rico_mack

Greetings,

I've recently purchased a 2001 Litespeed road bike and after 1k miles I've decided I want to make it my very own. So I am looking at replacing the current handlebars with the Richey Classic compact bars. The Richey bars are almost indentical to the bars on it so I know they will work. But I want silver bars not black because ... well I'm anal I guess. In any event the down side to the Richey's is there are no cable groves in them and I wonder if I ran both the shifter and brake cables under the bar tape without a grove how will this feel and look. I suspect the feel wouldn't be affected. But will it look ... bulky?

Are there other bars out there in the same price range as the Richey's (~$50) that one may recommend?
Thx,
Rick

eric1971

Have you looked at these?

Soma Hwy One Handlebars > Components > Handlebars > Drop Bars | Jenson USA

Dean V

Looks fine without a groove and I actually prefer the ovalised shape it give to the bar tops for comfort. I run both cables together along the front edge of the bar.

joejack951

I'm using Ritchey Classic bars on my Trek 660 with a Shimano 105 5800 group (both shifter and brake cables hidden under the tape on the front of the bar). No issues with the lack of a cable groove for installation, comfort, or looks. I can post some pics tomorrow if you really care to see how it looks.

caloso

I have had a couple sets of these. If you run the cables front and back, it makes a nice oval shape that I find very comfortable.

silversx80

I have them with the cables running under the tape on the front end. I spend most of my time on the hoods, or in the drops, do no comfort issues there. Great bars, and look really nice.

My only complaint is there aren't gradation marks to math lever positioning, so you really need to have a good eye, and trust your feel.

dirtydozen

I don't think internal routing should be a problem, worse case scenario its a little bit bulky under your bars, and your hands won't ever touch that and you won't be able to see it

rico_mack

I'd love to see pictures if you have 'em. But then I'd love see pictures even if you didn't Richey bars.

rico_mack

Thx to all who replied. Glad to see people using the richey bar don't see an issue running the cable under the tape w/o a grove. I'm have looked at the Soma Hwy bars and was considering them until i read a review where the reviewer had to rotate the bars too much to get a good flat position for the levers. They look like they are fairly close to the Richey's but ...