ganchan

I'm currently trying to dial in the ideal fit for my new North Road style handlebars, and I'm not sure what my expectations should be. For instance, currently my arms are pretty much straight, with almost no elbow bend -- does that indicate that the stem needs raising? (I'm not flipping the bars, because I prefer to be upright.) Also, I notice that the ends of the grips are kind of digging into my palms; should I tilt them downward slightly so that they feel more "parallel" with the insides of my hands?

I've already had my cables lengthened once, but I think if I were to raise the stem a tiny bit and at the same time tilt the grips downward by the same increment, the cable tension should be unaffected. Yes?

I realize that there are all kinds of little variations possible, and that everyone has different preferences. Just not quite sure what generalities I should be aiming for, if any.

fietsbob

consider a stem change ... shorter reach , greater Up angle. rotate the bars untill they are comfortable .

How it will effect your cables is only a Blind Guess without seeing the job in front of Me.

I'm not going to guess ..

ganchan

Had the stem raised just a tad and the grips tilted down just below level (no cable issues), and now everything feels pretty good. When I sit bolt upright I'm basically steering with my fingers, but most of the time I'll be leaning forward slightly.

What fascinates me is that uphill inclines feel like they require less effort now than they did when I was using a flat bar and positioned more aggressively. Which seems counterintuitive, unless my particular body type just gets better leverage in this position. Well, even if it's an illusion, I'll take it.

rex615

I have my Nitto North Roads angled downwards to match the angle of my hands. This angle will vary depending on how upright or how far from the bars you are but in general the bars will be more comfortable if you angle them because your wrist won't be at such a severe angle.

Gresp15C

I've got North Roads on all of my bikes now. The improvement in comfort was pretty profound for me. Granted, handlebar choice and setup is a personal matter -- adapting your bike to your body. But I can tell you how my bars are set up. My grips are about an inch above the level of the seat, horizontal. I ride with that sort of meaty part of my palms opposite my thumbs, on the grips. There's a fair amount of muscle there, because I play the double bass.

Also, I don't sit bolt upright. Sitting too straight seems to make it a lot harder to pedal, and makes my butt, thighs, and upper back hurt. So I'm hunched over a bit, but not a huge amount.

I suggest simply carrying the allen wrench, and trying a few adjustments while you ride. There have been times when I've had a bit of a problem with stiffness in my neck, so I raise my stem until it goes away. You can also get a longer or shorter stem. The possibilities for over-thinking this are endless.

Gresp15C

@rex615, sweet bike.

What's the idea behind the twin top tubes, other than looking cool?

rex615

Thanks.

The main reason is to restore triangulation to a larger frame. As a diamond frame gets larger and the head tube becomes longer, the frame starts to become less of a triangle and more like a rectangle. The second top tube braces the frame into a smaller triangle as though it were a smaller sized frame. Presumably it helps make the larger frame as stiff as the smaller versions.

It is an old technique, not used much today. Rivendell and Pashley still do with their larger frames, but it is at least in part for looks as you allude to. Many "third world bikes" such as the Flying Pigeon, do so to make frames stronger in order to survive the overloading and the bad roads to which their bikes are likely to be subjected.