Commuting - OK iM A PAIN! wHAT bULL HORN OR tt BAR?

Good morning again,

Since I had no responce to my bar question (I know , too many bar questions already on the BB as it is)

well since im looking for a safer bar for my commute than drops and the fact that I saw a few photos of a touring rig with horns that looked like a good fit, im wondering what way to go for HORNS if I go that route.

im a wide guy and right now im using a 48cm noodle. I dont dare try and modify the noodles as the larger size is hardend and may not bend good, I do however have a set of 46 drops that I wouldnt mind sacrificing , How much bend can you take out of standard drops, if I just cut and flip they will be too short.

If I decide to purchase a bar,

1) profile stoker 47mm wide and flat/basic

2) the TT bar that harris offers , is the bent up section comfortable/good braking

3) one of nashbars offerings.

I think the Horns should fill the bill ?as my favorite 2 positions on my drops are the hoods and ramps (outside bend)

I like my drops but now that im riding in heavy traffic I need better control/braking.

almost got into an accident riding home yesterday,

One hand on hood the other signaling while in a traffic circle all of the sudden a cager decided to gun it and enter the circle just ahead of me rather than wait 5 seconds I had to slam on the the front brake from the hood fast not fun. almost lost it.

have a great weekend

John.

Hey John;

Well first off I'd tell you not to try and rebend a pair of bars. I've tried it (a long time ago) and it's frustrating at best. You'll end up crimping them if you bend them cold - that's if you can bend them at all. And if you heat them up you will definitely compromise the strength.

And besides, you may or may not find happiness with bull horns like you think. I only say that because your quest for the perfect handlebar seems to parallel my own, and a lot of other riders', no doubt. Like yourself, I tried bullhorns because I nearly always rode on the hoods or top of the bar. I bought a set of Profile time trial bars and bar-end brakes from Performance. But after installing and riding them I found I did not like having to reach up to the end of the 'horns' in order to brake. And if I had to throw a brake on 'one handed' it affected balance and handling much the same way you described in your post - that is, not good. The bullhorns and bar-end brakes have be relegated to my parts bin.

So I'll tell you what I've found works for me. I have two set up I like, and one or both might work for you. My single speed road bike has a set of mustache bars (you can barely see them in my avatar). If you do a search you'll fing lots of opinions, both for and against. But check them out. I like them alot. I also fitted a pair of bar-ends in the middle for tucking out of the wind. My 26" commuter has a riser MTB bar with two sets of bar-ends installed - one pair out at the end of the bar, and one pair in towards the center. I use the outer set for climbing and to shift hand positions. I use the center ones to tuck in when I hit a head wind. The brakes on the flat inbetween are always easy to get to.

Sorry I don't have any pics to post. But you should be able to imagine.

Also do a search for 'butterfly' or treking handlebars. There was an interesting thread on those.

Good luck. Take it easy. DanO

i find my sets of chopped and flipped road bars have been more comofortable than any after market bullhorn i have tried.

but currently i am back to good old dropbars and once properly tilted with relation to the brakehoods i find they are even better.

Yo DanO,

You always respond brother! and always with good info , got me thinking again (scary ??) many thanks!!!

very GOOD good point on the brake /balance thing when one hand braking with horns.

yep the brake is way out on the end the moustache bar looks like a more balanced grip.

one thing with the stache bars if your a dedicated hood rider on drops where do you find yourself on the moustache bars? or do you just adapt to a different grip.?

many thanks "John"

Hey max,

I do like my drops but im finding out not in heavy traffic.

My bars are very comfortable when tilted but then I cant get a real good grip on the brakes from the drop

and solid braking from the hoods isnt great at any time, though braking from hoods is fine for crusing.

I was only riding a paved bike trail to work and my drops were just fine but I decided this year to take 7 miles off my commute and ride in traffic and now my drops are not the best setup as far as saftey goes.

many thanks

"John"

john, that is interesting. i can lock up both my wheels with my hans on the hoods (not that i'd ever want too) pretty easily...

maybe you just need some better brakes? new cables/pads?

on my bullhorns i always had the brakes mounted on the ends with the levers facing back toward the bike. some will say this lever setup causes cable routing problems but i never found it to be a problem and braking power is FANTASTIC, you can use all 4 fingers if you find it necessary.

I forgot one more thing John. I know it's expensive to walk into the LBS and just start buying components, just to try them out. That's why I'm a dedicated bottom feeder. I'm always checking Nashbar's returned merchandise section, as well as the blow out sales at all the .com places. There's simply no good reason to spend a C-note on a pair of riser bars and a set or two of bar-ends.

Of course I like nice things just as much as the other guy. And if there's a high-end item you just gotta have go for it. But at least shop around. In my case, I had to have a pair of Cane Creeks' Ergo Control bar-ends. For your outboard bar-ends, they can't be beat. However, if you don't have the scratch, a $10 dollar set of bar-ends beats no bar-ends at all!

Now I'm not necessarily anti LBS. In fact, when it comes to handlebars and stems, most LBS's have a box on the floor where they discount all the bars and stems they've changed out for other riders. There's good deals in there on stuff that's maybe scuffed up a bit. I got lucky and found my mustache bars there. Unlike the expensive Nitto's, they're MTB diameter, so I was able to fit some cheapo MTB brake levers (It's a good thing I'm running V-brakes) and wiggle MTB bar-ends into the center section.

One more thing about mustaches; the forward bend on them allows you to use a shorter stem, if you like, and there's still a place for your knees to go when you're standing and up and mashing the pedals. I do have to say that I've seen the mustaches on Nashbar and I don't think I'd like them. They're steel (reat, heavy) and the bend looks funky to me.

Let us know how you make out. DanO

Try Chucksbikes.com They have a syntace bullron for $12.50. I've heard good things about them on the SS/Fixed forum.

You could also flip and chop and old set of drops. I've made some great bullhorns this way.