I got some new handlebars (3T Ergonova Pro) for my CAAD10 and after getting the handlebars centered in my stem, have had great difficulty deciding where to put the shift levers, alignment-wise.

Not only can I not figure out how to level the handlebars (as there's really no flat spot on the tops to level with, so I did this based on feel in my hands), I can't figure out how to center the shift levers (Ultegra 6700 STI Levers) horizontally on the bars and equally (so they're not pointing at a weird angle outwards/inwards).

Is there an easy way to do this? A good guide/video? I've spent over an hour making adjustment after adjustment and still not getting it to look good to my eyes, and I'm getting near the point of paying my LBS to do it all for me (although I'd rather not).

Here is what I've settled on after giving up for the night (keep in mind the front wheel is slightly elevated in a stand/holder):

I don't know if this helps, but it shows some DA brifters on a 3T Ergonova Team https://weightweenies.starbike.com/fo...ghlight=canyon Also check post #14 on this page https://forums.roadbikereview.com/spe...-32889-60.html

This should be what your looking for https://vimeo.com/8613681

To me your brifters look too low on the drops. I would raise them up so that they are angled up a fair amount with the bars positioned how you want them. Would make riding in the hoods more comfortable. They also look like they are pointed outwards a tad much. I really don't give a flying crap about the "looks" of how they are positioned, I position my components so they feel good to me.

IME there's a basic compromise between the ergonomics on the drops and on the hoods (which is a lot more of a compromise with Ergos); IMO your pics show a pretty optimal setup for the hoods, where they continue a fairly straight line from the top of the bars. To make a better position for the the drops, they might be a bit lower on the bars. Mind you, that's assuming a bar position like the one pictured, with the drops pointing down like that.

My feeling is having the levers pointing directly ahead looks and feels a bit clunky next to having them angled slightly inwards, say with the inner edge of the hoods being close to parallel and the outer edges angled inwards at 5-10°.

But it's your bike we're talking about here; the only way to be happy with it is to try a few variations and home in on what feels best for you. Disregard any dogmatic crap about the proper height for your levers being determined with a straight edge along the bottom of the drops or whatever; at any rate, the compact bars you have preclude this. It looks to me like you spend most of the time on the hoods; if so, I'd say you're pretty close to ideal, and small variations on that theme should get you there.

The only thing I can tell you for sure is the best way to get both levers at the same height once you've dialled it in: remove the stem/bars and place the bars on a flat surface, using the ends of the drops and the bottom of one lever as a tripod, and adjust the other lever until you have four even points of contact. Care must be taken with the inwards/outwards angle when doing this, as it also affects the height.

A higher lever position would probably make the hoods a bit easier to grasp for climbing etc, but where they're at now is spot-on for a stretched-out position with the heels of the hands resting in the hooks, with the fingers curled over the front of the levers, a good cruising position.

Hmmm. I wonder if I have been holding my hoods wrong? I am going to take a second look at it tomorrow and play around with it. Interesting...

I wouldn't say there's a wrong way to hold the hoods, but that position I mentioned is a relatively new possibility, mostly dating back to the introduction of STIs, and wasn't much good on the pointy-top Ergos... although it kinda goes alright on Shimano aero brake levers. First-gen STIs suggest it pretty obviously, I thought.

I think you want the hoods positioned and the handlebars rotated to provide the most relaxed, natural position for your wrists. I you ride in the drops a good deal I would deal with that position first by rotating the handlebars and then position the hoods on the bars to achieve a natural position on the hoods. The result may not be a relatively straight line along the handlebars to the hoods, but this area may have to be compromised.

Assuming a 73.5° head angle:


Looks pretty good for a slight hoods bias. I'd say raise the levers a tad for more of a bias, or tip the bars down a fraction for an all-round compromise, and a bit more plus raise the levers back up a bit for a drops bias.

Although the fact you haven't included a pic showing the saddle-to-bar drop makes it a bit hard.

Oh yeah, this also makes em slightly less vulnerable to crash damage.

