RoadWearier

Ok so I just finished 23 mile ride with this Nashbar single-speed. It was a great ride and I had no problem with the hills so I think I'm going to keep this bike...no need for the Wabi.

​​​​​​Id like to change the handlebars though for the following reasons.

1) The drops are useless as they are now. The bike came with interruptor brakes only. No idea why except fashion. Plus the drops have a very sharp curve, you'd have to have Barbie doll hands to feel comfortable riding in the drops. Plus I'm bent too far forward and over to use them...plus..no brakes.in the drops.

2). Even after only 23 miles my fingers were going a little numb. I can't remember which ones but I suspect I'm putting too much weight on the flat bars whilst extending my wrists.

So I'd like to fix these problems without getting a different bike. Limitations are the following:

1) I'm currently out of work and don't want to spend more than $50 or so to fix the problem. I want to continue riding though as therapy and to keep me from becoming a hermit. Being outside and riding with folks is good for me physically, mentally and spiritually.

2) I like the fact that my bike fits in the trunk of my Corolla without having to take the wheel off. That's huge because the front wheel is not quick release. This is actually a good thing in the homeless-ville city I live in where bikes and wheels get stolen a lot.​

RoadWearier

Can anyone tell me if these handlebars would work?


I know it's hard to say for sure without measurements but if there's even a chance, the top bars there might work. Could I use interruptor brakes or would I have to buy new brake levers?

My other options are to either buy new brake levers for the existing drops. Or I can buy a new spacer online...leaning toward that option.

TugaDude

Offer $4.00 for just the bar you want and see what happens. Remember, the stem also contributes to proper bike fitment. Changing bars sometimes results in the need to change the stem, either the length or the rise or both.

mprince

Also verify the bar diameter in the clamp area. Make sure it matches the stem you have already. Smaller bar, you can get shims to make it larger, but if it's too big you'll need a new stem. If your current bike has a drop bar good chance it's 26.0/31.8 mm clamp.

ClydeClydeson

Excessive pressure on the hands is often caused by saddle adjustment. Specifically, if your saddle is pointed nose-down at all, your body weight will tend to want to slide forward and your hands wind up carrying more than their share of the load. Try fiddling with saddle adjustment before you change any parts.

TugaDude

Good reminder!

TugaDude

Yes, the way it was explained to me is you ideally want 25% of your bodyweight on your saddle, 25% on the bars and the remaining 50% is supported by your feet on the pedals. Even if that isn't quite correct, the idea sounds right and too much weight forward will certainly result in numb hands. Makes you wonder how many folks continue to try saddles with little success when it isn't the saddle itself, but their body positioning. Same goes for bars.

Broctoon

Do you want to stick with drop bars and just need yours dialed in to get more comfortable? I suspect your solution might lie in fitting some proper road bike brake levers. You can grip the hoods for 90% of your riding, and just go down to the drops for fast descents or to the tops for an occasional change of position. Not sure if this would really help, but it might be worth a try. I find the brake hoods are the most comfortable place to grip on my road bike.

I have some lightly used Cane Creek levers I can send you, my treat. Let me know if you want to try them. (You'll likely have to replace the cables to make them work, and will certainly have to unwrap and then re-wrap the bar.)

ClydeClydeson

I am suspicious of any 'rule' that gives specific numbers for bike fitting as they invariably ignore that every individual person has different flexibility and strength. The proof is in the comfort - if the rider is comfortable and able to accomplish their distance and speed goals without pain or numbness, then the bike fits. For the guideline you stated, a 200lb person would have 50lbs of load on their hands, which is excessive. There may be a range of acceptable fraction of body weight that can or should be carried by the hands on the bars, but 25% seems like a lot.

TugaDude

I looked online and found several sources where it was suggested that on a typical road bike, 40% of the weight is on the front wheel and 60% of the weight on the rear wheel. How that exactly correlates to weight on your bars is questionable.

RoadWearier

Man that is very generous of you! I think I'll just buy a spacer and see if raising the bars don't help. But thank you for that nice offer.

jasoninohio

I personally do not like flat bars, that said I would be getting some aero brake levers or bullhorn bars. Good luck!

ClydeClydeson

Weight distribution between the wheels is a function of the location of the centre of gravity of the bike/rider combo and the ratio of the horizontal distances of the C of G to the wheels (ratio of X:Y in the diagram below). The load carried by your hands on the bars is related to this, but not strictly determined by it. Furthermore, while someone might be making bikes with some specific ratio in mind, like 60:40, every person's body is different, so every person's F:R balance will be different. And this doesn't mean that a bike/rider combo with a 55:45 ratio will behave significantly worse, or even noticeably different, than one with 60:40.

Jonneh

Lots of cans of juicy worms opened with these points, but to keep it brief:

1) Re the sharp curve in the drops, this is somewhat hard to imagine. Do you have a picture of the bars in question (or the whole bike)? Drops are typically held near the bar ends when riding straight armed (or close to) and in the deepest (forwardmost) part of the curve when arms are bent at close to a right angle (typically in fast descents). In the first position, the section you hold typically has minimal curvature. In the second position, less of the palm is typically in contact with the bar, so tight curvature wouldn't usually be a problem. I have big hands, and although I've ridden drop shapes I've liked more or less, hand size has never been an impediment.

The drops are inherently safest for descents since your hands can't slip forward if you go over a bump, but you need access to the brakes! I second Broctoon's suggestion to try to get hold of some road brake levers. If you do, I'm sure you'll find yourself using the hoods most of the time---I for one find drop bars without them pretty uncomfortable. I have the TRP RRL, and they are well made and comfortable with good modulation of braking. A second hand pair should be fine---they should last for a long time, and replacement hoods are cheap. Older style aero brake levers tend to produce a dip where they contact the bars since they sclamp at a right angle---this for me is much less comfortable than the flatter line created by more modern levers , but opinions vary. In general, having hoods gives you yet another position to use, and moving your hands around frequently is good practice.

2) There are many potential causes of this. The easiest to take a look at is how you are positioning your hands. You should have most of the weight on the fleshy outer part of your palm and very little on the part above the middle of your wrist, where the ulnar nerve runs. This may require ulnar deviation (fancy word for rotating your hand outwards), but you shouldn't be getting numb fingers, no matter how long the ride.

Next, check that your saddle isn't pointing too far downwards. Start by having the rails flat and go from there. If that takes all of the weight off your hands but also takes it off your sit bones (and moves it forward!!), tilt the saddle very slightly forward. If you have a single bolt seatpost with a serrated clamp, the increments after often fairly large, unfortunately, so just find the setting that works best. Next, the saddle may be too far forward. Getting bike fit right is a huge topic (and if you want to supplement experimentation with reading, someone like Steve Hogg has intelligent things to say), but if you start from your feet, then position your hips (via setting the saddle height to get a knee bend you're comfortable with and fore-aft so that your knees aren't shooting over the pedals but also not reaching forward), then position your hands by moving the bars (fore-aft by adjusting stem length and up and down by playing with spacers and/or stem rise) you should be able to work something out yourself. If you feel bent over in the drops, the bars could be too low, or the stem too long/saddle too far back (both of which will close your hip angle, making you feel bent over).

Good luck!

Milk_n_whisky

Like people have said it could be your seat but you could even try to flip the bars over and cut them into homemade bullhorns. I love a bull bar and you may too, worth talking to your lbs for fitment tips they may be able to just look at you on the bike and see what is going on then you can make the adjustments yourself.

Speedway2

I swapped out my drops for bullhorns/TT levers.
The bike is more comfortable now so gets ridden more......