I had a fit done recently on my newish bike and I was told that I need a new stem and figured I'd upgrade/replace my handlebars while I'm at it considering the bike is somewhat old. There's a huge selection of handlebars out there so I'm not really even sure where to start.

My spending range is $100 max preferably though if its close that's also acceptable. The bike itself is a 2001 62cm Trek 5200 and I use it for my daily commuter as well as the occasional 30+mi ride on the weekends.

I figure from reading other people's comments, any stem within the 30-40$ range is pretty acceptable and will work fine.


In addition to suggestions, I had a few questions about picking handlebars beyond the "you have to try them to know if you like them"

The LBS guy said I should get a 31.8 handlebar, does that just refer to the clamp point for the stem or does that also refer to the overall thickness of the handles too? My current handles feel a bit thin and I'm hoping to get some that are a bit thicker this time around since I have medium sized hands.

Also, what's the best way to figure out how big of a drop I should be shopping for? The way my handle bars are set up right now, my drops aren't actually parallel to the ground they're angled slightly upwards at the front do they make the drops at different angles, or is it something I should just deal with?

[edit] Oh um... I guess I should also mention I have a climbing addiction. Makes a difference?