Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Handlebar reccomendations?

Yes i tried searching the forum.

I am wondering if anybody has some handlebars they really love, that they think I would really love, and that they reccomend i buy a pair for myself.
The bars on my bike now are just too aggressive for anything but the track it seems. I just find myself (upper body) feeling worn out way sooner than i would on my road bike. I guess I could get a different stem angle and would be open to suggestions on stems, but i think iwould rather just have two sets of bars, one for racing and one for everything else.

this is my current setup
STEM Specialized 3D forged alloy, 10 degree rise, 26.0mm clamp
HANDLEBARS Specialized Pro Track handlebar, alloy track drop, 26.0 Clamp

my cheap $12 syntace bullhorns rock

I like midge bars. I like mary bars. I like risers and non-anatomic drops.

I'm not too fond of bullhorns.

Do you feel stretched out or compressed? Where on your bars do you ride?

I'm thinking you're a candidate for flat bars.

Well my bullhorns aren't too fond of you either

I want Mary bars, but I want to cut them down a bit... just to see Jim-Bob die a little on the inside.

I like my Ritchey Biomax bars quite a bit.

http://www.wiss-cycles.com/images/bars_ritchey_biomax.jpg

As you can see they have a little bit of a rise and backsweep which is nice for a riser-like feel, and the drops are pretty shallow and comfortable to be in. I have them set up with road levers (Cane Creek SCR-5) with the right as a dummy lever. The only thing I don't care for is the fact that the flat part of the drops is really short.

I guess the short version of my advice is, if you like how your road bike feels, set your fixed gear up the same way and don't worry about the fashion police.

I want Mary bars, but I want to cut them down a bit... just to see Jim-Bob die a little on the inside.

You should totally cut them right at the bend!

yeah and then flip them!

I guess I'm feeling kind of jammed. Lot's of pressure on my wrist because the top flat is quite short across. Being that I enjoy my front brake, and that it is on the top, i dont often ride in the drops, besides these drops are so incredibly low i look like i am burrowing or something.
These are the brakes i have hhooked to a shimano 105 in the front. I onyl have on on there, the other one i am just hanging on to since it wasn't cheap and its real nice.
http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/equip/05BrakeLeverExtensions_l.jpgSo yeah flat bars might be good i guess since i wouldnt need to invest in new brakes, but would i always be making a lot of wind drag? do you ever find yourself wanting more options when you are on track bars as far as hand positions? can you stretch out enough on them?

EDIT** BOOYAH IMAGE 2 HOURS LATER

I ride on the shoulders of my track drops the majority of the time and I like it, but I found bullhorns pretty comfy in the past, and flat bars are just cool. I wanna steal the ones on drac_vamps chesni. So cool.

Have you considered adjusting the position of your seat? I raised my seat and scooted it forward a little and I'm much more comfortable now then before.

a flat bar or riser bar looks so good on a track bike. plus, they make wheeling and bunny hopping easier, aside from being super comfortable.

yeah, i second the raising of the seat. i've always been comfy on my drops, on the tops, and in betweens on the bars. i've had bullhorns and liked them for climbing and sprinting but found them hard to get used to when just riding on the shoulders next to the stem. though grabbing them by the horns really stretched me out and got a good position for pedaling hard. i like my bars too (the ones 128 mentions). they are made by nitto, they have no rise and they sweep back at a good little arc. i cut about 5 inches off of the ends. my hands are in a great position, i feel more upright, and when standing out of the saddle i can climb for days.

ok why the f cant i post an image?
yeah i find myself on the shoulders of my drops all the time right now
pretending as if i was still riding with dual hoods on my road bike, but it's not the same.hands get farely exhausted and jumping suddenly to the brake is kind of unnatural feeling.

you reccomend any short straight bars in particular? or just buy some nice pair and chop'em?

i tend to cheat back on my seat when i wanna haul ass, but raising it anymore and i would over extend my pedaling motion and possibly just dive off my bike if i was in the drops

ok why the f cant i post an image?
yeah i find myself on the shoulders of my drops all the time right now
pretending as if i was still riding with dual hoods on my road bike, but it's not the same.hands get farely exhausted and jumping suddenly to the brake is kind of unnatural feeling.

you reccomend any short straight bars in particular? or just buy some nice pair and chop'em?

