TrekCommuter

For me, the neutral position is not sacrificed. It is found on the sides of the trekking bar and is the same distance from the rider as what the flat bar would have been. The only difference is they are perpendicular to the direction of the flat bar. Regardless, it is comfortable. Plus you have the more forward and rearward positions.

Also, lycra/spandex come to mind when I think of clownish. But that is just my humble opinion

Grey.

It seems like it would be difficult to reach the brakes quickly if you're riding in the upper curve of the handlebars, no?

Murray Missile 

I also have them on 2 bikes and love them. I use the NASHBAR bars and haven't detected any flex.

Ridenotrun

Would auxiliary brake levers work? Then you could have them both forward and rear

Jeff Neese

Not as difficult as you'd think. You quickly get used to the setup and it all becomes very second-nature.

TrekCommuter

Agreed.

dynaryder

I've never had any issues,even with full panniers on the rack and going down hill.

Pretty much. Depending on where your controls finally end up may mean replacing the cables/housing with longer ones,but you can use your stock stem and controls.

Many hand positions,plus different reach/height,without the cost of a drop bar conversion.

Don't ride there in heavy traffic! Seriously,my first drop bar bike had cross levers,but I've really never needed them because I spent most of my time on the hoods. On my trekking bar,I spend most of my time on the bottoms;if I'm on the tops,it's because I'm resting. In traffic,I keep my hands by the brakes.

Grey.

Thanks. Just curious because i've never ridden a bike equipped with this type of handlebar system.

Hauptmann6

That is a good suggestion. The problem I ran into is that my hands would rub on the shift levers. If your brake levers are long(or you have big hands) you can mount them in and still reach them at the outer edges of the bottom part of the bar.

Just make sure your hands fit in flat and comfortable before you mount the shifters and brakes. It will all fall into place then.

Little Darwin

As mentioned earlier, I am thinking of finally mounting my trekking bars... And this thread is helping me determine how I think I will like them.

I will be placing the grips/levers as far outward as possible on the open ends (using my Ergon grips).

I like the idea of foam instead of bar wrap, since I have large hands and appreciate the extra thickness. Any comments on which foam grips are the best and/or maintenance tips to keep them from getting gunked up? I would even consider thin foam under bar tape. Has anyone tried anything like that and had good results?


Murray Missle... What are those mirrors? I did a little searching, and haven't hound any that I think would work on trekking bars as well as those.

asuhardon

Great looking bike. What kind of rear rack is that?

Murray Missile 

I have since switched to this version that folds out of the way.........

Pair Motorcycle CNC Aluminum Rearview Mirror Handle Bar End Black Side Mirror | eBay

Just remove the piece that goes inside the bars and clamp them directly on your handlebars. I ride fairly rough roads and get virtually no road vibration. Here's the ones I had originally, bike fell over and snapped one off. It fell over with the fold away mirrors and they did just that, folded out of the way. Shop around, prices vary a LOT. I still have this style on my beater bike.

BLACK MOTORCYCLE BIKE 3" ROUND 7/8" HANDLE BAR END MIRRORS REARVIEW SIDE MIRROR

Oh yeah, I have ridden in snow and on icy roads with them with no problems.

dynaryder

It's stock,so whatever Novara spec'd them with(there's no markings).

schlopartist

Murray Missile,
Did I miss something? What did you use to clamp them to the handle bars! I have been looking a lot of bloody places for a way to clamp them to the trek handlebar, with no success. Please help.

Thanks in advance!

Murray Missile 

Loosen the allen screws and remove the aluminum "stub" the mirrors are clamped to and then just clamp them over your handlebars. The stub is to allow them to be inserted into the end of motorcycle handlebars, the section the mirror clamps on is the same outside diameter as the handlebars. I also flipped the brackets over to move the mirror head away from the bars.

schlopartist

"Curiouser and curiouser"

Mr. Murray, I will try it. Thank you, sir.

Murray Missile 

Once you have them in hand it's a lot less "curiouser". See the black bushing where the "stub:" was? You have to remove it too.

bgraham111

Here's a couple views of mine. They are not for racing. They are not for mountain biking. They are for trekking. And that's what they do. I absolutely love them on my Trek 8.4 DS, which I use for off road touring. I'd hate them on my road bike, and I'd hate them on my mountain bike. You aren't going to go fast, but you are going to have fun.

You'll probably need to change stems, and spend some time dialing them in and adjusting them. There are really 4 ways to install them, since there is a curvature to them. My have the opening towards me, and the opening drops lower than the cross part. I was really worried about the brake and shifter location, but they fit so well. And it gives me so many more hand positions than my drops on my road bike. Plus, I have room for a light and a bell.

Someday, I'll get a proper touring bike - but I'm not getting drops... I'll only tour on trekking (butterfly) handlebars. They are my absolute favorite thing about my bike. Of course, you may not agree.... only you can decide that...

mjrLV

I found (and ordered) a pair on eBay that are a bit sleeker than the Nashbar model, with a little more ergo bend on the lower bar. 580mm also.

$30 shipped from Taiwan.

Anxious to try them out.

Search 'pro comfort trekking'

EDIT: got the bar installed. Awesome! The 3 functional positions of the bar are all very useful...you can be easily comfortable in all 3.

The sweep on the back bar, also puts wrists on a more ergo position, as opposed to the straight Nashbars.

I double-wrapped for better comfort/grip.

Bill1227

"on a cross trail sport disc"

Hi, you may like trekking bars. However as one whom owns the same bike which comes with a nice wide,bit of sweep, riser XCM (cross country marathon) bar ~ do you realize how versatile and adjustable these type bars are?

* You can trim those bars to you shoulder width. Roll them up for max rise or roll them back for more sweep. Add in flipping the stem and it really gets interesting. They already have awesome Specialized Body Geometry grips. Most including me add the Specialized "Ned's" P2 bar ends.

In comparison to Trekking bars and the above, in the early 90's, on my MTB set up for dirt touring/trekking I added what we called then Scott "Bullnose" bars.

Like these - https://oldglorymtb.com/wp-content/up...ar-600x258.jpg

Bicycle handlebar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Before I ramble on more. The bars on the sport disc are one of the things I like and did not change on my trekking/touring/crosstrail. I suggest you completely explore the options of your riser XCM bar first.

I get four hand positions out of mine. From center out - 1) posted up nearly at the stem - least used,aerodynamic nice short term change up also 2) standard on the grips - use quite a bit 3) my hands flared,spread laying over the bar ends and standard grips/used likely the most VERY comfortable for cruiseing, I can still reach my hydro brakes with one finger, you simply have to move things around a bit 4) hands on the bar ends - used quite a bit technically - If my bar ends are set low at the moment/time I use this for aerodynamics and power speed on long flats. When I raise them and roll the bar a bit I use this higher bar end position for Long climbs, chest open to Breath well, more upright to suck in lots of needed air.
I cut a bit off each side of my riser bar prior to bar ends - didn't need them that wide. I am 5'9" / large shirt.

I can't say I like the riser bar end combo better than my old bullnose bars I used for 20 years +. But, I don't like them any less and I can roll them around,configure adjust them as wanted much better.

If you plan on mounting lots of gizmo's on the bars you may want trekking bars or a Jones (jeff) bar. I have a rechargeable light, and quick clips for maps, plus four solid hand positions = no problems,as is

Good luck

WarrenR

I'm very pro!

I got mine last summer and did my first metric century and then two more with them. My LBS installed a longer stem so my brifters would be in the same position as my flat bars. I tried them for a bit and ended up flipping them over to enable a better tuck position as we had a lot of very windy days.