English-styled Handlebar
 

Has anyone tried this Nitto "North Road" handlebar:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/images/nittonorthrd.jpg

It's allegedly a remake of the handlebar from famous English bikes of the 70s.
I want to sit upright and put this bar on my single-speed road bike. How will
it affect handling? I mean the hands will be behind the fork tube instead of
in front of it. Will it mess it the handling?

I used to have north road style bars on my old Schwinn bike from the 70's (a Suburban). Loved them because they were comfortable. Commuted in SoCal with no problems. Don't know about the Nitto's but many people use that style in Europe, Asia.

It would look sweet on my Miyata 110!
http://www.antbikemike.com/images/Bikes/lr1big.JPG

that is one SEXY ride!!!

Go for it! I don't have the Nitto brand, but love the similar one on my commuter. Super comfy and handles well IMHO.

I'd have to get some super-long stem, too.

It looks good, but you will learn to hate the wind.

I have these bars and like them. Narrower than Albatross type bars and short enough so they don't hit your knee when making a tight turn. Handling is not a problem on my Xtracycled MB-6.

These are Wald #8095. They call them touring bars but they're North Roads for sure. Steel but not very heavy. They measure 23" wide. I think the Nitto's measure about 21" or 22" like the original Brit bars. The wider, the better for handling. The Wald's will set you back about $15, so if you don't like them, you're not out much.

The stem is a cheap adjustable with about a 70mm extension. This puts the middle of the grips about center with the stem bolt. No handling issues even when the bike is fully loaded.
http://i10.tinypic.com/6bco5g0.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/66agrbc.jpg
http://i18.tinypic.com/4vg75v8.jpg

I find I like the Nitto Albatross a lot. A very swoopy version of the North Road. It won't mess up the handling and it will put your hands in a more natural position on the bars. If you want to go aero, put your hands on the bends and ride like you're riding on the drops. So you have more positions than on a flat bar.

I guess someone has to dislike them :rolleyes:

I didn't have those but had something similar on my 'horrible hybrid', the bike that became the Sow's Ear. I always felt as though I wanted to straighten the hand positions out a bit ... mind you, the flat bars that replaced them are disliked for the same reason ... in the other direction. Interestingly, I've just fitted the Nitto Noodle (a drop bar) to my touring bike - these have a slight (about 5 degrees I think) backwards sweep on the flats and find that I know ride far more on the flats than I have ever done before (usually I hate it). That suggests to me that this shaped bar (the one shown) is on the right track, but the pull back needs to be a lot less extreme than it is.

Richard

That is a photo of a custom-made A.N.T. Light Roadster, not a Miyata 110.

http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictur...bars/All.3.jpg
A flat bar, Albatross, and The North Road

http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictur...ebars/Rise.jpg
Difference in rise between the Albatross (foreground) and the North Road (background)
The Albatross and a Mary bar have about the same rise

http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictur...s/Alb.mary.jpg
The Albatross sitting on a Mary bar on my Mnt bike

http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictur...North.mary.jpg
The North Road on top of a Mary


If you have a lot to hang on your bars, I would recommend the Mary or the Albatross. The North Roads can get cramped with grip shifters, brakes, grips, computer, etc.

I have this style on my commuter, an old Raleigh. Yes, I hate the wind, with a burning and fiery passion!!! (It was gusting to 60kph this morning, stopped me in my tracks and then switched around to a crosswind and tried to push me into the river...)

My hands and neck love me for these bars though.

AllenG:
Very good job on those visuals. I've tried to do that with crude sketches for folks who want that very information.

I definitely prefer the European style (aka old Raleigh 3sp) handle bars over flat bars. My previous bike had the European bars, but I didn't think to save them when I threw out the bike after it (with me on it)had been hit this spring. I am usually such a pack rat and I am trying to get my wife to dump a bunch of stuff so... hard to justify keep 25 year old bike parts. My new bike has straight bars, but they are just not bent right to mate up with a natural hand position. I have click shifters and I would think that anything as aggressive as the albatross would not work well with them.

After seeing the the pictures of the on-one Mary bar I came accross some references to an H bar by Jones see http://www.jonesbikes.com/update/hbar/index.html It looks nice, but I am not spending nearly $300 on handlebars. Then I came accross: http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/COMPHBCRS/HB2341 at just under $70 I might be able to justify them. I just have to see how the tape should be wrapped and how to mount the brakes and shifters so that they are comfortable. The H bars should give extra grip positions and a more natual grip angle for the wrist.

Happy riding,
André

According to my LBS, the North Road is discontinued. However, the Albatross is still being produced.

^^^^^
They are still in stock at Harris and several other places I checked.
I'd expect one will be able to find them relatively easily as NOS for several years more.

How do you like the Brooks grips?

They are the second most comfortable that I've used, and probably the best made. They have a very solid feel, with a little bit of give and the leather soaks up sweat well, but they don't get all gross and slick like the inside of a wet pair of dock shoes. The collars are very tight and can be a challenge to install, not a bad thing, they don't slip but they are tough to get on the bar.
Ergons are cheeper and more comfortable.

I use a drop stem with flipped north bars. its pretty easy to be upright, but you can still get into the "drops". Plus it looks really good.

A flipped Albatross is very close to a mustache bar.

I purchased a pair of so called "north roads style touring bars" off ebay. They look alot like the photos of the Wald bar, but the package was labeled "Pyramid". Here's link to the ebay listing. About 21" across the ends, and stamped with the letters, "W.H", and "Taiwan". Anybody have insight on whether these are the same as any of the other various North Roads bars (i.e., all made in the same Taiwanese factory)?

Edit: I've got a pair of Ergon grips on order, once they arrive I'll replace my Nashbar trekking bar with the NorthRoads/Ergon setup to see if it relieves my numb fingers a bit.

The Wald bars are stamped Wald with 8095 next to it and are 23" wide. Other than the width you mention, the rise and diameter are the same, I believe. They are made in Kentucky at their plant, along with an amazing variety of other bike parts.

The term North Road supposedly comes from the old London bike club out on North Road. The 3-speed bars, also found on 5-speed Schwinns, are widely considered the model for the type. Small variations may be found, but I think you got a good example of the shape.

I have Nitto Northroad bars on my cruiser tandem. I like them much better than the stock X-wide cruiser bars. They would also make a great bar for an upright commuter. However those pictures of the Albatross make me wish I had gotten those instead. The extra width would be nice on the tandem, especially with larger stokers.
Craig