before settling on the FSA Omega compact drops.



Nitto B65LL. Later I tipped the bar downward slightly so the drops were closer to parallel with the ground.

*****


Cinelli Eubios. This angle was all wrong and the bike never felt comfortable. Didn't occur to me until later to tip the bar farther forward/downward to get the bar ends parallel, then move the brake levers/hoods up a bit. This was with downtube shifters, before I switched to brifters.

*****


FSA Omega compact drops, before bar wraps. The shorter reach offset the extended hoods that felt too stretched out. And the drops are actually useful now. But I may go with a longer stem as my physical therapy progresses and I regain neck flexibility. The 90mm stem may be just a little too short, although it's comfortable.

jadocs

3T Erogonova