Hi all,
I know these questions get beat up all the time but.....

I have a size large Source Eleven. For some reason the stock handle bars just don't feel confortable to me. The grips are great in my opinion but the flat straight bar doesn't turn me on.

During my commute, I really only feel 100% confortable when I set straight up with like 2 or 3 fingertips from each hand on the grip itself. Does that make sense? I do it alot, one because it's confortable and two because if I have to react quickly to something it's just a quick move for full control.

So that brings me to my first question. Should I move to a different bar configuration like maybe a touring style bar? Is it possible that my saddle is too far back and/or my handlebars are too far forward or too low? I have approximately a 1-1.5 cm movement ability forward on my new saddle.

Second question is sort of related to the first. I recently (yesterday) upgraded to a Brooks B17. On my first ride with it, I found myself stopping to make small adjustments every 4-5km. Is that normal practice when upgrading a saddle? It seems near where it needs to be with the point very slightly lower than the rear. Obviously it still needs a few hundred km in order to fully break in and hopefully get comfortable.

Thanks,
Shawn

What about changing the bar to something like the FSA Metropolis bar. It would bring your hands a little closer in and it has a much better angle for the wrist in my opinion. It also has a small rise to the bar which might help.

The Brooks saddle may indeed need tweaking in the beginning. First when new they are very slippery and that short rails for adjustment aren't ideal. I find that for Brooks, you actually need to point the nose a little higher to counteract the sliding forward.

That is one beautiful bike.

Thanks! I'm really happy with the build quality thus far and the IGH is great.

Would an adustable stem perhaps fix my problem? or even a fixed riser stem? Pictures really are not much help online but it seems that something like that may work. All in all I like the look of the flat bar.

Shawn

I have a Surly 1x1 bar on my commuter. It has a slight curve to it and it's amazing what a difference that has made, compared to the straight bars I have used on mountain bikes. My bike is a single speed, so I stand a lot on hills, and my wrists are comfortable both sitting and standing. There are lots of similar bars out there now. I'd suggest that you try to find a bike shop that will work with you, make some recommendations and maybe let you try out a bar or two that you think might improve your situation. If you wrapped the bar with black tape at the stem during your trial period, you could probably avoid marking it up in case you have to return it. Good luck.