I've never ridden on an upright, sweep back handlebar before and I'd like some opinions.

I'm getting either a Belleville or Porteur and I can't decide.

My background is I am 5'11 and I commute in NYC. I want one of these in conjunction with a front rack so I can start carry my load to the office.

The Porteurs are wider and offer a slightly further reach than the Belleville. Does the reach really matter much (in terms of speed)?

My understanding is if the handlebar is wider you can go faster?

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

Neither one of those will give you any different Aerodynamic advantage.
First time I heard wide bars make you fast. Think somebody hit the wacky weed on that.

Might be a leverage advantage when stand on it to get up a hill is the only speed advantage I can think of their possibly being.
The rest is all negative aerodynamic advantage. Shoulders down, elbows in gives the most speed by creating less drag. Thats why they sell "Aero bars".

As far as a front rack...what are you getting the Porteur rack? The VO porteur rack is narrow and unless you plan to carry a very large load a 42cm or wider barset gives plenty of room to stack a couple twelve packs.

More aero amongst the two I suppose.

As for the front rack, what other racks are out there? It is pretty darn narrow....

I have the porteurs on my surly cc. I also have a cheap ebay canti mount front rack. I then zip tied the smaller wald basket to it. Works great and the basket and porteurs match in their silver color.

Not sure if you are planning on throwing barcons, but the porteur accepts them. I don't know about the other bar that you mentioned???

Yeah I have the cheap canti front rack also with a medium wald. Problem is the medium wald doesn't really cut it for the size (maybe if I got the bigger wad) but then that would be too wide for the handle bars!

Even on my current set up doing about 15lbs a day causes the rack to slide of the strut.... So i'm looking for something with a beefier strut and porter racks are the only ones I know.

No the fact that you are sitting straight upright will effect speed,
so go for style instead, cyclo-chic
I'd say the shoulder width would still be a consideration.. so your hands lay comfortably on the grips..

The VO porteur rack is the nicest looking mass produced and very sturdy but there are a few others out there and a custom builder could make what you want.
Id get the rack first and see what you think. Depending on the head tube angle and fork rake of your bike you may be happy with your current bars.


Here is my drop bar Porteur project. Fitting the VO fenders and Constructeur rack this weekend and then paint is next thing to do.

The VO is too narrow. It's not as wide as my medium wald basket.

If there are other mass produced ones out there I'd like to know. All I can find so far is the Gamoh. The VO really intrigued me because of the multiple holes on the tangs that mount to the fork; seems like it would be handy if I decide to switch it to another bike.

The VO Porteur bars are quite narrow (for getting through tight spots in the urban jungle) but the tradeoff is stability, which you get with a wider bar.

The rack doesn't need to be as wide as a basket. In fact, the basket is rigid, so it can support itself without a rack underneath. It's a nifty feature for sure.