going from typical 'ergo' drop bars to Butterfly type bar (or Nitto Randonneurs?)
 

I've done some searches, gotten some insight, but thought I'd toss this out to hear more rider's experiences

I have a 2002 Jamis Aurora... mainly riding/commuting/touring. (attached is an older pic; the bar tape is different and the ugh seat is now a Brooks)
It has some of your basic, newish 'ergo' drop bars with bar-end shifters. Since I ride mostly upright while doing training rides for touring, and will ride that way on the tour, the angle of drops is mostly lost on me. As a matter of fact, I have raised them, and tilted them back to obtain a relatively comfy position, but now the drop are at such an oblique angle that i could cut them off below the brake levers and not miss them (har har)

I'm becoming intrigued by alternate bar ideas -- starting with the butterfly bars. I need to get over to REI as they sell a model, and I could at least 'preview' how they feel in person.

If I was to go to Butterfly's, would I need to go to a different type of brake lever? Is the installation of the bar-ends going to be a hassle? If I want to try this route, just looking to cover all my bases

also... I see Nitto makes what they call a Randonneuring bar
It looke a little like the bars I used to ride on in the 70's. Might this be a more equitable and easier option?

I realize that all riders are different, but I'm just casting around for ideas, imput, and opinions

I converted my bars from drops to butterflies. Have you read that thread? (hint: search for "butterfly" in the Touring forum) You will get an idea of how to attach your bar ends. Brakes were easy. I got mtb style ones. There is a picture of my set up too.

So far all the butterfly bars I've seen are 22.2 mm. Including the very popular Nashbar one. Your drops are likely standard 23.8. The bar end shifters won't fit the butterfly, I had looked into this myself.

At their tightest compression, the bar end shifters measured to over 19.5 mm or so, leaving about 1 mm of metal for the wall of the handlebar on a 22.2 mm bar. Not gonna happen.

FYI: Nashbar is now selling butterfly bars for 9.95.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

I'm beginning to lean towards the Nitto Randonneur bars
Seems the conversion from drops to butterfly, while do-able, will require retooling alot of the gear that is already up there (new brake levers, some sort of change to the bar-ends, possibly a new stem)

I was looking to make a change in the ergonomics of my front end without having to renovate the whole dang thing.

Perhaps I'll pick up some Butterflys and keep them on hand for a project

I think the reason butterfly bars are popular is that it is an easy conversion for MTBs as compared to drop bars because you can reuse all the controls. Your situation is different so it may not be the best option.

I have ridden butterfly bars and drops for looong distances(century). The drops offer better body changes for your back than the butterfly. When riding the butterfly I AM upright, more of my weight is on my a$$. This gets a bit uncomfortable on really long ride tho' doable. I can change the weight distribution with drops more easily. I always have felt that the stronger the stomach muscles the more comfortable drops feel. The stomach can take some of the weight off of you a$$ and hands. That said: I prefer the butterfly for rail trail riding(sloooow) and commuting(visibility). I prefer the drops for long distant hauling.

I have a Nitto Randonneuring bar on my long distance bike. It's a great handlebar, especially if you raise the top of the bar up near the seat height. The bend of the top of the bar is very comfortable and the wide flare makes it easy to ride in the drops. The only caution is that the bar is sized by the width between the ends. Because of the wide flare, it makes the top of the bar a bit narrower than the more common drop bars of the same width.

Inability to use the drops usually points to poor fitness, poor health, old age or poor bike fit. First step is to determine the problem and whether it is fixable.

If unfixable, different types of drop bars aren't likely to be much of a solution, though there is a slight chance bars with a shallower drop will help.

If it is fixable, then both the Biomax and Nitto Randonneuring bars are good options. The Nittos have more flare and consequently less width on the tops. The Biomax also have the "ergo" bend which the Nittos do not. I don't like the ergo bend because it leaves too little hand space on the back of the drops for my taste. Others will disagree.

One of the things that makes these bars good is the sweep back on the tops. If you hold a pen in your fist, palms down, straight in front of you, you'll probably notice that the end of the pen sticking out in front of your thumb is further away from your body than the other end. These bars help your hand find that position on the bike for a more natural wrist position.

I prefer the Nitto Randonneuring and my wife prefers the Biomax. It's a very personal decision.

I went with the Nitto Randonneur Bars
BOught them from alfred E Bike, and they were here in 2 days. Nice

Put them on yesterday, and tho I didn't get a long ride in, I"ll say they are sweet.
The difference in the depth of the drop is significant (shallower). right away I noted that reaching down to my bar-end to shift was BETTER... like, I hardly had to reach at all. Riding in the drops was comfy... the other bars (MODOLO?) were so deep that I was WAY to far down and forward. The bars are slightly wider and th eflares are a nice touch. the brake levers (nothing fancy Tektro) blend nicely on the bend so I have somewhat of a flat platform for my hands there.

Generally, they feel old school, and for a guy who was raised on bikes in the 70's, it feels familiar

when i tried the nitto randonneurs i found that the angling of the brake hoods (because of the flare) made them really uncomfortable to ride.

Does anyone know which Nitto bar flares out more....Randonneur or the Noodle?
I know the Noodle does not sweep up but the tops sweep back a bit.

Probably the Randonneur. The Randonneur is sort of between a regular drop bar and a moustache bar. When seen from the front, the Randonneur has a very noticeable flare.

The Randonneur flares more. If you really like wide bars, though, you'll want the noodles.