I give up. :rolleyes:

http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/equip/05BrakeLeverExtensions_l.jpg

there you go.

any set will do... profile designs riser bars are sweet and cheap. i have them on my geared hardtail... here is a set on my friend joe's bike:
http://static.flickr.com/37/89869704_bba6475c1a.jpg

i have some carbon fsa ones on my ss mtb that are super sweet, but not cheap.

ok why the f cant i post an image?
yeah i find myself on the shoulders of my drops all the time right now
pretending as if i was still riding with dual hoods on my road bike, but it's not the same.hands get farely exhausted and jumping suddenly to the brake is kind of unnatural feeling.

you reccomend any short straight bars in particular? or just buy some nice pair and chop'em?

Ok, you never use the drops, and you generally ride where your levers would usually be.
sounds like you're a fine candidate for bullhorns.

yeah i mean the idea of not having rops just seems strange because i have been riding road all the time up until now. And i used to use the drops failry often on my road bike, these drops on the track bike are just much steeper or something but i guess i will still have this set of bars as back up if i start going to Kissena (velo) or something.

Drac do you have a picture of the chesni that onetwentyeight mentioned?

FWIW, different track drops have different depth... Nitto 125s are 150mm I think, 123s are 175

here they are, sort of. i cut off the ends by about 6 inches or so... right when they stop bending back and become parallel to one another. i dont like my hands perpendicular to the bars (like they would be riding risers or flat bars, or on the shoulders next to the stem) so that my thumbs could point to one another... and i also don't really like it when my hands are parallel to the bike (like the would be if i had left the ends on the bars) so that my thumbs both point out. where i cut them allows me to get a nice and natural feeling hand position so that they are angled back enough, but not totally back. i dont know if this makes sense at all... but they are comfy as can be. they do provide a more upright position, so probably not ideal if you want to get down super low in the front and mash on the gear --- but still.

Two of my favorite bikes have Nitto Noodle bars (Mod. 177). One set is 44cm wide, the other is 46cm and heat treated. Definitely my favorite drop bar. Lots of comfy positions, including good climbing positions even w/o brake hoods. The heat treated one are VERY stiff, though, so they need a good comfy wrap and/or padded gloves for long rides.

Another bike rocks Nitto Promenades, which are super comfy for upright riding and pretty cheap (as super-high quality Japanese craftsmanship goes.)

my problem with my existing risers (nashbar cheapos) is that there isn't enough flat space on each side of the stem to comfortably place my hands, they all star curling up too soon so that my hands end up being angled, very uncomfortable. I'd love to find a set that has a long flat center and yet can still be cut to be somewhat narrow (shoulder width). any suggestions?

yeah i mean the idea of not having rops just seems strange because i have been riding road all the time up until now. And i used to use the drops failry often on my road bike, these drops on the track bike are just much steeper or something but i guess i will still have this set of bars as back up if i start going to Kissena (velo) or something.

Drac do you have a picture of the chesni that onetwentyeight mentioned?
baxtefer has point. You can get bull horns with a drop in them. Combined with a drop stem, you can effectively have the same feel as your road set up. I dont know the model number, but I have a pair of Nittos like this.

my cheap $12 syntace bullhorns rock
+1

here they are, sort of. i cut off the ends by about 6 inches or so... right when they stop bending back and become parallel to one another. i dont like my hands perpendicular to the bars (like they would be riding risers or flat bars, or on the shoulders next to the stem) so that my thumbs could point to one another... and i also don't really like it when my hands are parallel to the bike (like the would be if i had left the ends on the bars) so that my thumbs both point out. where i cut them allows me to get a nice and natural feeling hand position so that they are angled back enough, but not totally back. i dont know if this makes sense at all... but they are comfy as can be. they do provide a more upright position, so probably not ideal if you want to get down super low in the front and mash on the gear --- but still.


I had a set of the Nitto that are les round and more squared off, those ****s was the ultra jam. Not only did I feel like an old-man, killing it on a track bike is just the best feeling ever.

