Practical but classic bar choices
 

Have a new frame that I am building on. Steel Waterford road bike and I'd like to build it with traditional "old school" but well designed high quality components. Full Ultegra/Dura Ace drive train so far and I 'd like to find a really good set of handle bars to go with the frame. Prefer traditional non ergonomic design. Have looked at the older Cinelli bars, can anyone suggest other new or used options? How do you determine the fit of the bar to the rider? Most seem to be 40 cm, 44cm & 46cm?

Any advice will be appreciated.

jman

Nitto.

Nitto 115 bars have the traditional Maes bend and are available in various widths. The Nitto technomic stems are available in a wide choice of heights and extensions.

http://sheldonbrown.com/images/nitto115.gif

Harris Cyclery carries a nice selection of handlebars, including Nitto.

Traditionally, the bar width has been rather narrow for aerodynamic reasons, but in the past few years it has become accepted practice to choose wider bars for better chest expansion while breathing. The bars should be about as wide as your shoulders for better breathing efficiency.

+1 on the wide Nitto bars. It's not just about breathing, though! My 44cm Nitto Noodle bar, which is MUCH wider than the Sakae Randonneur bar on my old touring bike, also gives a much greater degree of control and comfort than any traditional width bar I've ever used. At least for touring and commuting, I'll never go narrow again!

I like the Nitto bars. Thats a great option but the Cinelli's that list as 26.0 cm, would they fit the 25.4 cm stem? I looked on Harris cyclery and I am just not sure as the chart shows them as kindof a in between size? Maybe I am wrong?

+++ Nittos

What's the difference between the Nitto B-105 and the 115? The 105 used to have 65 mm reach but now has 100mm reach which is the same as the 115. If the reach is the same and the drop is the same, what's the difference? I don't think it's the width because they both have a variety.

The Nitto handlebars I have (B115 420) are 25.4. If you want to use them with a 26.0 stem like Cinelli, Harris sells a shim for $11.95. If you want to use the B115 bars with Nitto Technomic stems, they're both 25.4.

According to the Harris website, the 115 has a 100mm reach, 140mm drop, and widths of 40, 42, or 45 cm.

The 105 has a 65mm reach, a 140mm drop, and is available only in 37cm width, or at least that's the only one on the Harris website.

Nitto Noddle (B-177, I think) All the right bends in all the right places...

I'd go Nitto Radonneur or B115, both are nice bars and definately classic.

Nitto would be a great choice with a Shimano drivetrain. If you were doing a Campy definitley something Italian.

Tim

actually lemond started the wide bar craze to "open up the chest" but he espoused bars wider than shoulder width. the fad died and i guess is back again.

next thing you know MTBers will be using bar-ends....again :eek: .

ed rader

the new cinellis are 26.0 and the old school cinellis were the oddball 26.4. cinelli also measures their bars from the outside of the drops instead of the centers like most others.

old school cinellis and nitto bars have a sleeve in the clamp area that can creak .... when you are mating the handlebars to stems that don't quite fit right. or they can creak just for the hell of it :eek: .

i used the nitto dream bars for a couple of seasons and i liked the shape alot. they did creak a bit tho and that alone would dissuade me from using them again.

ed rader

hah! this thread just inspired me to ditch my track bars for some 115's. i just bought one on ebay from ben's bikes for 25$(+7 for shipping). can't go too wrong for 32 bucks.

Nitto 177s or 176s. Very comfortable and classics as well.

I love the shallow drop of the Nitto randonneuring bars. With my bars level with the saddle I can ride comfortably in the drops. Enjoy your Waterford!!!

Ritchey
 

Ritchey makes a classic bend bar. I just put mine on the bike last night but have not wrapped them so i can't give too much feed back. But I certainly know they will be more comfortable than my ITM's that are grooved on both sides.

You can get the Ritchey's from one of the major online retailers I forget which one. There are also carbon handle bars with the classic shape if your into that sort of thing.
Nitto makes good stuff too.