Cyclocross - Wanting more of a cyclocross feel on my touring bike, handle bar question..

I put on some knobby tires on my schwinn voyager and it really has that cyclo cross flavor and will work well for snowy conditions for my commute. However, the handlebars are narrow and give me a more upright feeling, Im looking for a wider grip postion when riding the hoods. My road bike has wider bars, which feel like the width I noticed at the local shop on a cyclo bike. What size should I look for in new handlebars, and anything else I should consider. Thanks guys.

YOU typically want slightly wider bars than on your road bike for cyclo-cross. It all depends on personal taste, but if you bars are, say, 42cm measured centre-centre, you might want to try 44cm outside-outside, or even 44cm centre-centre.

Bars come in different shapes, and with different amounts (radius) of drop.
Sites like 3TTT.com show the dimensions of their varius styles. My current fave is the Morphe style which is good for riding on the tops, but its more of a touring than racing bar.

anybody know the web address for 3 TTT

thanks
chris

here:

http://www.3ttt.com/

Originally posted by nikos
I put on some knobby tires on my schwinn voyager and it really has that cyclo cross flavor and will work well for snowy conditions for my commute. However, the handlebars are narrow and give me a more upright feeling, Im looking for a wider grip postion when riding the hoods. My road bike has wider bars, which feel like the width I noticed at the local shop on a cyclo bike. What size should I look for in new handlebars, and anything else I should consider. Thanks guys.


What year are your bikes? I suspect the touring bike is an older one. Now you have two factors to consider, and I would suggest you measure carefully your Schwinn Voyager and your road bike.

1. The upright feeling is probably linked to a tighter cockpit on your touring bike than on the road bike. If all things are set up properly, the handlebars of your touring bike should be a bit closer to your saddle than they are on your road bike. On the top of the bars should also be about level with the saddle. In theory, at least, so you have a more relaxed ride on the tourer.
If the cockpit is too tight, it may be a good idea to get a stem with a longer reach (the horizontal part) so you get your bars further away.

2. Bars not wide enough. Number crunchers currently suggest that we get bars at about the same width as our shoulders (or maybe 2 cm more), and for women, about 2 cm wider. For the average male, it would mean 42 to 44 cm (measured at the base of the drops). A bit wider gives you better control in slippery situations, but might be a hindrance in the forest.

Check also how you ride. I almost exclusively ride on the drops... and my bars are fairly high. On my 1980 touring bike (now commuter) I have 40 cm wide handlebars, and I notice that when I ride, I often rest by placing my hands outside of the drops (wrists bent slightly -- it's more comfortable than it looks). On my 2000 touring bike, I have 46 cm wide handlebars, and my resting position is oftem with hands inside the bars. My shoulder width is 41 cm, but based on these two experiences, my ideal width would probably be 43 or 44 cm.


Finally, if the LBS has bikes your size, try one, sit on it for some time, backpedal a bit and see what seems comfortable.

Regards,