Originally Posted by
Bianchi pc
[[i]less goofy handlebars (reversed sunlite bullhorns; not very atractive imo) and a new set of wheels with fatter tires
Changing things up is fun - new handlebar alone = New Bike but yeah, those bars look like a lot of other bars that are intended to be ridden in that position - how do they feel to ride?
I've used probably 3 of the bars in the image.
Stem length and top tube length will greatly influence the feel of the ride and how the ride feels.
Presently my long TT touring MTB ('89 Panasonic) i've got V-O Tourist bars.
I was using V-O Milan bars (this worked OK. Lots of long tours like this). I convinced my self I wanted a little more sweep back. (I like it more better than the less swept back Milan bars).
The Tourist bars WERE on my shorter TT Miyata with a long stem. I road this set up for a long time. For a too small frame, it worked well, as the Tourist have a higher rise than the Milan. And the long stem got my hands comfortably forward on the bike.
I also used some super narrow kind of V-O Left Bank bars. Way too narrow for my suburban / dirt road riding. And probably the stem was too short. No pics of that set up. I think it was on the Miyata.
As far as alt-bars go, I'm also using (flipped) NITTO Choco bars on my RoadTres. Those are wide, are using a long stem, and the TT is plenty long (comfortable). So it works well.
My Schwinn has a set of NITTO Albatross bars. It's the same size as the too small Miyata, but the Albatross has rise and forward sweep! So it works pretty well. I think. For me. I also sold a bike this year that I tried out V-O Postino bars. Those were pretty OK. The bike was sized nicely and the stem length was good (for me).
To summarize - I like the bars that sweep back. I'll never (again) put bar end shifters on swept back bars. Too much chance of getting poked in the leg or having the bike fall at the pub.... I mean kafe'.... and break the shifter pod. Again.
I like being able to get alt-bar aero, so I like the bars that sweep forward a bit. Allows you to lean forward, stretch out, feel like you're going fast (ish). The Tourist bars are NOT great for that. But it's a touring bike.
Here's some pics. People like pics....
Albatross on the Schwinn
Milan on the Panasonic
Milan forward position is OK
Tourist on the Panasonic (today)
Tourist on the Miyata (long ago....)
the Milan bars ended up on the Miyata when I dumped my parts bin on a frameset I haven't been able to sell. Stem is way too short. Feels weird riding it with this set up.
Postino bars on my sold TREK. Longer stem might work here....