curiousabe

Looking for a different handlebar with a more modern shape, i.e. not as big of a drop and flat tops. The handlebar I have now feel too big in all dimensions and I dont like the ergo shape ;(

Any suggestions? Has to be 38 or 40cm wide with 26mm clamp size, perferbly in silver. The Soma HWY 1 looks perfect but am having a hard time finding one available in Europe.

Mr. 66

That is a very long stem you have 120-130 mm, I would try a 90-100mm before new bars.

DanseMacabre

The Soma Highway one comes very recommended. I came from a Cinelle Nerve ergobar in 42cm and went for the Soma in 38cm and it was a lovely experience, standing on the first climb and feeling that compact handlebar.
You can buy it in the Soma webshop, but I think only with credit card. On Ebay they are for sale as well for a similar price.
The bend is a bit sharp, so it takes a bit of care moving it through a quill stem.

There is also the Nitto M151f handlebar in compact size and 40cm, probably 38cm too. I wan't sure if the reach was 7,5cm or 8cm or 8,5cm, I saw different measurements listed and the photo's didn't give me any clarity. For a safe bet I went with the Soma.

/edit
Just checked, the Nitto M151f should exist in 38cm, but I cannot easily find it in stock in the German webshops. It seems to have a reach of 7,8cm, so it should be really compact. I also don't see it on Ebay, only the M106nas in 26.0 and 38cm width. I have no idea about the difference between Nitto M151f and M106nas.

obrentharris 

I understand your dilemma. The combination of vintage drop bars and brifters makes for some weird ergonomics. Flat tops on modern bars are so much more comfortable with brifters. Unfortunately most of the modern bars are black and have a larger clamp diameter, but the bars you seek are available used, most of them from the era of 8-speed. You might get some ideas from the retro-roadies thread.
Brent

CMAW 

The Nitto is M151, try https://www.santucci-cycles.com/. There's also the Deda Piega 26 and a 26 compact bar from Procraft, but these probably only come in black.

Schweinhund

I have a 3T Forma SL Ergopower bar in a 40x26 that I find comfortable, but silver it's not.

icemilkcoffee 

Don't know if this is available in Europe, but Dimension Short Drop bars are available in silver and 40cm
https://www.rei.com/product/211887/d...drop-handlebar

mgopack42 

I bought a Soma HWY one short reach and drop bar for my Masi 3V because I wanted to set it up with Ergo Power brake levers and I needed bars that worked with riding on the drops. I got it all set up and took it for a ride... the handling went to Sh*t! I noticed right away, and on decents, it was even worse. Looking down, I could see that the short reach bar, had moved my entire center of mass backwards a lot! (when looking down at the front hub, the entire hub appeared in front of the handlebars.) I fixed the problem by getting a longer stem. I went from a 90 to a 120, and the handling magically was back to the way I expected. I have never used a stem this long, since I am kind of a "stubby" short torso guy. I only mention this because you have a pretty long stem alreay, and longer might be hard to find. (although I saw a lot of this particular stem NIB in the 145 range when I was looking for a 120 TTT Record 84.



P.S. THere is a Fondriest hanging on teh wall just out of frame in my stem picture. I was my wife's daily ride for almost two decades, a more gorgeous bike i have never seen!
Gratuitous Fondriest pic:

curiousabe

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Went with this Procraft Road Pro Compact Classic Handlebars, unfortunately in black but 38cm/26mm in silver, in europe, seems very hard to find
https://www.bike-components.de/en/Pr...lebars-p20934/


Intersting, I actually swapped out my 130mm stem (pictured in my first post in this thread) to a 100mm one but will keep this in mind! And yea, Fondriest made some pretty looking bikes