HPSDavid, I've swapped more than a few handlebars. First set the drops to where they are correct for you, then move the levers to the position you like. Some handlebars have an outward flare to the drops that will prevent the levers from being aesthetically 'correct', which should be the least of your concerns. Ride a few miles and readjust as needed. I've used a piece of string to measure from the end of the handlebar the the lever's clamp to even the levers horizontally. A stare and compare from the front to even out lateral placement.

What, Kimmo, wrote about regarding the angle of the hoods is important also. I adjust my hood's angle to work best for out of the saddle power (climbing, gap bridging, etc.).

Brad

The area where the palm rests is angled too low, IMO. You want it to be horizontal, at the minimum, or angled up just a few degrees, with the bike sitting level. Use a piece of 1" or slightly larger dowel rod or pipe to span between the hoods, with the rod held firmly against the area where the crook of your thumb would rest. Then measure from the front of the bar to the near side of the rod to be sure both levers are mounted the same.

In practice, I've found that moving the band clamp up the hook as little as 5mm changes the angle from too-low to too-high. It's wise to tape the cables in place and take a test ride before installing bar tape.

The hook section of the bar may also be angled a little too extreme, presumably to get the area behind the brake hood to be nearly level. Some brands post a drawing of the bars, including what's usually called the rampdown angle. Most are built to have that are behind the brake hood angled down a bit. Newer bars may be as little as 3 degrees, while old styles might be as much as 10-15 degrees. Use that test ride to evaluate the angle of the hooks. I always set that first, then try to ge the hoods properly adjusted. I've bought bars with too much rampdown angle that just didn't work for me, so they were returned (without being used of course).

Yes, you need to focus on what works for you rather than any general rule. Drop from seat to bars, amount of reach to bars (how much your elbows are bent) and time spent on top vs. drop all affect the bar and lever position that will work best for you.

I agree you might want to try the levers up a bit further, but beyond that I have no suggestions, as those bars would not work for me. Although I have a long history of literal attachment to 3t bars and stems (going back to 3ttt) the lower portion of that bar is too open (pointed down) for my taste. My pref is for a different take on the aero bar - Ritchey Pro Biomax.

1. Place bars on table top.
2. Clamp bars at the plug-end to table holding bars upright such that plug-ends are parallel with table.
3. Adjust levers such that with the levers in resting position - the tips just touch the table.
4. Secure levers making sure that the tips still just touch the table.

Install bars on bike - adjust angle to suit you. Everyone is different in this regard - but usually there's a common happy medium in the middle such that the lower drops are angled somewhat down and the uppers are angled slightly downward.

=8-)

+1.

The generally accepted rule for vertical brifter positioning is to have the tips of the levers even with the bottom of the flats (plug ends), and sitting the bar on a table after putting the brifter on bu before tightening is the easiest way I have found to do this. I usually just set the horizontal position of the levers (the inward/outward angle) by feel, and there is some room for adjustment of a few degrees in or out after you get the bars taped so you can just set them as close to perfectly foraward as possible and worry about the fine adjustment later.

ANd the angle of the bar after it is installed on the bike is also set by feel. Set the bars with the flats angled up toward the front by about 10 degrees to start and adjust to your preference. THere really is no right or wrong, but if you start in the ballpark of 'normal' you will get an idea of how most people have their bars and you can modify this to however you want.

Are you guys even looking at the pics? These bars have no flats on the drops. There's nowhere to take a straight line from.

...Actually, now I look real close there might be an inch. But IMO this always puts the levers really high; far from the middle of a useful range. Maybe levers used to be shorter or something? They certainly used to be a much different shape overall, with much shorter hoods.

Kimmo:

Anatomical bars are "virtual bars" in the sense that while they are anatomically shaped - they still follow the classic drop bar design in the "virtual" sense.

Clamping the plug ends down on a table will make the plug cut 90 degrees to the table - and in the "virtual" sense result in the "virtual" lower drops being parallel to the table.

Putting the levers such that their tips just touch the table will place them in the ballpark of where the bar and lever designers expect them to be installed.

In the end though, final angular alignment of the bars themselves always has been, and probably always will be left up to the end-user.

=8-)

+1,000

While people may claim there's some kind of rule, that's only a starting place for shops setting bikes up for display, or to suit "average" riders.

