Bikedued got me thinking with his comment:

I'm pretty happy with Soma Hwy One bars, especially now that my torso has shortened with age, so I've reduced the length of my cockpits. I ride mostly in a variety of positions on the hoods and the ramps behind them, only use the drops on long descents, and both brakes have these Campy Ergo levers.



But those bars Bikedued mentions also gets some raves at BQ, and I could probably get the same cockpit length using them with a shorter stem.

So let's see bar/brake lever setups that you love.

Nitto Noodle, 46cm. (drops mic.)

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My favorite hands down.
I rode my bikes with road bars all week then rode my road bike with these. Out of the 6 road bikes I own 2 have these. I might change all my bikes to these. They're not for everyone cause you have to ride the drops in a pack and they're low. But the aero position is comfortable and really allows you to rest. Here's a pic of mine and triathlon champion Mike Pigg on his.

I could happily live with only this bar. Everyone is different, this bar is the best fitting I have found.

Sakae Randonneur Road Champion: I have them on a couple of my bikes. For me, they're the cat's meow.

VeloBase.com - Component: Sakae Road Champion Randonneur Double Tube

Cinelli 64 Giro - the dream bar


I like my Moustache bars


I like my Ahearne Map bars

Same. I've got them on three bikes right now and will use them on more as needed.



I first tried them with a Surly LHT build just because I was looking for something silver that wasn't too expensive. I liked them so much that these bars were the one component I replaced just before selling that bike. I'm not sure I've bought another kind of bar since then.

Classic bend whatever brand. I like to have lots of room to move my hands around.

Depends on the need.

For a slightly too long frame the Soma Hy 1 is great
For a perfect fitting frame where you spend time between the hoods and the tops, then the Nitto Noodle is nifty
For a classic bike with narrow hoods and external routing, then I like something like the GB rando bars
For classic road riding, many of the Cinelli bars work really well (forget the bends but the one that's 26.4 has lots of room in the drops)
Off road and upright, I like a swept back MTB bar, or better yet a classic set of bullmoose Nitto's

I have Nitto Rando 135's on two bikes, 132 on another; Hwy Ones on one and mustache bars on an old Stumpjumper. My Cinelli bars are all on a shelf. I like a flat area behind the hood that they lack. Pretty though.

We must be getting old :-) Not one pic of a bar yet! Since no drop was specified I am going with 2" riser. Not too tall and not too short that they bang TT.

64-40's for me on classic road bikes.

1-Nitto Noodle, but have to watch the stem length.
2-Cinelli 64
3-Nitto B115
4-Cinelli 66

Modern:
Zipp S/S SLC2 by a huge margin
Easton EC90SLX2 (31.8's)

Won't change if they show up on a bike
Ritchey Pro Logic WCS shallows.....
FSA Wing

Cinelli 66-38. I bought enough NOS ones to last the rest of my riding days and the lifetime of whoever inherits them from me.

Touchdown.

I get along fine with a few others though.

Most non-extreme bars can be adjusted enough to work...but I really like the shallower drop of the Cinelli Giro's. LOVE the Thompsons.

Nitto B115, 40-42cm
Magic

Nitto B115 (either 42 or 45): I have a real love affair with these. The drop, the reach, the flare (I don't know of another bar with this perfect sweet Jesus flare), it all works so perfectly for me.

Nitto Noodle: I can ride these just fine.

Cinelli 64: Fairly happy with these as well.

Soma Hwy 1: Nice bars. Really like the long tops and tight bends to the ramps. Hate the short reach and zero flair. Can ride them but will grumble about it.

You have Thomson handlebars? Spendy, but I bet they are sweet. I'm pretty happy with my old alloy 3ttt ergo sum bars. They're about 6 or so years old and more rounded than the current model which appears to have evolved backward towards a more late 1990s, early 2000s ergo shape (the kind I dislike). I really like compact bars in general for fast road riding on a light bike. I really can't stand anything narrower than 44cm though. I would like to try 48cm noodles.

I like Putnam's on Myrtle Avenue.

Nitto B-132 Randonneur bars. I have them on two bikes. Particularly nice with guidonnet brake levers.

+1 for Nitto B115. If I were starting over, that's what I'd put on all my bikes.

Handlebars need to be narrow for my comfort on a road bike. 38s are best, 40 works. Bit wider for gravel.


I like to set handlebar height based on riding in the drops, at least for most of my road bikes. Works for me as 60cm vintage frames are often 18cm in head tube length, so even an old body can ride the drops without too much stem height.

I'm fond of the randoneur type handlebars that came with mid-to-late seventies Schwinns. Don't know the specific make or model of them. I have picked up a few of them, or at least something real close to them, and have installed them on other bikes.

[IMG]72 LeChampion bar by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]