rc211

I have the numb thumb and fingers riding short distances, I am strengthening my core and realized that 42cm wide bars are really narrow (6'1 190lbs) - old Sakae road bars.
Looking around for 44cm bars with a shallower drop because these are not comfortable in any hand position and I will not have to hunch my shoulders to get my hands on the top
its almost like doing a tricep pushup now on the bars. - also I want them straight at the top so I need some room. Bike is near touring style, I like more upright so horizontal top tube and level seat and drop bars. Can take 25.4 or 26mm as its a great excuse to buy a vintage quill stem.

Any super comfy ones with classic curves you guys like?

JAG410

Nitto Noodle

big chainring 

How is your saddle set up? Do you have a picture of the bike?

I have found a slightly nose tipped up saddle greatly reduces the pressure on my hands. You should be balanced on the bike with minimal pressure on your hands. Wide bars help but it may be a saddle position problem.

shoota 

Specialized Romin Evo. Seriously helped me out in your exact predicament.

Mariner Fan

My favorite bars! I like the 46 cm wide version. I'm 6'3".

rootboy 

Saddle looks properly tilted back to me. You maybe don't even want to go as much as 10 degrees. Could exacerbate that "hunched over" feeling.

rc211

its the width I think- it feels very narrow, I measured 29cm before it starts to curve on the flats. that 44cm on the flat with the noodle is sounding pretty nice.

That and I guess what everyone else is doing- flex my core continuously to suspend my torso- I never worried about any of this on a mtb but there seems to be more ingredients to road biking for it to pay off, hopefully I can dial this in before the season is out or else this build is going to the dump with prejudice with what's turning out to be a very high maintenance hell bike.

Its PO'ing me because its like I can tell how good this can get but my body is breaking with small 13km rides (first ass, then knees, now hands). Something I am not used to- on the upside I can go faster.

cyclotoine

another 6'3" 46cm nitto noodle lover here... I don't like the noodle as much as some modern compact bars in terms of comfort and shape, but I like the extra width.

AZORCH

I run VO rando bars on my Boulder. They are a very wide 48 but measure a little under 46 at the top c-c. These are the most comfy bars I've ever used - I'm 6'2" and have moderately broad shoulders.

1987

I'm 6'3" (190 cm), and quite strict with my builds. I use Cinelli mod 64 Giro d'Italia, 42 cm C-C wide 1990s version on my daily ride. And Cinelli mod 66 Campione del Mondo 42 cm C-C on my vintage bike, which was Cinellis only 42 cm wide model in early 1970s. The last one is rare today: https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.as...m=112&AbsPos=9

But if you are all for comfort I suggest you get some classic randonneur handlebars.

auchencrow

Noodles are really comfy for broad-shouldered guys.
- But it depends on the bike too. They look great on a modern '80's bike, but if it's an older C&V bike, I would go with 1987's suggestion for some classic randos.

Velognome 

I'm 6'2" and kinda broad but I found a pair of narrow Maes bars to be just right. I think it's more an issue of reach and saddle/bar drop ratio that is going to make it comfy.

Rocket-Sauce 

I am a broad shouldered 6'04" and love my 46cm Noodles.

I also like, not love, the 44cm Ergonovas on my go fast bike but now have my heart set on some Thomson 46 cm

20grit

I have some 3TTT Forgie bars that I like for hoods riding. Nice width. I can ride the drops, but I like deeper drops than you seem to. They have two different depth options.

I'm just under 6'3" and have long arms.

spacemanz

Good timing on this thread. I'm in the process of making myself try drop bars again, after not using them for a very long time. Just today I found an old pair of 3 TTT Criterium bars, 42cm wide, and apparently, they don't exist, or at least they're not listed at Velo Base, or anywhere else. Also, the frame I'm building up is a 63cm seat tube x 60cm top tube Bottecchia, which will be the tallest bike I've ridden so far. I'm really hoping this pans out, since most folks give me that certain look, that's reserved for idiots who put flat bars on road bikes. Oh yeah, I'm around 6'2" or 6'3", but I might be shrinking as I get older, in my 50s now.

ColonelJLloyd 

I don't consider the Nitto Noodle to be a classic bar. No classic bend I've seen drops from the clamp and bends back toward the rider. I don't care for them for this reason. I do like the following as far as new bars:

• Nitto B115 45cm (Maes)
• Nitto B132a 44cm (rando)
• Nitto B135 45cm (rando)
• VO Chris' Rando bend 46cm (rando)
• VO Course bend 46cm (Maes) (a bit more reach than the others above)

F red

I like long ramp (Maes) bars, especially with modern brake hoods (STI, Ergo, Tektro) that extend the ramps if you don't want to use the drops much. It gives you a lot of hand adjustment room. The ploblem with them is that you have to really bend your elbows, or hold onto the ends of the drops if you don't want the tops to hit your forearm.

Creme Brulee

if you like being upright and touring/camping ditch the drops and get some albatross bars. but if you're set on drops... 48 noodles

kc0yef 

6'5" +10 nitto noodle I use the hardened ones most important wrap the bar with pipe insulation then bar tape to give a better radius for larger hands a larger diameter yields a grip will be much much easier. My other bike has moustache handlebars and there are almost an infinite amount of hand positions and my other has Trekking aka butterfly Handlebars also very comfortable you could even use bull horn with MTB ends to give a more forward position

spacemanz

BTW, I found this to be pretty helpful, for a newbie like me. https://ruedatropical.com/2009/03/roa...-bar-geometry/ I went ahead & put my headset, stem & bars, & wheels on the frame, & the bars seem fine, so far. They don't drop down as much as some I've seen, but I need to learn more about what really fits me, for road bars. My big snag right now is, I need to find a 27.0 seatpost, 27.2 is just a bit too big, & 26.8 is too small.

Camilo

I've not used the fabled Nitto Noodle, and would like to try some without buying them! I've used the Deda 215 Shallow (same shape as the Newton Shallow, except 26.0 diameter) for quite a few years. I have a love / hate relationship with it. I like the drop and reach (a little shorter and shallower than the Noodle), but the ramps down to the brake hoods is too steep for my taste. The curve forward is also too sweeping for my taste. So I really can't recommend them. The Noodle might just be the cure for those flaws.

That https://ruedatropical.com/2009/03/roa...-bar-geometry/ site can be very helpful, especially if you pay close attention to the drop and reach, and have some bars you're familiar with to compare too. I look at them compared to the 215 shallow which I'm very familiar with, and it allows me to get an idea if the bars improve in the areas I don't like.

On the other hand, assuming you want a "modern" 26.0 bar, this one comes in silver for those of us who want a classic silver bar, but also comes in black. One of the very few, if maybe the only, bars of this "modern" shape that's available in 26.0, called Civia Emerson, available in a bunch of places.

Rocket-Sauce 

Very cool site and a *great* resource. Thanks.