Originally Posted by
AndyK
This is the best thread! This graphic captures my exact probem/solution! I have older Cinelli 64 bars that have too much of a downward angle from the bar to the hoods. This chart shows I need a flatter deeper bend to solve my problem!
Now I have to find a bar that has a flat ramp, like the Belgian bend, in a 31.8 size!
This would be the reason that Italian-bend bars suck, and suck hard. I ride a Nitto Classic, by the way. Great bar, though it has a loooong reach (100mm!). Very comfortable both on the hoods and in the drops. It does have a 25.4mm clamp, which is a bit odd, but they've been making this exact handlebar for 20+ years, so I guess they just never changed it and see no reason too. No big deal; just buy a so-called "mountain" stem (the fact that it's become common to refer to 25.4mm as "MTB size" and 26.0mm as "road size" makes me crazy, since it's completely wrong... but I digress). That's what I did, and it works just great.
EDIT: By the way, OP, there are tons and tons of great stems available in 26.0. Really.