Handlebars-who makes what I want
 

My bike was stolen, so I'm working on building another commuter; I still want to be able to ride 50-100 miles on occasion.

I have significant wrist and shoulder issues, so a really neutral hand position is critical for me. I need the angled hand position of a "traditional" 3-speed type bar, but I'd like something that lets me ride more or less upright as drop bars do.

What would be ideal would be a drop bar, with the flats swept back and the hoods bent in (so from the top, it would look like the bottom of a 5-pointed star), with the drops angled out like a Salsa Woodchopper or dirt drop bar.

Does anyone make this bar?

??? https://www.google.com/search?q=butt...%3B1600%3B1200

I've definitely considered butterfly/trekking bars.

I prefer the higher/lower position change that drop bars give, though, relative to the more reach/less reach adjustment that a butterfly bar gives.

Trekking bars are cool. I've ridden drop bars like forever and love them. But the trekking bars that I recently mounted on a mtb felt good immediately. They give you lots of good options for your hands at a comfortable height; worth a try given your needs.

If a moustache or randoneur (sp) bar don't work for the o.p. I don't really know what will. North Road bars also should work, they don't have drops but usually people with hand and back issues don't want them. I do. My hand issues went completely away when I went to drop handlebars. A Civia Emerson with an 80mm reach is just about perfect for me. Upright is where you set the bars. The brand or type of bar is irrelevant. I could have North Road bars set so low that my position might be more extreme than someone using drops. I for one need the o.p. to be much more clear in his descriptions of his ideal bar and it would be instructive to know what bars were on the bike that went missing.

H

I'll try to be clearer.

On the bike that went missing, I had a complete hack of a setup--a cutdown pair of the old triangular tri bars, set up so the grip was on the triangle's side. It was comfortable for short rides, but left me wanting more adjustment for longer rides.

My issues are wrist/elbow/shoulder, rather than hands and back. The key for me is that my hands be in a tilted position (like a North Road bar), rather than vertical (like standard drop bars in the drop) or horizontal (like standard flat bars), to keep strain off my elbows.

What I'm looking for is something with the ability to move your position up and down--more or less upright--that the four positions on a standard drop bar give, but with the bar bent such that all those positions give some angle to the wrists (like North Road bars do, or like the drops and tails of dirt drops do).

Maybe this?
http://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...crazy-bar.html
or North Roads flipped over to give some drop- I ran that for years.

So why not the Salsa Woodchipper? Or the Nitto Randonneur? These have that flare you want. The Salsa Cowbell is another good one too. But more importantly, how does this bike for you? Are the bars up high enough?

I hadn't seen the crazy bar--thanks.

The Salsa Woodchipper has the geometry I want in the drops and tails, but the flats and hoods don't; it's the closest thing I've seen to what I want, though.

I'm not sure what you're asking about "how does this bike for you?" I have always adjusted the height to where I feel comfortable by changing stem length.

http://www.jonesbikes.com/images/sto..._cutbar_ti.jpg
Jeff Jones "H" bar. Check out his website for other styles/widths, etc.

Soma has all kinds of alt-bars which might work, too:

Soma Sparrow bars:

http://www.somafab.com/wp-content/up...00-370x300.jpg

Soma Portola

http://www.somafab.com/wp-content/up...00-200x150.jpg

Soma Lauterwasser:

http://www.somafab.com/wp-content/up...oy-200x150.jpg

Soma Eagle (Jeff Jones "inspired"):

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-3773699..._2268_84903931

Soma Condorina!

I'm not super clear what you're looking for.

You want something like a combo between rando bars and a swept-back flat bar?

I have a woodchipper (monstercross bike) and I can easily ride it on the hoods/flats. I only use the drops when offroad or in the wind. I also have a Surly open bar touring/cargo bike) and find that it has a lot of hand positions although it is a bit flexy due to it being CroMo. My newest bar (my mountain bike) is a Misfit Psychles FU2 bar, the bar has a comfortable sweep and can be flipped to give a little bit of drop. What shifters/levers are you using?

The forward reach, and bending my elbows a bit, and I have the same leaning over into a Headwind,

posture, as I did going down on the drops.

I'm trying to pick a bar before choosing shifters/levers; I'm hoping to use either integrated levers or thumbies.

Let me try to re-explain what I'm looking for. From the back (looking with your nose on the seat) it would look like a Salsa Woodchipper or a Nitto Dirt Drop; note the hand position on the drops and tails--the index finger knuckles are closer together (from one hand to the other) than the pinky knuckles. I want that same hand configuration on the flats and hoods--so I want the hoods to slope back a bit, and the hoods to get closer together as they go forward, not farther apart like the flared bars mentioned above. From the top, with the front of the bike toward the ceiling (think a bike hanging vertically, front wheel up) I want something that looks like the bottom of a star, not like a W; the tips should lean in, not out.

The h-bar/crazy bar looks somewhat promising.

+ ]outside the box[ 2 stems in a threadless stack, and you can use 2 different handlebars.

I love my woodchipper bars. Why cant you use them and simply adjust the hoods where you'd prefer? Mine took some tweaking to get just right. I ride primarily on the hoods and occasionally in the drops and on long rides even a bit on the top. Awesome bars!

If you go with drop bar brake levers or brake/shift levers, either the Soma Portola or Lauterwasser might work, and my money would be on the Portola -- narrower than most dirt drop options, shallow drop, flare.

Based on your description -- the forward part of the bars also angled -- I'd put the VO Crazy bars behind the Soma Eagle and Jeff Jones bars, with the Jones bars getting the nod because I believe they are narrower than either the Crazy and Eagle bars.

Optimal advice summary: Soma Portola if you are considering drop bar brake levers/road bike treatment; Jeff Jones Cut H-Bar at 590mm if you want to go with mtn/hybrid components.