Originally Posted by
linberl
The two bar have different reaches. It's a question of what fits you properly (if at all). With Brompton it is not easy to change out the bar, although a slight riser bar can be subbed for the S bar (there' a company that produces a revision kit). But overall the decision should be based on proper form - does either bar put you in an optimum cycling position with your knees correctly places in relation to KOPS (for you, of course) and you weight balanced well with no excess pressure on your hands? Tires can be swapped if you decide you prefer Racers or Kojaks. But the bikes come with different stems depending on the bars so if you decide wrong, you have to not only replace the bars later but the stem riser as well (and cables). General consensus doesn't mean much, either, as it should be all about YOUR flexibility and comfort, not someone else's. Twitchiness goes away after you've ridden whatever small wheeler you buy for a while.
Thanks, I'm aware of the difficulties involved in changing from one to another, that's why I want to make sure I get the right one. There was no excess pressure on my hands/wrist with the S-bar (as I've mentioned, I'm used to a sporty setup with low bars on my other bikes). On the contrary, for some reason, the reach seemed shorter with the S-bar even though it should be the other way round according to the geometry figures. I'm really not sure why I had that feeling. Perhaps I should test again the S-bar on a longer ride.
As for the twitchiness, I was expecting the steering of the S-bar to be more stable due to more weight of the front wheel (and what I've read in various Brompton forums), but for some reason the M-bar seemed to make steering less nervous. But this could well have been partly the result of the Kojaks. I was just wondering if people have had the same experience with the S-bar setup (compared to the M-bar)