Touring - Trekking Bars/Butterfly bar or U bar question

I bought a trekking bar the other day and I don't really like it. I wanted more hand positions. I had a flat bar and didn't want to have to buy new shifters going to drops. Has anyone got any tips for using Trekking/Butterfly bars? It feels to narrow and makes my wrist bend.

I may try some U bars next if anyone has experience with them, I would like some advice.

Thanks

You can mount "butterfly" bars with the opening up or down. I have also seen people but bar ends on them in various locations. I use an adjustable stem on mine with the opening down and it works for me.

Aaron:)

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0218-3.jpg

George
That looks like a nice setup. Where did you find those bars ?

George,

Those are the same type of grips off of my flat bar. I may try that tonight. Do you have a side view I would like to see what angle you have the bar mounted at.
Thanks

The trekking bars of from Nashbar and the stem is a RID 130mm with a 30degree rise. The front of the bars are level with the saddle and the rear is an inch lower.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0390.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0389.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0388.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0387.jpg

Sorry the stem is IRD.

I like your setup, George. I rented a bike in Austria in October and the bars were set poorly. Whether my hands were on the upper or lower horizontal made little difference to my body. One nice thing about trekking bars is that you can rotate them to get an optimum variety of hand positions.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee202/cycletourist/Austria%202007/3359c.jpg

Thanks,

Maybe I won't give up on them just yet. I will play with the angle a little more and put the grips on.

Sweet ride by the way. Both of you.

I installed mine with the opening away from me. I also used aero brake levers and mounted them like you would on a mustache bar.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5835628&postcount=39

I waited for a while before I decided on how I wanted the stem. I knew I wanted to get the bars out farther, but I didn't know how far. I when with the 130mm stem and now I can put my elbows on the grips and my forearms on the front of the bar to get a more aerodynamic position. Good luck, I think if you play around with them a bit you'll like them. When you put the grips on you'll have to give them a good push , but they do fit, as you can see.

George
I don't want to get this thread off track, but how do you like the Coda and have you ridden it fully loaded ?

George
I don't want to get this thread off track, but how do you like the Coda and have you ridden it fully loaded ?

I was checking on a LHT and after a lot of research, I decided I didn't need that much bike. I know you can use it for just about everything, but it was not what I wanted. When I bought the Coda, I could have got a 2007, but the LBS said that the 2005 was a better buy. They seem to cut back every year to keep the price the same. The 2005 has BB7 brakes and the 2007 put on the BB5. Mine has a different fork and 631 tubing. I changed the gearing out to 48/36/26. There was other changes, but I can't remember what they are right now. I use a handlebar bag and I have a rear bag with the panniers built in. I haven't done any long tours, but I use it quite a bit in the Texas Hill Country and the gearing is just right for me. With the 631 steel and the carbon fiber fork you couldn't get a smoother ride. I want to take it on a long tour, but I can't pull it off at this time. I'm really hoping I can go next fall and that will probably the Texas Hill Country, or the Katy Trail. You wouldn't believe some of the hills I climbed with that bike already and I'm 67 years old.

I know the factory in California still had some 2005s still in the warehouse and if you went to the right shop they could get you one. I got mine for $900 and I'm very pleased with the bike. I know the LBS would want to sell a 2008 for the profit, but I would try and push for the 2005. This year they cut back on there steel and went back to 531. On the 2005 the TT is almost level, I think it's about 1/2 lower in the back. If you wanted to put a steel fork on it, that would cost around $70, but again, I'm pretty happy with just the way it is. Anyhow good luck and have fun riding.

Oh, I forgot I wrapped the bars with a double wrap of gel tape, no vibration at all.

Hey George, nice looking set up with those bars. I put trekking bars on my wife's bike. She doesn't ride very much, but she didn't like the flat bars when we did some longish rides.

She's happy with the trekking bars now, but I'm always wondering about brake access. When I ride drop bars with crosstop brake levers, I can brake from any hand position. On trekking bars, you can only brake from one position. Do you find that that limits your use of the other hand positions when riding in traffic?

These trekking bars are kind of interesting: http://www.wallbike.com/oddsnends/selego.html

She's happy with the trekking bars now, but I'm always wondering about brake access. When I ride drop bars with crosstop brake levers, I can brake from any hand position. On trekking bars, you can only brake from one position. Do you find that that limits your use of the other hand positions when riding in traffic?

I've been using Nashbar trekking bars for a few weeks now, and it took a week or more for me to really get a feel for them. They just felt less steady than my flats, but I guess that's mostly from not being right on top of the stem anymore, but the more I use them, the more I like them.

I wonder about the breaking issue, too, though, and I'm considering trying an in-line break set-up that will give me access to breaks from at least two hand positions. As it stands I often have to switch hand positions to stop or sometimes ride with one hand forward and one back, so at least one hand can reach a break easily.

Mine have the open end facing front. I put the grips from my flat bars on them (had to slice off the capped ends), and I got 4 Nasbar gel strips which I put on the other two most likely hand positions before wrapping the whole thing up with tape, which seems to do the job, although I think it might be a little better to actually have two more sets of grips on the bar.

George, is that an Ortlieb handlebar bag mount there? Did you have any difficulty fitting it? I might need to try out the butterfly bar myself, but eyeballing the few that I've seen on shelves around here, I'm a bit cautious regarding the handlebar bag.

--J

I put a 130mm stem on so it pushed the bars away from me, where I can just use the grips all the time if I feel like it. When riding into the wind I put my hands on the front of the bar. If it's really blowing hard, I put my forearms on the grips and leave my hands hang over the front.

I got the handlebar bag from REI, I think it's the biggest one they sell and it was around $65.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0385.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0384.jpg

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t184/GeorgeM-photo/HPIM0352.jpg

I have tights now and they are much better than sweat pants.

I had the shorter stem on the bike and had them tilted down a little more when I took this picture. You would be surprise how much that changed the feel of the bike, when I went from a 120mm to the 130mm.

Nice bars George!
What kind of grips are you using near the shifters/brake levers?

Ed

Nice bars George!
What kind of grips are you using near the shifters/brake levers?

Ed

Ergon P1 series, around $25. I got mine at REI, but they sell them just about everywhere.

I just ordered butterfly bars for my folding bicycle (a Downtube 8H (http://www.downtube.com/Font_Suspension_Internal_Hub_Folding_Bike.html)) to make it more suited for long rides and touring. Should I have the handlebars mounted with the bar ends pointing towards me of facing away from me? I would think having the bar ends facing away from me would allow for a more stretched out, aerodynamic position (which I want) but I don't really know. Any advice?

You can sure try it both ways but most that I have seen, have the "U" facing away like George's above.

Oops, what I meant is whether the bar ends are facing the rider (as in an M) or facing away from the rider (as in a W). It looks like George has his bars in the M position.

I will have my LBS do the installation (not being very mechanical). If I opt for, say, the M position and decide later I want the W position, is it simply a matter of loosening a few bolts and rotating the handlebars, or would it be more complicated due to the cabling?

No big deal to turn them around and reorient the brake levers and shifters. The cable length most likely won't be a factor as long as the LBS leaves enough for that in mind. If you do go the other way, you might need to cut down the cables and housing but as Sheldon would always say, "You can't cut longer"

Your setup looks like your grips are far too close to your brake levers to me. Not that you have much of a choice with the trekking bars.

You can always try other bars too. Mountain bikers now have lots of options for odd shaped bars. Titec H Bars gives a 45 degree sweep with multiple hand positions. /---\ That's the general shape of them. It's best with integrated shifters or thumbies though.

On One Mary bars, Origin 8 Spacebar, Surly Torsion Bar, Groovy Cycleworks Luv Handle, Soma Sparrow, someone makes a fubar or foobar, Salsa has a 17 degree sweep carbon riser bar. If you really want to spend a stupidly large amount of money, get the Jeff Jones H bars.

Those are all the major options I can think of. The Titec H bars or Soma Sparrow would be the ones I suggest you look at the most.

George, where did you get the seat bag? I have been looking for a a bag like that

Ed

George, where did you get the seat bag? I have been looking for a a bag like that

Ed

REI and it's the medium size. If you have a Brooks saddle, tighten the outside screws first. If you don't you wont get the bag back far enough.

Hello George, lot of questions for you set-up :-)

I know the Ergon comes in two sizes, did you buy the small or the big ones?, are you satisfied with the size you chosen?

I just ordered butterfly bars for my folding bicycle (a Downtube 8H (http://www.downtube.com/Font_Suspension_Internal_Hub_Folding_Bike.html)) to make it more suited for long rides and touring. Should I have the handlebars mounted with the bar ends pointing towards me of facing away from me? I would think having the bar ends facing away from me would allow for a more stretched out, aerodynamic position (which I want) but I don't really know. Any advice?

Mine are set up with the open end forward for just that reason. But for me that's to help make up for the fact that my top tube seemed a little short to me and I still feel a little cramped riding it (it's a hybrid, not a touring bike). Because I prefer a more upright position, I would probably flip them around on a bike that fit me a little better, but that's because my brakes and shifters are both at the open end, so I want the open end to be where my hands will be most of the time.

In your case, it just depends on what's most comfortable. The difference in reach doesn't seem like it'd be that big, but it also isn't insignificant. I would say to set it up so that the open end is where you'll have your hands most of the time. But if you want maximum stretch, than I agree that open towards the front is the way to go.

Hello George, lot of questions for you set-up :-)

I know the Ergon comes in two sizes, did you buy the small or the big ones?, are you satisfied with the size you chosen?

I have the large grips and like them very much. I've had them on the bike over a year and almost 5000 miles now. My son has been having problems with his wrist and I put them on his bike about 2 months ago and he likes them as well.

I just got done putting Velocity Fusions on the bike and man are they nice. Now all I need is some time to take a trip. I have a lot going on right now and haven't had much time to take off for a while, but I'll be ready when the time comes.

I have a set of the Dirt Research trekking bars on my Trek 950. I found the hand positions to be very similar to what I have on my road drop bars. Here's a picture of my wife's 94 Trek 950 with the standard flat bar, and my 92 Trek 950 with the DR trekking bars. As you can see, the trekking bars are as wide or wider than the flat bars. I have them wrapped with bar tape. I am continually moving my hands around, just like I do on my road bike with drop bars.

The Dirt Research bars have more of a "C" shape, whereas the Nashbar Trekking bars have a butterfly shape. I don't use grips on the DR bars, just like I don't use grips on my drop bars. If you need additional cushioning, I would either double up the bar tape, or add gel pads under the bar tape.

I will probably install Nashbar trekking bars on my wife's bike, just to be a little different.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3279/2987306411_d7c4a4843f.jpghttp://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/2988162580_8da0531136.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3179/2987305787_dcbda06965.jpg

Hi all, my bike's in the shop and the trekking bars are being installed. I'll post pics when it's done. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Hi all, my bike's in the shop and the trekking bars are being installed. I'll post pics when it's done. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Even if they install the bars for you, you'll still have to fine tune them. Just a little move and you'll really notice the difference, good luck.