Ergonomic handlebar design
Thinking about handlebar design:- Neutral hand position is not "horizontal", (viewed from above) as a flat bar would position us, nor is it "vertical", as a road-type drop bar has us positioned. It is diagonal, with the thumbs a bit more inward than the heel of the hand.
- Drop bars for a gravel bikes often have the drop part of the bar wider than the top/hood area, presumably for increased steering torque. It seems to me that when we're in the drops, we would want the hands closer together, to tuck the arms in a bit more for better aerodynamics. Also, we would need more steering torque when traveling at lower speeds, for example on single track. Therefore, shouldn't the top/hood be the wider part and the drops be narrower?
The result of the above would be a bar design that had the hands angled a bit inward in at least one of the positions, but not horizontal, and also wider at the top than down in the drops.
Is it impossible to implement? Or just heavy or expensive? Or ugly? Or did no one think of it before? Or are they around but unpopular for some other reason?
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-Jeremy