I am looking to set up my girlfriend's touring bike to be more comfortable. The bike is a 49cm 2006/07 Fuji Touring. The frame is just a bit on the large size for her so I am ordering a short stem (60mm) and looking for some short reach bars. I am also ordering
Tektro R341 levers which are supposedly designed for smaller hands. The problem is that quill stems of this length only come in clamp diameters of 25.4 or 26.0. I'm on a budget so I'd prefer not to buy a quill to threadless adapter, and buying a smaller frame is out of the question. This bike will be used for some light touring and some fully loaded long-distance touring.
I'm looking for a handlebar that:
a) has a 25.4 or 26.0 clamp diameter
b) has a short reach (70mm or less)
c) is sufficiently narrow for a petite woman (38cm or less)
d) won't break the bank
So far all I've found is the
Nitto Model 105 bar, which comes in a 37cm width with 65mm reach and costs $40. However the 140mm drop seems like a long way down for a touring setup, where comfort rules. I'm hoping someone who has tried this bar can chime in or can even post a picture of it mounted as I can't find one anywhere online.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions!