Touring - Straight Bars/ Drops

I have a cross bike, a Kelly Knobby X to be exact that I want to start doing longer tours on. The first being the C&O Canal in MD. Right now I have drop bars because I had it set up for racing cross.. but I'm not doing that anymore...
I found while commuting or general riding i'm not in my drops too much. The person I'll be doing most my tours with isn't an aggresive rider at all.

I was wondering how many people use Drop bars vs Straight bars or moustache type? Are there many pro cons vs the two. I do know that drops give you many hand positions, thats why I was thinking of the route of a moustache/H nitto type bar.

Suggestions please?

You mentioned that you want to do "longer tours". I suggest you stick with the drop bars since it will give you three effective hand positions which are two more hand positions than a straight MTB bar. Your hand will be less numb at the end of your tour.

Of coure, you can get a straight MTB bar and add bar ends for an additional hand position. Still not as efficient as drop bars for distances longer than 15 Miles.

Cro_Moly_Body

I'd stick with the drops. Even if you aren't on them that much, they do give you another couple of options, and with your racing experience, you'd probably miss them if you didn't have them. On thing, though, if your headset/stem will allow it, lift the bars up to the same level as your seat. Apart from a more comfortable touring position that will allow you to converse better with your tour partner, you may find yourself using the drops more when needed.

Then, of course, you could experiment with the other two options which you shop might allow you to do.

I raise the bars a higher on my touring bike (and tandem) than my road/racing bikes. I'm more comfortable on a loaded bike slightly more upright and the extra hand positions are nice for a long day in the saddle.

I've done the one day Seattle to Portland on a flat bar/bar end bike and it was OK but I prefer the drops. It's a personal preference.

I've got a Trek 520 that has straight bars with bar ends.

I tried the drop handlebars for several months. I found that I had two-and-a-half positions: Hoods and tops of the handlebars, with some variations in hand placement on the top. If I'm out touring, which for me means riding along at an easy pace while looking at the scenery, I'm not going to be on the drops.

In spite of the handlebars being at seat height, and having two layers of cushioned tape, I was just not comfortable on the drop handlebars. This had been my experience with other drop handlebar bikes.

I then had the flat handlebars and bar ends installed (change of shifters and brake levers, too). It was immediately better and was similar to my experience in using MTBs. I then improved it by adding a softer handgrip to both the bar and over the bar ends. Much better. Rides of 50-100 miles were no longer resulting in pain or numbness.

BUT, I recently completed a 7-day, 548-mile tour, and did experience noticeable numbness and weakness in my left hand. That hand is 100% OK now, but I think I need to alter the angle of the bar ends a little. Of course, that ride was over twice what I had ever done in one week, and more than I usually do in a month, so I probably just over did it.

So, there is no one solution that works for all people. The flat handlbar w/ends gives me about 2.5 positions, just like the drops, but does so comfortably. Plus I find the MTB brake lever position to be much more powerful.

You didn't mention any comfort problems with the drops. If it works, why change it?

I was going to sell my Giant Cypress and buy a touring bike when I had an opportunity to get just drop bars instead. The way I'm set up for touring, the bars are about the same height as the saddle. As others have said I use the top for just crusing along with lots of options like grabbing near the top of the brakes, holding the outsides with my palm and others. I use the drops for headwinds and that is about it. 100 km runs used to get my hands tingling. Now it's no problem because I have all the options.

As a tourist, you won't be in the drops much, but when you need them, they are useful. I find them most useful on big descents, where I can lower my centre of gravity and get better purchase on the brakes.
You can get mini brake levers for the tops.

Each of the suggestions above make good sense, sounds like it'll be your personnel experiance helping you decide. If you'd like to try the bar end feel with your drops just slide the brake levers up higher, then rotate the handlebars up slightly. Refer to my Trek 520.

This is what I tour with & how I commute.

You can get mini brake levers for the tops.

I had Salsa cross levers put on my Long Haul Trucker, when it was finished two weeks ago. I really like having them and I am glad I put them on.

http://patch29.smugmug.com/photos/8339124-M.jpg

Another way to multiply hand positions is to install an aerobar. An Aerobar provides an advantage that cannot be obtained with any other kind of handlebar that I know of: you can ride without gripping hard. I curl my hands around the aerobar, but do not grip it. In other words, the hands get a rest. I have been touring with aerobars clipped on to drop handlebars since 1994, and I now consider them absolutely indispensable. My hands do not get numb anymore.

