Yen

I'm planning to buy the Nashbar trekking bar very soon and I have my usual set of pre-purchase questions. This is to give me more hand positions on my Giant hybrid. I'll probably get them for my future bike as well, in lieu of drop bars. I know, I know, drop bars give additional hand positions as well but I really don't think my neck can take the drops AT ALL so I don't see the point in having that additional position, unless I test ride a road bike for long enough duration to prove otherwise.

Anyway, my questions are:

1. Is there another brand of trekking bar that's very similar and better for not too much more $$? In searching the forums I see a lot of people with the Nashbar version and no mention of any drawbacks.

2. What is your favorite type and brand of bar tape, and why?

3. Anything else I need to know or consider?

Jen

Wil Davis

…you might consider using the search function with "trekking bars"; you might be pleasantly surprised…

- Wil

George

Cork tape and give them a bouble wrap and you will not feel any discomfort at all. When you do put them on, I think you may be more comfortible to have them pretty close to level. If you cock them to much you'll have a tendency to lean on them to much and pinch the nerves in your hands. I have mine 1" lower in the back than the front. My saddle is 40" the back of the bar is 41" and the front is 42". You'll probably have to play with them a little, just like everything else, but you'll know when you got it. Your hands shouldn't tingle of fall asleep, if they do, just move them a very little at a time.

I think Nashbar has about the cheapest bars and all the others are so close it doesn't make much difference. Sometimes when I look through their web site, I see that they are out of them, so somebody must like them besides me. Good luck.

Ken Brown

In 2+ weeks I will be in Austria and will rent a bike with trekking bars. I am looking forward to trying them as they seem to have a good selection of positions. I have always ridden with drop bars but my neck will probably appreciate the trekking bars.

Yen

Mea culpa.


George: Thank you for answering my question again. Apparently I didn't dig deep enough in my search. Must be a flare-up of my chronic 50+ seniormomentitis.

Tom Bombadil

You can pick them up over-the-counter from REI for $20.

https://www.rei.com/product/629508

Yen

We didn't see them when we were at REI today.... we'll have to go back and look. Thanks!

George

I checked there as well and they told me they were special order.

Tom Bombadil

They had one at my local REI, but perhaps that isn't the norm.

George

Yen I forgot, when you do get the bars lay them on the table you'll see they flare up or lay dished, you can flip them anyway you want, I put mine up and find it right for me, but you may like yours down, just so you are aware of it.

maddmaxx 

Bar tape like saddles comes in many flavors and colors. The primary differences consist of:

Adhesive backed or not. Non adhesive backed can be taken apart and redone easily (nice for your first tape job.) Non adhesive backed also can come apart more easily if not wrapped tightly (thats ok, refer to reason one.) Adhesive bcked (if well done) makes very nice looking bars but usually must be replaced with new tape when redone.

Gel tape or not? Some bar tape has an additional stripe of gel inside to provide more cushoning. It feels thicker to the hands and may or may not be your cup of tea.

Most modern tape is cork or synthetic cork. This would include almost all of the Cinelli tapes and most of the tapes sold by the online houses like Nashbar. There is an older tape on the market that consists of a thin woven fabric that is very thin and gives the retro look and feel. There are also tapes that have the feel and consistancy of tennis racquet tapes. They appear to be characterized by rows of holes and or a double row of stitching and have the Ostrich hide look. These are nice and have the some have the ability to feel more tacky when damp. (others in this catagory have the feel of old dry vinal seats)

Lighter colors will show dirt sooner but can look really sharp on many bikes (avoid white at all costs ) Striped tape can be almost impossible (at least for me) to wrap consistantly.

This is one of the few things that you can do to a bike that expresses individuality without bringing on scads of complaints of Fredishness or excessive OCP'ness.

As with anything, if you can get a chance to sneak around bike hangouts, squeezing the bars you will get a better impression of what you like (do not do this to excess, you will end up like Tom or DG)

Yen

Ken: How did you like the trekking bars?

Old Hammer Boy

Yen, I have trekking bars on my Surly Long Haul Trucker and found them to be quite comfortable. They are also quite a bit wider than most road bars, and that offers a little better degree of control. At first they will almost feel somewhat like a steering wheel; at least that's how I think they felt. One thing I really like about them is when you stand up and honk up a mountain. Because they are so wide, and you grip them in a very natural way, you really feel stable. They'll take awhile to get used to, but I think for casual riding or touring, they're great.

Ken Brown

Yen, I was reasonably pleased with them. I don't think they were positioned optimally because I was in virtually the same position with my hands on the top and bottom. See photo and draw an arc from the shoulder to the bars. Because the top is further forward than the bottom, my body position did not change.



Therefore, with trekking bars it makes sense to experiment by rotating the bars in the stem.

Still, I was more upright than I am with my bike, which has drop bars, and my neck appreciated it. We did not have any serious headwinds, and that is when I really like the drops. If I bought a new touring bike I think I would still opt for drop bars, but that might be just stubbornness. Trekking bars certainly make a lot more sense than straight bars, and properly positioned I might prefer them over drops.

Dchiefransom

If you have to order them, having them shipped to the store results in no charge for shipping.

George

+1

Retro Grouch 

When you wrap a trekking bar, how does the handlebar tape come out? Cinelli tape, for example, seems a little short to me. I like rather wide handlebars and I have to plan ahead when I wrap them to be sure that I don't run out of tape before I run out of bar. Has that been an issue for you with the trekking bar?

George

I double wrapped my tape with gel tape.

Yen

Thanks everyone. I ordered the bars today from Nashbar. I didn't order the tape... I decided to buy that locally, and I'm not yet sure which type to get.

I also like the bullhorn handlebars which I tested on a bike a few weeks ago. Like road bike bars but without the drops. I don't see myself riding in the drops at all, since I cannot bend my wrist the way it's necessary to do so while riding in the drops and holding the brake levers... I tested that and it was not at all comfortable. I have a wrist prosthesis that's almost 30 years old and I try to baby it since a replacement is no longer made. Putting pressure on the wrist in that position for any length of time would be foolish. The bullhorns felt comfortable and gave me the additional hand position, though one less than with the trekking bars. The trekking bars will go on my hybrid, but the bullhorns may go on my next bike.