COBikeLover

I have a Jones SG 2.5 Aluminum Loop H-Bar that I have been riding with for a few weeks now. I generally do a lot of long distance rides and eventually would like to get to touring. I like the bar a lot for multiple hand positions but I put in a lot of miles and have pain in both hands now during rides. The pain develops on the outside of the hands where the wrist meets the hand. This pain comes from holding my hands in the normal riding position on the bars in the sweep for long miles. I like these bars a lot, but I don't think that is a type of discomfort I want to live with long term.


Anyone else have any problems long distance with these bars?


Is anyone using these bars on touring bikes? I stopped in a local Surly shop here and was talking to them about all this. They sell Jones bars there and do custom builds with it on other bikes, just not LHT's. I asked them about these bars on Surly LHT and the like and they said they have "never" had a custom build where someone wanted Jones Loop bars on their Surly LHT. I was surprised by this. I asked them about "Trekking" bars and they said they have never done a build with one of those types of bars either. I thought maybe more people were doing other things besides drop down bars for touring on LHT's, but I guess this isn't really the case after speaking with them about it.


I was also curious because I was thinking about getting a Trekking handlebar to try next in comparison to these bars because of the pain in my wrists and see how that goes. Or I was thinking about Velo Orange Crazy bar for more control on descends when you want to put your hands more forward and crouch down more. Although I would think the Crazy bar would have a tendency to cause the same problems in the wrist because your hands are still in the "sweep" part of the bar for long distance rides and I think keeping your hand cocked at that angle for a while is causing the problem.

Stormsedge

COBikeLover

I thought of putting the Ergonomic grips on the Jones bars, but I have the longer Jones SG 2.5 Aluminum Loop H-Bar , and to be honest, I kind of like the Jones EVA H-Grips I also bought. Not sure how the Egronomic grips would help me in this case.


I am seriously thinking about trying those Velo Orange Crazy bars. Mainly because the Jones bars can be a little nerve wracking getting down into a crouched forward position on those bars on steep downhills when it comes to "control and stability," if you put your hands on the forward bar. But first I think I am going to try Trekking/Butterfly Handlebars first just to have something to compare this all to other than flatbars or drops.

At the same token, I don't want to take anything away from the Jones Bars. I still have some dialing in to do with adjustments, and my bars have a 2" rise on them out of the box...so I am looking at a shorter 45mm stem (currently have 90mm) and see if that helps as well. Sounds like an Oxymoron, but although I was talking about control and stability issues downhill in one spot, I have found in general though, the bars stabilizes the bike in other areas I wasn't expecting and found out through serendipity. When you have your hands in normal positions on these bars, stability and control is certainly not an issue on these bars and the opposite in many ways.

Having to adjust for the "wideness" is another issue though. You won't fit two people through the same corridor as me with these bars because of how wide they are and one of the trade offs. With a mirror on these bars, you won't fit through a regular wide external doorway. But that is getting away from the issue I guess.

fietsbob

You tape wrap it all, so use more hand positions, ?

or just have round grips on the ends .. ?

Stormsedge

Carbonfiberboy 

There's a simple reason that ordinary road drop bars are used almost exclusively for long distance riding and it's not because of any aero advantage. They are the most comfortable bar and offer many different hand positions. So there's a reason that all the road bikes in your LBS have drop bars. City bikes meant for short distances commonly have other bars shapes which provide fewer gripping choices.

That said, here's a primer on hand pain: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...l#post12953035 and one on hand positions: Drop Bar Hand Positions: an Introduction

fietsbob

Maybe your US bike shop, but...

European companies developed the trekking bar figure 8 bend ...
as many bikes sold there had flat bars..

and it offered many, similar benefits, with, as I have found, a simpler installation.

there is that ocean of difference , Atlantic ..