Best handlebars EVER! (for lanky blokes like me)
07-17-10, 06:00 AM
#1
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Best handlebars EVER! (for lanky blokes like me)
Lanky? Long, gorilla-like arms? Knuckles that trail on the ground? I too was cramped by diminutive handlebars built by midgets, until I discovered... This:
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=41345
Without a doubt the best handlebar ever. In fact I just ordered another one just in case because they are so damn cheap! I've been through all sorts of bars, first found that "ergo" bars are designed by gimps with a degree in ergonomics who have never actually ridden a bike before. Kinks and bends in all the wrong places. Also the flat part at the end was too short to be useable.
Classic bend bars were the answer, you can put your hand wherever you want. But I've got huge hands, so the curve of my Ritchey WCS bars was a bit too tight.
Compact wouldn't do the job because the position riding on the drops was basically the same as on the tops, I could either put them low and be aero and get a stiff back after a long ride, or high, and have to scrunch up horribly to get low down. The classic bend bars were better, but when I found these, I knew I'd found the holy grail. I can sit up easy on the tops when climbing, get relaxed but stretched onto the brake hoods, and get really low in the drops. Also when sprinting I'm pulled down really low on the ends of the bars, ideal. Better still there's no annoying groove down the back to give you carpal tunnel syndrome- just a slight groove to seat the cables at the front.
I think it's bizarre with the obsession with "bike fit" today, to see how many large frames are sold with compact bars. Apart from the impracticality of it, it looks hideous and disproportionate. If you are a lanky rider, give these a try. They really are the nuts.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=41345
Without a doubt the best handlebar ever. In fact I just ordered another one just in case because they are so damn cheap! I've been through all sorts of bars, first found that "ergo" bars are designed by gimps with a degree in ergonomics who have never actually ridden a bike before. Kinks and bends in all the wrong places. Also the flat part at the end was too short to be useable.
Classic bend bars were the answer, you can put your hand wherever you want. But I've got huge hands, so the curve of my Ritchey WCS bars was a bit too tight.
Compact wouldn't do the job because the position riding on the drops was basically the same as on the tops, I could either put them low and be aero and get a stiff back after a long ride, or high, and have to scrunch up horribly to get low down. The classic bend bars were better, but when I found these, I knew I'd found the holy grail. I can sit up easy on the tops when climbing, get relaxed but stretched onto the brake hoods, and get really low in the drops. Also when sprinting I'm pulled down really low on the ends of the bars, ideal. Better still there's no annoying groove down the back to give you carpal tunnel syndrome- just a slight groove to seat the cables at the front.
I think it's bizarre with the obsession with "bike fit" today, to see how many large frames are sold with compact bars. Apart from the impracticality of it, it looks hideous and disproportionate. If you are a lanky rider, give these a try. They really are the nuts.
07-17-10, 08:53 AM
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You should see the size of the bars that came on my girlfriend's 51cm bike. You'd probably like them. The reach is ridiculous. I don't know what happens when bikes are fitted with components but it ain't good.
07-17-10, 01:26 PM
#5
mechanically sound
Large gorilla-like arms on a size 40 bar? (seems to be the only size available at the link you posted)