The Aerobar that I use can be attached both to straight and drop bars: the Profile Design AirStyke:

www.profile-design.com/product_pages/clip_airstryke.html

The arm-pads are spring-loaded; they are out of the way when you are not using them. I have a plastic and Velcro map-case that fits in the diamond-shaped area. It’s very convenient.

I recently posted two pictures in the “Touring” forum in the thread called “When cows and bicyclists meet.” The aerobars and map case are visible in both pictures.

An article on optimizing the position of aerobars appears here:

www.tri-ecoach.com/art20.htm

Alan

On a "regular" touring frame I'd stick with the drop bars, raised to saddle height as others have suggested(or the aero bar idea is pretty cool too). You get the hand positions and control along with the added benefit of going low while riding into a headwind, or "bombing" downhill-if you want.

For an "ATB" or "MTB", being a bit more upright anyways, I like the Trekking bar setup seen on many european bikes. I have a similar one from nashbar on my foul weather bike, and the adjustability (up/down) along with the hand positions would seem to work out very well for extended riding. I haven't gone farther than 15miles on it yet though, so can't say for sure.

Nashbar trekking bars (http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=92&subcategory=1049&sku=9756&brand=)-note that these particular bars may, or may not prove sturdy enough for loaded touring. "Real" ones (stronger, varying sizes etc.) could probably be imported through Koga-Miyata, Saint Johns Street Cycles etc.

I think bar choice is about as personal as underpants choice ... what works for one person will annoy the heck out of anyone else ... I tour on two mountain bikes, both flat bars with bar ends, and I have changed the drop bars on my Trek 520 for brahma bars [combo flar bar/bar ends], and after suffering for 6 months on my new Thorn Nomad touring bike with drop bars, I changed them yesterday to a flat bar set up with bar ends and the relief and comfort is amazing ... my hands would hurt after 5 miles with drop bars, where as with flat bars I can ride all day with no problems ...
It is whatever you are comfortable with ...

The pics show my Giant MTB I have used for touring, my Trek 520 with the flat bars and also my Nomad when it had dropbars ...

cheers,
hoogie
timaru/oamaru, new zealand
My webapges (http://www.hoogie.co.nz)

One thing no one mentioned(or at least I didn't see it) was that the drop bars give you a lower profile into a stiff wind. I found this useful when to touring.

A funny thing happened to me. Like most, I started with straight bars. Then I discovered that road bars are like straight bars with two additional hand positions. Now, the more I ride, the more I'm appreciating road bars. The lower the position that I am on the bars, the less weight on my butt. While I can't do it forever, I've found that the drops actually give the best weight distribution with virtually no butt discomfort. I realize that this is not a great secret, just a personal discovery.

One discomforting element of drop bars is that they're just not wide enough.....even 46cm bars.

One thing no one mentioned(or at least I didn't see it) was that the drop bars give you a lower profile into a stiff wind. I found this useful when to touring.

My barends give me a stretched out position that allows me to punch into a headwind ... kind of like Greme Obree's superman positon, but not quite as radical ... if the headwind is too stiff, just find a warm location and sit it out! :o)

Like I said ... bar choice is really quite a personal thing, whatever spins your freewheel I say!

cheers,
hoogie
timaru/oamaru, new zealand

I have drop bars on my road bike, and I don't like them that much. I like the flat bars on my mountain bike, but they only offer one position. When I build my touring bike, I think that I am going to go with the Nashbar trekking bars that Camel mentioned in his post. I checked out the link to Nashbar's site, and if they really weigh 506 grams (or 1.116 pounds), then they must be the heaviest aluminum bars around.

I checked out the link to Nashbar's site, and if they really weigh 506 grams (or 1.116 pounds), then they must be the heaviest aluminum bars around.

One alternative is the Brahma handlebars. Not as elaborate as the trekking bars, but listed at about 270 grams.

Here's the only place I could find (quickly) with them listed for sale:

http://www.bikepro.com/products/handlebars/zoom_brahm_comb.html

Wow - those "brahma" bars are nice and wide.

Yes, those Brahma bars are nice. I believe the original Brahma bars have been out of production for quite some time. Similar bars can be found on Ebay. I recently found a brand new- old stock Scott LF-3 bars on Ebay. Most comfortable bars... I used to have them in the early 90's on my Mtb as well.

I use 50 mm rise bars with bar ends mounted to the insides of the brake levers. This offers an alternate hand position and is great for getting down and cutting the wind.