I had a set of the Nitto that are les round and more squared off, those ****s was the ultra jam. Not only did I feel like an old-man, killing it on a track bike is just the best feeling ever.

whats even better is that i got them so i could add a basket to the front of my bike to ride my cat around in. cant do that with track drops. standing up on them bars and i can climb hills like a mother****er

whats even better is that i got them so i could add a basket to the front of my bike to ride my cat around in. cant do that with track drops. standing up on them bars and i can climb hills like a mother****er

who says you can't put a basket on track drops :D

baxtefer has point. You can get bull horns with a drop in them. Combined with a drop stem, you can effectively have the same feel as your road set up. I dont know the model number, but I have a pair of Nittos like this.

do you mean these upside down?

http://www.bikecult.com/works/parts/nittoB602a.jpg

Steel Cinellis with a steel Cinelli track stem. I don't think you can get better than that. Classic and classy. Their curve is so much smoother than nittos which square off at the top. Yes they curve like the sexy curves of a woman's body. Since getting Cinelli track bars and stem would be incredibly expensive, I would recommend Nitto steel track drops. In my opinion STEEL is key. Aluminum is too brittle and unresponsive. With all steel I feel more connected with the bike. Plus one time a car pulled right into me and my Steel Cinellis obliterated their rear light and I was totally fine. Aluminum wouldn't have done that. Also nothing screws up a classic track bike like bullhorns, (sorry guys). They are okay on a surly or bianchi pista, but I think that steel drops kill everything else. Plus, whatever you do, make sure you don't cut some bars and flip them or use bars upside down. The bike gods in heaven will smite you instantly for that. Also it is not necessary to have straight bars that are really narrow. People say it helps them get through traffic better, PLEASE! Crusier bars or straight bars with a little rise (latest courier fad) are okay, but you know you want steel drops.

who says you can't put a basket on track drops :D

how'd you get a picture of my beater?

I love my Nitto moustache bars:

http://www.basementfreaks.com/gallery/images/dd2f1952e087d3b58a121c0d56f65a4d.jpg (http://www.basementfreaks.com/gallery/images/dd2f1952e087d3b58a121c0d56f65a4d.jpg)

http://www.basementfreaks.com/gallery/images/b85fd04121d48a282779aa5eb6143cd9.jpg (http://www.basementfreaks.com/gallery/images/b85fd04121d48a282779aa5eb6143cd9.jpg)

http://www.basementfreaks.com/gallery/images/da4172002f2b108efb16b6f1e5d5851b.jpg (http://www.basementfreaks.com/gallery/images/da4172002f2b108efb16b6f1e5d5851b.jpg)

whats even better is that i got them so i could add a basket to the front of my bike to ride my cat around in. cant do that with track drops. standing up on them bars and i can climb hills like a mother****er


yes...

The only bad thing about Nitto moustache bars is that they bring the center of gravity out too far making the bike a bit unbalanced. Plus you can't grab on right near the stem because of their slope. Anyway this is just my opinion, but I speak from experience because I rode them for a few months.

I like my Profile bullhorns on my too small a frame- they really let me stetch. I like anatomic drops on my road bike. I like Profile bullhorns with rising stem on my beater.

Went to the shop today. Decided to spend 8 bucks on straight steel bars , give them a chop to keep them short and quick, put some nice grips on and a nice brake lever with some stainless steel braided cable. whole thing much cheaper than anything real hip looking, hopefully with better results. love braded cables.

none of it has actually happened yet as they needed to order a straight steel bar and they were out of the nitto shims. so i still have some time to be a dweeb and research the perfect brake lever. I am gonna be away for a week, but i will try and post pics of the final setup when i get back.

thanks for the help.

I am thinking about picking up one of these avid SL levers. they look pretty sweet, was just wondering if anybody had any experience with them?
http://www.sram.com/_media/images/common/avid/popups/largerimages/sd_sl_05_lever.jpg
Found them available as singles for prety cheap
http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/BR7088

Salsa Bell Lap for off road. Cheap and solid.

Any BMX lever, ever. Cheap and solid. I cannot comprehend spending $30 on a freaking MTB/BMX style lever. You can get them for $7 at the LBS.