Originally Posted by
ofajen
I keep a bell on the stem. On road bars, the tops need to be clear all the way to the stem. That is the optimal place to grip when doing high effort, seated climbs. Also why I will always prefer vintage handlebars with 25.4mm clamp area (no bulge). YMMV.
Otto
On a side note, I wonder how people reconcile the belief that narrower bars constrict breathing with the belief (or fact) that gripping the bars by the stem is the optimal position for high-effort climbs.