Originally Posted by
jimmie65
Just picked up a 2008 Specialized Sequoia Elite (in pristine condition). First road bike I've tried that felt comfortable for this non-flexible old body. I plan to use it for roads and for some gravel/crushed granite trails and will be putting on 700x28mm tires. At some point, this might become my commuter/overnight touring bike.
The drops feel slightly narrow for me. They're 48cm wide (measured end to end which I know realize is not the way to measure them but I'm at work and can't re-measure right now - let's guesstimate 46cm) with minimal flare and (if I'm understanding the term) no sweep.
When I'm on the tops, my hands are cramped - I need at least another 1/2' or so. On the hoods, I'd like to be out a little wider. In the drops, the angle of my wrists feels uncomfortable so I want a little flare at least.
Any suggestions on what to look for as far as width and flare? Will too much width or flare cause handling problems? Go as wide as I can or just barely wider than what I have now?
In terms of flare, I have the salsa cowbell on my road/gravel bike and love them.
The flare is just enough so that when in the drops, my forearms just clear the top part of the bar. Very comfortable. I can’t imagine ever going back to bars with no flare.
I have the 44cm size ( this is measured center to center at the hoods) which is the same as my last bar with no flare. It took a little tweaking with the angle of the hoods to feel just right, but once dialed in I find them just as comfortable on the hoods as the old bar, but they “feel” just a tiny hair roomier.
The real difference is in the drops. The extra width feels great for control, and as mentioned above, these are more comfortable becuase my arms clear the tops of the bars more easily.
Bars from salsa are measured center to center at the hoods. Keep that in mind when you are comparing them to your current bar.
How much flare is best is really personal preference. I have only taken one spin on a set of woodchippers, and while they felt very nice in the drops, I did not care for the feel on the hoods. However, I did not have the chance to play around with the angle of the hoods, so perhaps that was not a fair trial.