I use drop bars but I'm rarely in the drops (most downhill and some headwind). If I used flat bars, I'd absolutely need bar-ends as I find the "plain" flat bar position unnatural. To illustrate, stand with your arms at your side, then lift your forearms. To grab flat bars, you have to twist your arms (thumbs in, palms down). I feel tension and I'm not even grabbing anything! I don't like the break position on flat bars either. I've been thinking about bullhorns for my next bike. My 2¢.

I have used drop bars on all my touring bikes and have installed almost identical combos on all of them so they feel the same depending what bike I'm riding. My favorite is Nitto dream bars (Rivendell) which are a standard curved deep drop. I do not like ( yes I have tried them) the new fad with the flat angled section up the drop. They prevent a full flat surface when I'm on the bottom of the bars. I use barend shifters as do most touring riders. I also triple wrap, yes triple, bar tape to get a nice grip which gives a larger radius for the hand to set on. I wrap them tight so there is not alot of sponge effect, but it does reduce some of the high frequency vibration from little bumps on the road. The top of the handlebars are even with the top of my seat and I ride most of the time in a relaxed mode on the top. Wind, uphill and downhill riding is always on the bottom with the hands in a natural position with the elbows back. That is the problem I have found with montain bike bars, hands in that unnatural 90deg twist and no really good way of changing. I cring when I see a mountain biker, on the road, going downhill, trying to bending over with their elbows sticking out and hands inside the shoulders. Highly unstable and dangereous in my opinion. In town and around traffic I ride on the hoods so I have a fast response to the brakes. As to the treking bars, I bought a REI Safari with treking bars and ripped them off and converted the set to a drop bars, barend shifters and cantilever brakes. And triple wrapped. I had to insert a stem riser to get the drop bars up with the seat elevation. By the way the treking bars have the brakes and shifters toward the middle of the bars, more than the traditional mountain bike flat bars. When touring Alaska most of the bikes were mountain of some sort with flat bars. Alot had added extension bars on the end. I used a Rivendell 26" 'All Rounder' which has touring geometry. I built it up with 44 cm deep drops and is what I call an "Alaska Road Bike". Now that the REI Safari has been converted, it is even a tougher "Alaska Road Bike" and 1/3 the price. This is what I will use touring the Alps next year. Would you trust a $3000+ Rivendell to the Airlines? I think not!
Check out two of my tours, you will like the maps and photos. One tour was with a Trek 520 the other with the Rivendell.
http://www.krabach.info

A few thoughts...

1. The Zoom Brahma bars while interesting scare the <crap> outta me with that description... "The Brahma is made of 6061 aluminum alloy, (its temper is unknown), from tubing that would... ". A bar that wide and being made out of aluminum... man oh man, I sure would like to know if it's tempered or not. Fully loaded and going downhill, I wouldn't want to be on the ends of the bar and have them fail. I mention this for a couple reasons-
I have used Scott Bullhorn-like bars made from Alu and they clearly would flex when I was on the outside ends, and that flex scared the *&^% out of me. Second reason- Alu goes when it goes... no warning, and that isn't something I ever want to experience let alone with a handlebar.

2. I truly wish that someone would step up and make a drop bar that was 50+cm's wide. Finally you can get a Nitto Noodle in 48 but I would like to see a 52 or even a 54 for tourers and other folks that primarily ride long distances and for the most part don't use their drops.

Last...

The Fixer mentioned LF-3's. Could you post a pic of those? Thanks

I just bought a Lemond road bike with drop bars but I am not really convinced about the advantages of this type of bar. I have had problems with hand numbness with the drop bar whereas I have never had significant problems with my hybrid which has a straight MTB bar with bar ends.

The drop bar also isnt very convenient for braking and if I had to stop suddenly I am convinced that I would be significantly slower braking with the drop bar.

I am seriously considering changing the drop bar to a straight bar with bar ends. This gives you a couple of hand positions. I think if you get the height right you can still get a reasonable aerodynamic shape.

The only thing that really deters me is the need to change the brakes and shifters. Could be expensive and it is shame to break up the nice shiny Ultegra set.

Has anyone any done this? and if so which brakes, shifters or bar have you used? (I have a 9x cassette).

I just bought a Lemond road bike with drop bars but I am not really convinced about the advantages of this type of bar. I have had problems with hand numbness with the drop bar whereas I have never had significant problems with my hybrid which has a straight MTB bar with bar ends.

