I'm trying to get comfortable on my Novara Safari (which has trekking bars) and think it may be beneficial to bend the bar ends 10 degrees or so to take a bit of the bind out of my wrists.

I anticipate two options: either stick the thing in a vise and reef on it or have someone who knows what they're doing heat the bars and make the bend.

Being clueless, I also anticipate two catastrophes: snapping the bar or losing the temper.

So is it feasible to bend bars? If so, what's the best way?

TIA.

-I don't know.-

Now that my disclaimer's out of the way here's what I think will happen: depends on the bar. If it's steel and the bend isn't much (10deg doesn't sound like a lot to me anyway,) You might be able to get away with it.

I sure as hell wouldn't try it with alloy bars.... MAYBE if you do a warm set, but I still doubt it.

I've had bad experiences bending alu tubes of 7/8" diameters, incidentally for use around handlebars, providing more space. I filled a tube with sand blocked with wooden plugs. I succeeded in getting a 7/8" spring for bending. A cold tube would not bend at all with the strength of hands even when employing a substantial leverage. Eventually I resorted to heating the tube in the area intended for bending, put the spring on quickly and bent the tube with hands in leather work gloves. It was messy with bents ending up being somewhat accidental. I needed something around 90 deg and the tube would eventually cave in and/or snap. 10 deg presumably could be done but there is a good chance of messing up a tube too.

Incidentally, why do you want 10 deg? That's quite a lot. With my experience, I'd suggest looking for handlebars that please you. If you were to resort to bending, you should first try it on something else than your intended handlebar.

I like the bars - bending the ends will allow my wrists to be in a more natural or neutral position.

And it's funny how perspectives vary: 10 degrees doesn't seem like much to me... thanks for your help.

No, you can't bend aluminum bars to any extent with normal tools.Heat them and they bend, but they sorta cave in and lose their roundness.
I know what you mean about the neutral position of your wrists.I like a position like the position with my hands at my sides.The usual straight bars or just the tiny 5-8 degrees of back bend just isn't enough. Old style bars with a dramatic backwards bend had it right for comfort.
Luck,
Charlie

Agreed. Might be possible with steel bars. It might sorta work with aluminum, but I would want to ride on those bars afterwards. Aluminum does not take kindly to bending... it has a disturbing habit of failing quickly (read "Bicycling Science" to compare the failure modes of aluminum vs. steel tubes).

Having a handlebar snap off would be the most gawdawful thing I can imagine happening while on a bike. The only thing worse would be a broken stem.

Been there, done that. You are right, it's a dreadful experience. Fortunately mine broke while I was just getting started from a traffic light so I was barely moving but I went down hard anyway. Sobering to think I had come down a winding 35 mph hill just 5 minute before the break.

The stem that broke was a Profile Pursuit that had a very thin, full wrap handle bar clamp. The single 6 mm binder bolt snapped and the clamp was so thin that it "unwrapped" and the the bars came right out of it. I called Profile to report the incident (no, not to threaten a lawsuit) and they replaced the stem with a much stronger H2O at no charge and were very apologetic.

If what you are looking for is natural wrist pronation, just try a set of inexpensive North Road bars by Wald #8095. They cost about $15. You'll find that you don't need to run your hands all over the place to be comfortable. And don't think they are only for short hops. I use mine on centuries and routine rides from 40 to 80 miles.

https://i12.tinypic.com/2h8bw8z.jpg

Here's another set on a Trek 520 with barcons and Avid levers.
https://i12.tinypic.com/2vnkga9.jpg

Wow... glad that didn't scare you off from riding for good. I think that's gonna make me take another hard look at the thin quill stem on my road bike.

NEVER bend Aluminum...you will be courting disaster. Cheaper to buy another bar...front teeth cost as much as a new highend bike.

It sounds like my options are new bars or twisted wrists.

I appreciate all the responses.

Maybe someone on the forum can advise whether the recumbent handlebars should fit or not fit an upright bicycle, but these Terracycle handlebars at least let one think about the most suitable angle:

https://www.terracycle.com/Merchant2/...ategory_Code=H

https://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/...ory=1133968112

Note that their width is measured between the grips' centers. The width end-to-end, such as 60cm, is relatively normal.

P.S. Myself, from the regular MTB 5 deg, I jumped to 35 deg and, then, after a while back down to 25 deg. My 10 deg comment has been indeed from the perspective tweaking rather than a major change.

One problem with your thinking is that no one who knows what they are doing would ever use heat to bend tubing, steel or aluminum. Bars are bent cold at the factory.

What about bending the drop about 20 degrees? I would like to turn a 1970s bar into a compact bar.
By rotating the bar upward you can have a flatter top and then I would bend the drops to around its original angle before the rotation. Will a metal fabrication shop be able to do this properly?

Why not just buy a new drop bar? Probably cheaper, likely safer.

I'd get an Origin8 31.8 quill stem, then get the 31.8 compact bar of your choice.
Origin8 Pro Fit ATB Quill Stem - 110 x 31.8mm, Black

Just linking this thread. One of the posts is a link to yet another thread as well. It seems like a pretty comprehensive list of upright bar options.

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...endations.html

I personally find that I have to have my wrists pronated for a comfortable ride, and I can't reach drops without bending my neck too much. Ah, old age. With swept bars, I can make my bikes fit me like a glove, and I can ride indefinitely with no numbness or wrist pain.

Given that a bike is an adaptation of our bodies to the environment, and no two bodies are alike, it helps to consider a variety of options when looking for the best possible fit.

Wow that is ugly. I cannot consider using it.

You want good looking? Get a Cinelli 1A stem and 66 bars, forget about compacts

That's what I have had on my bike since 1980.

Ive un bent non heat treated bars that sagged over time, because they were soft & not heat treated \tempered. [Modolo Speedy]

heat treatment is done after the bending .. then you leave it as is.

go shopping for something else..