The Jesster

I am looking to outfit my new custom aluminum team crit bike.
Any suggestion for a good handlebar that will give me better downward force leverage for the sprint?

BigSean

Nope, but I do know that the Deda bars are supposed to be pretty stiff and light.

carpediemracing 

Downward leverage? I look for bars I can pull up without bruising my forearms - no squared off tops. I use old Mavic crit bars, Cinelli 65s, and 3ttt Gimondi (I think). All aluminum, all 26.0 or close enough for me. I pair it with a WCS or regular Ritchey Road stem (stiff, light, cheap, reliable).

if you race in CT or NY then ignore my advice. Use carbon bars and a carbon stem
cdr

jamiewilson3

I have a Easton EA70 31.8 set of bars with Thomson X2 stem. Super still. Dont underestimate the stem. The same bars with the Easton EA70 stem was like a noodle.

I also rode the same combo Easton/Thomson in 26.0. The 31.8, even with the narrower stem clamp, is a good bit stiffer.

irish pat

Are you being sarcastic? I am building a new bike for climbing mainly-housatonic hills kind of races-what bars stem do you recommend? BTW, I'm not a fan of carbon bars, had a set break during a race. Thanks.

damocles1

Deda Newton Deep (choice of MANY pros)
Thomson X2 or X4 stem (stiffer than 99.9% of stems out there)

I run the Deda bars and X4 stem and there's no movement under my 175-180 pounds and 1500-ish watts.

Dubbayoo

If you want downward force try some Nitto B-123 Cro-Mo Track Bars. Only 680 grams.

botto 

No, he was serious, deadly serious.

seppomadness

kekeke you goose!

MDcatV

not trying to be sarcastic, but given that you'll only be sprinting for a very small portion of any race, you should get a handlebar/stem combo that 1)fits you and 2)are comfortable during all race situations.

waterrockets 

I just run 26mm WCS bars. Get something comfortable -- your bars aren't going to slow you down in a sprint. If stiff bars make you more comfortable, that's fine too.

I sprint fine on mine, and I'm built similar to Damocles1.

The Jesster

Nice jersey, Buff. (Who dey gonna beat dem Buffaloes? Who dey? Who dey?) But what's with all the small print?

This is my first custom team bike. It will solely be used for crits and it is all aluminum. For this machine I care more about bristlin' speed than comfort. I'm also 195 pounds and 6 foot 1 inch, so I can put a lot of torque and bend into bars/frames/competitors' prone bodies, etc...

Snuffleupagus

Not Easton EC90s. I'm an ok sprinter, and sheared through a pair of those at the drop bend. My current bars (Aerius ergo bars) have drops that are too short, and I'm left with bruised forearms after a sprint workout. I need something different.

Dubbayoo

My Aerus Comps are like that too but since I ride the hoods 95% of the time I live with it. They are very comfy.

waterrockets 

just my standard disclaimer. Do you have a signed release?

That's cool, just don't confuse stiffness and speed. Stiffness is a comfort factor, not performance. FWIW, I was riding these same bars back when, at 6'4", I weighed 220 lbs (spending a lot of time in gym), and similar bars back when I weighed 165 lbs.

A little bar flex is not going to slow you down even a tiny bit -- unless it makes you uncomfortable.

carpediemracing 

Sorry I was being sarcastic. I do crits in CT, NY, and sometimes NJ. Probably more in MA now that I live closer to MA. Therefore it's sort of illogical to give advice to racers who may be racing against me. I still do it though.

Someone asked me why I give advice to those who race against me - it's because cycling is so small I'd rather help someone get better (and in the process beat me) than have them struggle for no good reason. To honor that guy wondering why I help my competitors, I try and throw in some humor if the person might be racing against me.

Bars are like saddles or crankarms - what works for one may not work for another. Personally I can't climb and don't enter road races (except as a personal/inside joke). If I were to enter one I'd be fine with virtually any bar out there. On long training rides with hills I prefer a wider bar, lots of positions, and I don't care about my forearms hitting my bars.

However, for crits, I prefer narrow bars with a crit bend (the top sweeps forward almost as soon as it starts from the stem). One reason is I have a long torso for my height - so my arms point down more than other rider's arms. When I stand to sprint, my forearms contact the curve of the bar leading from the stem to the brake lever. Crit bends prevent severe pain in my forearms (they still hit, just not as painfully). On width - a 42 cm bar seems so wide to me when I'm trying to squeeze through holes in the last laps of a race.

Since I have the most fun threading holes in the field and sprinting for various lines (official or otherwise), I've optimized my bike for that. I use a 41 outside-outside (about a 40 c-c) which is a compromise between being able to train and being able to squeeze through gaps. As a bonus I found my max rpms out of the saddle (which is how I sprint) is higher with narrower bars.

I prefer not to race on carbon bars - they fail by breaking and you can't race if half you bar is dangling by a couple cables. AL bars don't have that problem. However, carbon bars are by far the lightest bars out there and if I was a good climber, I'd probably use one - it'd be wider (42 cm perhaps, I've gone to 44 but felt like I was steering a motorcycle), shallow drop but low position.

The carbon stem thing is a joke for myself - a Ritchey WCS aluminum stem is very stiff, very light, super reliable, and reasonably cheap, and other than fit there is no practical reason to buy any other stem. The availability (or lack thereof) got me to buy two Ritchey Road stems instead but given unlimited funds to buy a standard production stem, I'd buy the Ritchey WCS every time.

cdr

CrimsonKarter21

The difference between my 123's and my 31.8 WCS aluminum's is night and day. The Nitto's are the stiffest bars ever.

As for me, I apply backward force on the bars when I sprint. I get right in the hooks and get my torso down low, my ass a little higher, my body as far forward as possible, and pull for God's forgiveness on the bars. It works.

irish pat

CDR,
thanks for the help, I added the WCS stem to my list for my next build. I will be using controltech Handlebars, 44cm-I like the width for climbing.

classic1

Do you know anything about the Nitto B-125 Dubbayoo? They look shallower than the b-123, a bit like the old Cinelli 65 Criterium shape and depth. Would that be a fair comparison? I was pissed off when Cinelli discontinued the 65.

Voodoo76

Yellow bar tape, I always sprint better with Yellow bar tape.

CrimsonKarter21

The 123's and 125's come in aluminum, too, but only in 25.4mm.
https://www.businesscycles.com/tbars-nitto.htm