The drop bar also isnt very convenient for braking and if I had to stop suddenly I am convinced that I would be significantly slower braking with the drop bar.

I am seriously considering changing the drop bar to a straight bar with bar ends. This gives you a couple of hand positions. I think if you get the height right you can still get a reasonable aerodynamic shape.

The only thing that really deters me is the need to change the brakes and shifters. Could be expensive and it is shame to break up the nice shiny Ultegra set.

Has anyone any done this? and if so which brakes, shifters or bar have you used? (I have a 9x cassette).

Here's the setup I use on my Rivendell Atlantis...

http://tinypic.com/p64o5

http://tinypic.com/p64rb

Shimano BL-R400 brake levers (silver, very durable), Shimano Dura-Ace 9 speed Thumb Shifters, Paul's Components Thumbies (for thumb shifters) and Salsa Cro-Moto (made by Nitto) Riser Bars w/Profile Bar Ends.

Everytime, I saw a guy on loaded touring bike, I never seen him the drop position except at stop light just to grab those brake levers. I would go with straight bar with bar ends, if the road condition is nice, I would add the aero bar, I really the tuck in position of the aero bar on my road bike but on my trip to vietnam in Feb I decide to leave it at home because of the bad roads of bad traffics.

/td

Here's the setup I use on my Rivendell Atlantis...

Shimano BL-R400 brake levers (silver, very durable), Shimano Dura-Ace 9 speed Thumb Shifters, Paul's Components Thumbies (for thumb shifters) and Salsa Cro-Moto (made by Nitto) Riser Bars w/Profile Bar Ends.

nice set up but where did you get those thumb shifters from? I looked on the Shimano site and they dont seem to make any Dura Ace thumb shifters. Also I looked on the Paul's component site and am still not too clear about what you need the thumbies for? confused!! :o

nice set up but where did you get those thumb shifters from? I looked on the Shimano site and they dont seem to make any Dura Ace thumb shifters. Also I looked on the Paul's component site and am still not too clear about what you need the thumbies for? confused!! :o

Shimano Dura-Ace Bar End Shifters...

http://bike.shimano.com/Road/Dura-Ace/componenttemplate.asp?partnumber=SL-BS77

The Paul's Thumbies allow you to mount the shifters onto a handlebar for thumb shifting... whereas without the Paul's your only option is mounting them into the ends of your handlebar... i.e. "Bar End" or "Bar Con(s)"

Hope this helps clear things up for you :)

Shimano Dura-Ace Bar End Shifters...

The Paul's Thumbies allow you to mount the shifters onto a handlebar for thumb shifting... whereas without the Paul's your only option is mounting them into the ends of your handlebar... i.e. "Bar End" or "Bar Con(s)"

Hope this helps clear things up for you :)

thanks Istanbul-Tea I see how that works now- I hadn´t realised that the thumb shifters were the bar end type-I am going to try a time trial bar on my Lemond first and see how that goes. It it works it should be a cheaper solution as I just have to buy the bar. But if it doesnt work out I may well try out your way.

thanks Istanbul-Tea I see how that works now- I hadn´t realised that the thumb shifters were the bar end type-I am going to try a time trial bar on my Lemond first and see how that goes. It it works it should be a cheaper solution as I just have to buy the bar. But if it doesnt work out I may well try out your way.

Sounds great just make sure of a few things...

Get a wide TT bar (or what's known as a Cowhorn/Bullhorn or even Stoker bar)... minimum of 44cm, 47cm is best
http://aebike.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=30&SKU=HB1533
...and do remember-getting that stem UP is crucial too. Assuming you're using threadless, perhaps an extender is in order for your needs as well. http://aebike.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=30&SKU=SM2787

Sounds great just make sure of a few things...

Get a wide TT bar (or what's known as a Cowhorn/Bullhorn or even Stoker bar)... minimum of 44cm, 47cm is best
http://aebike.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=30&SKU=HB1533
...and do remember-getting that stem UP is crucial too. Assuming you're using threadless, perhaps an extender is in order for your needs as well. http://aebike.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=30&SKU=SM2787

ok thanks again for the further tips- Istanbul_Tea-I had ordered a 42 cm wide bar but I think you are right and have cancelled this order and ordered one of these in 44cm width (but the silver version)-the SYNTACE STRATOS 200

I will play about with the height of the bar as I still want to have some aerodynamic properties. It is just a question of finding a good comprise.