Originally Posted by
Rob_E
...I would expect the grips to be flipped, though, with the wider part supporting the meatier part of your palm.
The wider part of the grips IS under the meatier part of my palm. They are mounted in the same way as they would be on flat bars; it's just that the bar enters from and exits out the opposite ends of the grips. That being said, these particular grips are cheap knockoffs and I eventually plan to replace them with some Ergon grips. I have their GC2's on my other bike (they were originally on this bike) and I am very impressed with the quality.
Here's a pic of the OE bars & stem with my GC2's. You can clearly see that the "meaty" part of the grip is in the outboard position.
Originally Posted by
EKW in DC
irclean - love the looks of that setup. I plan on making the switch to trekking bars ASAP as well. They've been hard enough to track down here south of the border, even online, so I'm sure you had some issues finding them.
What brand bars did you get? I've been looking at the Kalloy ones available online from Wallbike.com.
What stem is that on your bike? Length/reach? I ask b/c we seem to have, with the exception of paint color, the same bike. (Eerily enough, I think we may even both have the same aftermarket saddle - Avenir Groove Light? - and is that a Greenfield Stabilizer sticking out the back in the fourth shot?! Cuz I got that, too...) Eerieness (sp?) aside, I've been wondering if the stock stem is going to provide sufficient reach and have been thinking about possible options if a change is needed. Your stem looks significantly longer than the stock adjustable one on the Schwinns.
Another idea for your mirror if the helmet-mounted one is not to your liking...
http://www.borealphoto.com/photos/847767767_wAaLr-S.jpg
as linked to in this thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post10743731
I've been planning on trying to do something similar w/ my Mirrycle bar-end mirror since I will no longer have the right kind of bar ends. Uses a light clamp around the handlebars w/ the mirror arm screwed into that.
Thanks for the compliment and the suggestions! I'm afraid that I dont know the exact dimensions of the replacement stem; I do know that it was about an inch (or 25mm) longer that the stock one. Also the angle appears to be about zero degrees. The OE adjustable stem's shallowest angle was marked as 10 degrees. I definitely feel more stretched out when not on the grips (where the controls are) but that was what I was going for. I got lucky in that the length and angle of the stem give me all the positions that I was hoping to get.
I believe that the bars are Kalloy, the saddle is a Terry Liberator Y, and yes, that is indeed a Greenfield Stabilizer kickstand. All three changes were huge improvements over the stock pieces. I'd love to see some pics of your bike for comparison!
Originally Posted by
aglauser
This is the main reason I'm tossing around the idea of trekking bars or drops on my hybrid. For those who have done such a thing, do you notice a significant difference when fighting a headwind?
I haven't had much chance to try the bike out since the swap. I've been working out of town for the past number of weeks and I haven't been able to do much riding. I think next week I'll start taking my bike with me on the rack, parking on the edge of town, and riding into work. I hope it makes a difference in a headwind as that was one of my goals. I considered going with drop bars but decided this would be a much cheaper solution. Also, I am planning to buy a road bike next year.