humancongereel

hmmm. well...hmmm...i've had both...anyway, those are the ones currently on my rig.

vinnydelnegro

bringin this thread back from the dead. i've been thinking about going to flipped and chopped bullhorns. i want to put the brake levers at the end of the horns and i also want to be able to tuck the cables under the bar tape. i've seen some folks that use time trial levers, but the curve at the end of the horns seems to put the lever really far from your hands. i'd be happy to use normal road levers but if i did this, i'm not sure if i would have problems routing the cable under the bar tape. i also am unsure about the positioning of the levers. would the levers be closer to your hands?

vobopl

It all depends on your frame fit. My conversion's frame is 3-4 cm too small for me, but thanks to bullhorns and a long stem it fits me perfectly. I have been doing 100k with no discomfort.

Side effect is that the "normal" position is on the flats, so aero brake lever is just where I need it. Rest position is on the tops - I do not need brake there. Go fast and in the wind is on the tips of the horns - I can comfortably use the brake there, too.

I do not think that such a setup will be comfortable on a true track frame - steeper HT angle would call for less rake which two, combined, would place the front axle too far back with respect to hands so much forward on the bar.

Cheers,
v.
Edit: the brake is a TT one, not aero as above.

Aeroplane

What you might try is normal road levers on the horns with the levers pointed forward. You might be able to arrange them so that the cable coming off of them goes right along the tops of the bars.

vobopl

Oh, this can be done, too. The brakes are aero Ultegras and I drilled the bar for routing the cables.

lunacycle

I think this has been alluded to already, but why not have two brake levers -- one at the ends and one near the stem? The cross levers are designed to be used in-line with another brake lever.

lemurhouse

OP: I ride long distance using bullhorns and they are fine, provided your setup dialed-in and is right for you. Some of my friends insist that bullhorns don't have enough hand positions and therefore hurt you but I don't think that's true, providing your bike geometry is properly dialed-in. Having said that, I'm in the process of changing both of my bullhorn bikes to regular drops with hoods ... partly to be able to stay aero more comfortably, partly just to tinker.

Re brake lever placement, I guess that's personal preference, but I ultimately gravitated to using a TT lever at the end of the bar. I'd rather be on the bar ends than on the tops if I anticipate needing to use my brake.

Whether to use flat bars or horns w/slight drops depends more on stem height than anything else IMO. I use the medium-drop syntace horns posted above, and flat nitto horns and like 'em both. Flipped and chopped sucks if you are riding long.

vinnydelnegro

Dude...that is such a sweet picture....it deserves it's own thread. you got any more? do you have the levers facing inward or outward on that setup?

vobopl

Oh, thanks. It has been posted several times. I got whole series going down from , just two are publicly visible (go up in the gallery to see the other one).

Brake levers are facing inward on this setup and the hole for the cable is just above the clamp holding the brake to the bar.

Revolution Smmr

Glad to see people still adding to the thread. I have a set of TT levers arriving tomorrow from Harris Cyclery (luckily a friend just flipped/chopped his bars and was willing to go 50/50 on the pair of levers) but I still haven't picked bars yet. Right now I'm leaning toward the SOMA urban pursuit bars since they have a nice flat top for relaxing and the horns don't seem to be stretched too far forward like many that I see. Also, they are available in 38 cm. unlike the equivalent model of Nittos. I like the concept of the Syntace bars, but every time I see a picture of them on a bike they look like they reach too far forward. Unfortunately I can't find a LBS where I can see one in person.

jet sanchEz

I've been riding the setup below for about 6 years now and haven't had any problems. It is perfect for city riding as your face is up high and you can see through traffic very well. I just switched to TT levers yesterday and so far it is fine. I wouldn't bother with a lever near the stem, your hands won't be there much, at least, mine aren't. It is a Syntace TT bar and I like the fact that you can run the cables internally; I have another bar that doesn't have any holes for that and it was useless to me until I got a track bike.

Revolution Smmr

do you have any trouble reaching the levers with them that far off the bars?

james_swift

I just got my bargain Nashbar TT bar/lever combo. I lopped-off a quarter-inch from the tips to bring the lever a bit closer. Nice and clean and very comfy.