Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Cowhorns vs. Track bars vs. Road bars

I have used road and cowhorn bars on my fixed and prefer the cowhorns. I use my fixed for training miles mostly but also take it into the city for fun once in a while.

I have never used track bars but I am considering it. What are the advantages and disadvantages of them?

I was just wondering what people use and what type of riding they do?

I use Moustache bars and I love them. Use my fixed for road training (it's my only road bike), canal touring, general getting around and sometimes slap 38c Knobbies on and hit the singletrack. The M bar works nice in all the above applications.

Viva le moustache bar!

good track bars usually are steel, which means you can pull on them with all your weight in a sprint and they'll feel solid as a rock. they also have a steeper drop to them to let you get down low a little bit more than road bars do. there are also no grooves for cable housings, unlike every (most?) road bars on the market today.

road bars.. easier to find, probably less expensive. easier to replace if they get broken i suppose.

bullhorns... generally they're best used in the city, as theres no reason to ride in the drops when you're surrounded by cars.

I used to have track bars (Nitto), but when it came time to put a brake on, I switched to cowhorns. I like the way the bar end style break works and looks better than the traditional road brake. I'm not too sure what the difference between track and road bars are. I'm assuming track bars are usually narrower since they are designed for velodrome racing.

cory

Can some one post a picture of cowhorn bars and trak bars so that I may become learned in the differences?

I love bullhorns and moustache bars. Moustache bars are pretty versatile though.......I use 'em for fast pack rides, climbing, etc...
Drop bars can earn you extra style points especially naked (no tape, no plugs) but to me are very uncomfortable on long rides. Here are two of my Mbar equipped bikes.....

http://www.tc-homes.com/bike/forum/fg-bikes/leakos3.htm
http://www.tc-homes.com/bike/forum/fg-bikes/leakos2.htm

William.............there are tons of photos of fixies configured in many different ways at Dennis' Fixed Gear Gallery...........

http://www.tc-homes.com/bike/forum/fg-bikes/

back in ought 3 we called 'em cowhorns!

These bars are the greatest:

http://www.cinelli.it/prodotti/curve/prodotto/curvaNeoMorphe.jpg

I don't mean to be rude at all, but...the answer to your question is a simple matter of looking at the bars. Form follows function, the bullhorns allow for a more upright yet still mildly aggressive riding position--they are good for riding situations where you need to be looking around yet still riding hard(the city). Track bars allow you to get lots of leverage for hard pulls and to be aero as well, they are also generally tighter to the bike than road bars, letting you slip through smaller spaces. The downside is a lack of stability in lowspeed situations and less forgiving handling.

Please dont call them "cowhorns", it sounds stupid and cows dont even haaaave horns, bulls do. hence BULLHORNS. Even though they are technically pursuit bars/time trial bars. Anyways, track drops are made for the track, how often are you gonna be layin realllly low in the deep drops while riding in the city. I used road drops for awhile, but I preferred bullhorns. I now have a set of risers ( pause for the haters ) and you know what? I love them for city riding. But out of the three mentioned, I would choose BULLhorns.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/bgr/lowres/bgrn882l.jpg

ive tried everything but risers, and i think risers look ok but i have a long winded opinion about them.


track drops are great. but i do not recomend having them on 24/7. i go between the drops and (drop) bullhorns. track drops are ok for city riding imo, but not good for extended riding beyond one hour. i ussually dont ride beyond that and if i did i would go to road drops which have MORE options like a wider top or flat area, a place to comfortably ride the hoofs of the brake levers(or not). track drops have only two options, in the drops or at the stem. what i hate is seeing drop bars that are only wrapped at the top or at the bottom and the fockers arent even on the track. wrap up the whole damn bar if you ride them in the city.

bullhorns are great, i like bullhorns with some drop....as an example..
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2377/1972286690_eec7519561.jpg
is the amount i like, its just about the mid point between the top and drop of a drop bar.

try them all, and remember, a bar that fits make a big difference. i ussually directly place the unmounted bars up to my shoulders to check for length. if its close enough then im golden, too short or too long and life will surely suck

Wow!

