bwilli88 

I have bar ends on my Witcomb and they seem to hang back more than I like. Has anyone cut or shortened drop bars to accommodate bar ends. I was thinking 3/4 of an inch or a bit more.


Thoughts, ideas, thinking?

Bars are some 42cm GB randonneur and bar ends are Shimano Dura-ace 7800 9 speed.

repechage

Looks good to go.
if I did not switch to downtube shifters near 50 years ago, I would have trimmed the bars back 15-20 mm

Classtime 

It was done BITD. Why do you want to? If you are turning so sharply they bump your knees, try North Road bars.

squirtdad

i did when I put barends on. before I figured out i didn't like barends (I kept hitting them with my right knee and did not find them more convenient that reaching to down tube shifters (YMMV)

don't see any technical problem with this

3alarmer 

.
...I like the bar rotated more, so the curve between the flat at the top and the brake lever is more level. That puts the bar ends forward far enough that I don't need to shorten them.

bwilli88 

I have not cut the bars yet, but here is a better side view.

I have the bars here the way I like them. When riding the drops, if they are flat it twists my wrists.

canklecat

Yep, I bought a tubing cutter to trim my Nitto albatross bar on one bike, and an upcoming rebuild of a drop bar road bike to accommodate some 10-speed Dura Ace components.

The bike with the albatross bar and 8-speed Ultegra bar-ends has been pretty good for a few years, but with increasing neck pain from injuries and arthritis, I'm considering either a shorter stem or riser stem. A shorter stem would cause problems with knee clearance. So I'll either trim half an inch or so off the bars, or switch to a riser stem to get the bar higher than my knees. I'm waiting until after an upcoming surgery to decide.

The other project is just because I'm a cheapskate. A friend gave me an old tri-bike with heavy aluminum frame and suspect welds. But the 10-speed Dura Ace components are fine. It included bar-ends for the aero bar (which I can't use -- the neck condition). But I can adapt those components and bar-ends to a road bike rebuild, my early 1990s Trek 5900 OCLV. To ensure knee clearance I'll need to either trim the ends off one of the older 42cm drop bars I have in a box, or get a gravel bike style flared drop bar.

USAZorro

I've never needed to do this, but our bodies and bike fits are all different. I suppose it helps that I despise bars with deep hooks, and consequently don't use them. That said, if everything else fits you and you need to trim a bit off the ends of your bars to get it to work, I see nothing wrong with it.

52telecaster

Because I never use drops.... When they are on porteur bars they don't hit your knees or the top tube.

zandoval 

3/4" or less sounds reasonable. You can always do it again if more is needed. I rarely make any changes in my bicycle configurations of more than 1/2"...

fender1

How many speed rear? I switched from bar ends to brifters for the reason you mention. I am running 10 speed and found the 105 level Shimano brifters work great.

John E

I didn't cut mine, but the UO-8 has an unusually long top tube for a 21" frame, and I like to rotate the bars to make the tops almost horizontal.

My UO-8 with barcon cables routed between the rack and the cylindrical Bellwether front bag.

clubman 

This. I've had at least a half dozen riders with barcons but I have short legs and long torso. I can't recall ever hitting a barcon with my knee. Just lucky that way.

Schweinhund

Every once in a blue moon you see a colour that strikes a chord in your soul. That is an eminently pleasing green

Schweinhund

Did a little post processing on your picture, that bike is beautiful.

oldbobcat

Decades ago I trimmed off the part of the drops I wasn't using and never missed it. It was a not uncommon thing for racers to do in those days, especially if you weren't using a Cinelli or 3T bar. Judging by the length of the drop section on your Nitto, you might as well be using down-tube shifters

fender1

Thanks! I asked the builder for a green that made you think of a vintage Schwinn or Trek. It was his choice and I had no idea what he chose before it showed up and unpacked it! I was happy with his choice.

dddd

How much to trim from the bars ends is dependent on the lack of clearance that one encounters while actually riding, which in turn is dependent on several individual metrics having to do with the rider, frame, stem, bar, etc.

For me, one inch worked well in a couple of cases.

bwilli88 

it has a 2x9 setup. I really do not care for the more modern look that brifters would give on this bike. My 2012 Fuji Stratos has 105 10 speed brifters and it is fine for a TIG welded road frame. But this is too classic to be brifterized.

Riding here in Cambodia the roads are like riding gravel all the time. I do not feel comfortable taking my hands off the bars for longer than necessary and my back is not forgiving enough to constantly be reaching down to DT shifters.

bwilli88 

Probably start with an angle grinder and finish with files. Your are talking to an old shop teacher who has taught a bunch.

oldbobcat

It was meant as a comment on the distance between the part of the drop of the bar that you actually use, up front, near the brake levers, to the location of the bar end. By all means trim your bar if you're so inclined, and enjoy your bar end shifters. I'm all in for practical, reliable, repairable and inexpensive solutions. I used a plumber's cutter, which I happened to have in my toolbox.

vp1337

I trimmed a good 20 mm or so from a short reach compact drop bar so bar end shifters would clear my knees. Used it for a good while, no issues whatsoever. Use a good hacksaw or a pipe cutter.

delbiker1 

IMO, even taking that 3/4 inch off the bars will not make them what you want them to be. Again, IMO, bar ends just do not work well with drop bars. I like bar end levers with bars that need little hand movement to get to the levers, such as the Velo-Orange Porteur bar. I do have have a couple of Ritchey Beacon drop bars, with very shallow drop and short reach, but when I simulate using the bar ends on them, it still takes a good bit of hand travel to get to them. Not as drastic as usually shaped drops. If you like the bar ends with the drops, I think there is no issue with shortening the bar ends.

One caveat for the Porteur bar. I had to lengthen the stem from 100mm to 120mm. I thought about cutting that off the bar, but I like the added reach as the bar top itself is closer than drop bars. Also, due to spinal issues, I am done with drop bars that have more than 110 drop.

SurferRosa

What about clips with pedals?

Saddles and seat posts?

Caps and scalps?