Your preferred lever position and handlebar angle, depends on things like your riding style, handle bar height, arm length, and preferred hand position. Start with a neutral position, tape the cables in 2 or 3 places with electrical tape, then ride the bike a bit before taping the bars, and tweak the positions until it feels best for you. Once you've dialed it where you want the levers, tape the bars.

BTW- you your concern about getting both levers to the same height, there are 2 easy ways,
Stand next the bars, and lower hour eyes until the levers are one behind the other. Adjust until the tops are parallel. OR -- put a ruler across the tops, and lower your eyes so the ruler lines up with the top of the bar, adjust until they're parallel.

The "rule" about having the tips of the brake levers touch a line tangent to the bar's lower run isn't universal. For example, FSA specifically recommends having the brake lever tips 2-3 cm above that line for their bars.

As noted, what works for the rider is more important than following any specific rule but there are limitations. Campy specifically says their Ergo brifters have to be positioned where the bar's curvature closely matches the curve at the back of their hoods to prevent distorting the lever body when the clamp band is tightened.

Then all user has to due is clamp to table, place 2cm block underneath lever and proceed...

I checked the Bianchi website - the bars on their road bikes appear to be very similar to the OP's - and appears to show a preference for the tips being about 1-2cm above the what would be the lower drop flatline.

Nice thing about the table method is that all else being equal - you get matching lever height.

=8-)

Placing the ends of the brake levers even with the bottom of the hooks is totally worthless and does nothing to make the brake hood fit the bar properly.

Set the angle of the hooks first, then adjust the brake hoods to be either horizontal or angled up a few degrees. Pay no attention at all to the relationship of the brake lever ends to the bar.

Have you paid any attention at all to the thread?

=8-)

I gave up and took it to my LBS.

Result:

Looks much better to my eye. Too bad you had to farm the work out, but now you know for next time.

Makes sense to me - bars rotated down, levers moved up. The drops look much more reasonable now and the levers won't require as much wrist deflection. There is so little (if any) truly straight section at the end of the bars that the line does not necessarily mean that the aforementioned rule was followed. Sometimes one just eyeballs the position by experience but it's best for the rider to test before wrapping. Also, isn't the normal cable routing for those bars underneath rather than in back?

Yes.

I was just commenting on the poor method you proposed for setting the lever position. It might work with a few brands of bars, by coincidence, but the brake lever ends have nothing to do with getting the brakes hood properly positioned. Putting the bars on a table top is not necessary when you can assure the same REACH to each of the brake hoods, using the method that I've prescribed, with the bar on the bike. If the bike is already built-up, you can take a test ride and make adjustments before taping the bars.

Even using shallow drop bars, like the Easton EC90-SLX3, the ends of my brake levers are above the bottom of the bars. The bars are not tipped up or down radically and the brake hoods have a very slight upward angle, with a very smooth transition onto the top of the bar. The brake levers were never used as a reference point in the setting process.

The bars shown have virtually no straight ends to project a line from. You can drawn a straight line from any two points and pretend that the ends of the brake levers are even with the bottom of the bars.

The LBS did exactly what I would expect. They rotated the bars down to correct the angle of the hooks and moved the levers up. There's now a modest V-shaped transition onto the top of the bar. You'd need a better picture of the bike from a a greater distance to see how much the brake hoods are actually tilted up.

The reason I asked the question Dave is that no one was making "absolutist" statements in this thread...

...not FBinNY, not Hillrider, nor I.

Table method provides a level reference across the bars to ensure even lever height starting at the bottom of the lower drops. With classic levers and some modern levers, as I carefully noted - it gets the levers in the "BALLPARK" position wise. As Hillrider correctly noted - some modern levers documentation recommend 2-3cm above the reference. Table method plus 2cm block achieves this.

Some LBSes will use a flat edge across the drops in lieu of the table method - goal is to ensure even height positioning of the levers - assuming the bars are straight to begin with.

References are simply that - references.

...yet you stepped in with:

"Placing the ends of the brake levers even with the bottom of the hooks is totally worthless and does nothing to make the brake hood fit the bar properly."

That's a flame thrower in a thread where no one was tossing around "right" or "wrong" statements.

=8-)