Great necro-posting!

Please dont call them "cowhorns", it sounds stupid and cows dont even haaaave horns, bulls do. hence BULLHORNS. Even though they are technically pursuit bars/time trial bars. Anyways, track drops are made for the track, how often are you gonna be layin realllly low in the deep drops while riding in the city. I used road drops for awhile, but I preferred bullhorns. I now have a set of risers ( pause for the haters ) and you know what? I love them for city riding. But out of the three mentioned, I would choose BULLhorns.

some cows have horns...

track drops don't have a flat section on top, they have a larger-radius shoulder so the bend doesn't hit your forearm when sprinting in drops. they tend to be deeper than road counterparts, and most (but not all) have a round bend vs. a sectioned or 'anatomic' bend. technically this gives you fewer hand positions than a road handlebar with aero brake levers, but you may not miss the extra ones.

most drops have less reach than most bullhorns by 2–8cm or so, especially pursuit horns like nitto's RB009 and RB019. their RB018 is fairly short reach and no drop.

fwiw, i have 40cm deda pista drops on my track pro, and 42cm deda akros bullhorns on my iro. the iro is a 53cm and is on the small side for me, so the additional reach is welcome sometimes.

theres no reason to ride in the drops when you're surrounded by cars.

you must have never tried drafting behind a car.

http://www.ridefetish.com/image/f/2081/large/000_0011.jpg

this is the only acceptable handlebars to be called "cow horns"

ive tried everything but risers, and i think risers look ok but i have a long winded opinion about them.


track drops are great. but i do not recomend having them on 24/7. i go between the drops and (drop) bullhorns. track drops are ok for city riding imo, but not good for extended riding beyond one hour. i ussually dont ride beyond that and if i did i would go to road drops which have MORE options like a wider top or flat area, a place to comfortably ride the hoofs of the brake levers(or not). track drops have only two options, in the drops or at the stem. what i hate is seeing drop bars that are only wrapped at the top or at the bottom and the fockers arent even on the track. wrap up the whole damn bar if you ride them in the city.

bullhorns are great, i like bullhorns with some drop....as an example..
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2377/1972286690_eec7519561.jpg
is the amount i like, its just about the mid point between the top and drop of a drop bar.

try them all, and remember, a bar that fits make a big difference. i ussually directly place the unmounted bars up to my shoulders to check for length. if its close enough then im golden, too short or too long and life will surely suck

my wrists hurt just looking

yeah, track drops are probably best for the city if you have that kind of focus and back strength, but when I have worked in the past bullhorns have been my favorite, especially some tighter ones, I would say that tight bullhorns on a nice track stem are one of the best options for someone who is working everyday, they give you good visibility, decent leverage and can be stable and provide good reach for skitching. plus their lines always look damn nice on just about any decent frame.

's nothing to do with the feel of the bike....

's all about how yOU feel with which set of handlebars...

I feel most gully with drops...just cause...I drop it like it's hot

I'm riding risers now, but I <3 my road drops.

i'm glad that at least one person noticed the original post date...

http://www.ridefetish.com/image/f/2081/large/000_0011.jpg

this is the only acceptable handlebars to be called "cow horns"

+ramming speed.

http://www.calfeedesign.com/images/SteerhornBambooBike650x493.jpg

Please dont call them "cowhorns", it sounds stupid and cows dont even haaaave horns, bulls do. hence BULLHORNS.

edit: i don't know how the hell to post images here. i'm an idiot. the following url contains a picture of one of many cows with horns:

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/931/15015952.JPG

dead post or not, I wanna try one of them bamboo bikes--though maybe with some non-animal appendage bars.

I've got me some 44cm wide Ritchey ergo drops with a pair of brakes and I love the setup. Second place goes to mustachios. I'm also more along the Fred-ish type of riders, rather than the barspin type of riders, so keep that in mind.

dead post or not, I wanna try one of them bamboo bikes--though maybe with some non-animal appendage bars.

maybe they'll come out with a carbon version of the bars