staehpj1

I was going to stay away from commenting on bar height, but since both these posts seem to raise that issue...

VT Speed TR, judging by the picture, you appear to like your bars very high. I suspect that trekking bars are more likely to be acceptable for folks who like higher bars than for folks who like lower bars. That said either bar can work at whatever height.

Nigeyy, you mention installing drops too low.... I don't personally see the need for them to be high on a touring bike. Low bars are very comfortable as long as you are well acclimated to the position, have good form, and have good core strength. I believe that it requires that you have the form that puts most of the weight on your legs. If you do, it is a very comfortable way to go. If you manage to do it right, not much weight is on the saddle or the hands.

Riding my road bike is about as comfortable as it gets for me and the bars are 5" below the saddle the way my new bike was set up. That is about an inch lower than I was used to and I thought I was going to find it a bit much. I decided to give it a try before changing it. After the most comfortable century I have ever ridden I decided that I will drop the bars on my touring bike a bit more than the 3-4" below the saddle that they are currently at, but maybe not quite as low as the road bike. My point isn't to evangelize for lower bars for everyone, but merely to suggest that if you are comfortable with low bars on your road bike you might not want to assume that you will be happier with the bars way up high on your touring bike.

I did the TA with no days completely off from riding (one day was only 8 miles though) and never once felt any desire to raise the bars. I am convinced that for me at least low bars are the way to go. I had no saddle complaints and no hand, arm, back, or neck complaints in 73 consecutive days of touring.