sprince

Maybe this should go in the road bike forum, but I consider it a parts issue. Is there any such thing as a modern long reach + short/any drop handlebar? Looking for something around 120mm+ in reach. Preferably with a round profile. The current trend seems to be a shorter reach and drop. Honestly I'd prefer a Nitto rb-021 or rb-018 with a bar end shifter/brake combo, but that doesn't exist either. Is the best option traditional 26mm bars with a shim or is there something else out there?

fietsbob

Tried Randonneur bend handle-bars ? Nitto is one maker..

Al Criner

Velo Orange has a tradtional curve bar with 115mm reach, 125 mm drop.

sprince

Those look nice. The reported 395gm weight is fairly heavy for any bar, maybe more than some steel bars. Will have to compare those in size and weight to some of the ancient ones in my parts bin. I am curious about the reasoning behind the compact bar trend. A reach of 115mm isn't exactly radical. Modern 31mm bars seem to all be in the 70-90mm range, which is less than the width of my palms. Is this because of UCI regulations (no more than 5cm beyond axle), weight savings or something else?

Kimmo

Smear em with grease and soak em in caustic for a bit

Tunnelrat81

FWIW,

I'm working with a fitter right now who 'prescribed' the shortest and shallowest bars on the market for me...based solely on my measurements etc. while in each of the three main positions. I mention this because the current "trend" might well be the industry taking a closer look at proper bike fit across the board and adapting options to fill a need. Not everyone may belong on a short and shallow bar, but it's good to have the bases covered for those who require it in order to fully utilize and properly fit their bikes.

Another thing to consider. If you design shallow bars without shortening them also, you might end up with clearance problems between the top curve (between the tops and hoods) and your wrists when riding out of the saddle in the drops. There are lots of shapes out there though, and maybe going for a cyclocross handlebar with a little bit of flare to address that problem ( https://salsacycles.com/components/cowbell_3 ). Salsa has lots of other shapes of bars as well, and you may find what you're looking for on their site.

-Jeremy

ThermionicScott 

Could be that the VO bars are thicker tubing, or it could be the extra length you need to make such a long-reach bar that makes it so heavy.

I doubt the UCI has anything to do with it. The trend is for people to ride on the hoods nearly all the time, with the drops as an afterthought. The reach and drop have been made shorter so the other positions aren't so far away.

Al Criner

On modern bikes with STI you ride on the hoods more, the ramp of the bars is not so important. In the old days you didn't ride on the hoods. Plus with the modern racing position the bars are low to begin with so a deep drop is unnecessary. If you look at old bars from the 60s, 70s or 80s the drop is huge on a lot of them.

sprince

The next logical progression, to me anyway, would be pursuit bars or bullhorns with bar end shifters. I have a touring bike set up that way and it's way more comfy and aero than any drop bar setup I've seen. Unfortunately you have to engineer your own brake lever + shifter combos so its a bit of a pain.

I've never used the drops much on modern bars because, as tunnelrat81 mentioned above, my wrists hit the bends. And with the compact styles, the drops are often too short to get a decent grip. I ride a lot of the old bars from the 60-80s and understand the issue with the hoods and getting a flat transition. But it seems to me that at the minimum manufacturers could offer slightly longer reaches in the larger sizes. Just a few centimeters would make a huge difference.