As mentioned in another thread, another bar end option that many find to be very comfortable is the "Cane Creek Ergo Control II." These fit right into the palm of your hand and allow you to rotate your hand position by roughly 90 degrees. Not sure they would work as well if you have bars with a lot of sweep or if your handlebars are very wide.

http://www.canecreek.com/ergo-control-ii-bar-ends.html

http://http://www.route66bicycles.co...er%20front.JPG

Oh! Good! I was just about to order some of the Nashbar touring bars. But... if you're happy with them, why are you going to switch to bullhorns?

This is a very timely thread. My wife had neck surgery a while back (two vertabrae are now fused together), and so she has to have the bars higher than her saddle. I've currently got her old Trek mountain bike setup with a high angle stem and mountain bike bars that raise up a few inches, and after some tweaking, we've got the geometry where she likes it. We do road biking exclusively. So, now I'm thinking of making her a present of a custom road bike built to those dimensions.

The quandry is the handlebars. She'll never use the drops on a road bike, so the end result is that braking is harder for her. Mountain bike bars, as stated earlier, have no opportunity for hand location variations. Without going into drops or extending reach very much, what would the best alternatives be?

Hmmm .... Smorgasbord42 ... you may be looking in the wrong thread. Sounds like you are looking for alternatives to road bike drop bars, like moustache bars. Something that will accept road bike brakes and shifters that would in turn be compatible with road bike brakes and derailleurs. I haven't addressed those options here.

If you are looking at putting together a "flat bar road bike" or equivalent, using brakes and derailleurs that are compatible with mountain bike bar components, then this thread is relevant.

I'm planning on going custom with the frame, and expecting to mix and match components as appropriate - for instance 700x25 tires with wide gearing (needs low for uphills and moderately high for downhills). The issue is that I don't think any kind of handlebar drop would be appropriate for my wife, so this thread certainly seems relevant.

Her bike today kind of looks like this:
http://content.answers.com/main/cont...ill_stem_2.JPG
That is, adjustable stem with "flat bars" which aren't very flat. The setup works well for short rides, but after 20 miles or so she gets some fatigue which we believe is due to not having alternative hand positions.

My Trek hybrid is set up much like that picture. I installed long L-shaped bar ends, which provide two alternative hand positions. I have my bar ends leaning "forward" a bit and put foam grips on them so that they were comfy. This has worked out very well for me on rides of 40+ miles.

Found a pair of bar ends that I had to add to this thread. They are "bar drops" which add a drop bar onto a flat handlebar. Made by Origin.

For those who own a flat bar bike and would like a drop option.

any idea where to buy the origin product?

thanks

Origin-8 is the house brand of J&B Importers, one of the largest bicycle parts distributors. Just ask your LBS to get them for you. They should have a J&B catalog.

Yep, try local. If no luck, then Niagara Cycle Works has them:
http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ducts_id=15300

At present I'm using a common type of "flat bar," a Bontrager crowbar which has a 25mm rise and about 6-7 degrees of sweep. Used in combination with an adjustable stem which raised the bar at least another 1.5" from it's original position.

I wanted to share pics of my comfy grips and bar-ends. I have inexpensive knockoffs of Ergon grips and Cane Creek bar ends. The grips are $10 Avenir (Raleigh) comfort grips, which are softer and contoured somewhat different than the Ergons. They fit perfectly into my hands and the extension in the palm area allows me to rest my palms directly onto the grips and take pressure off of my troublesome thumb joints.

The bar ends are from "Tranz-X" and are sold under other brand names. Paid $20. They are synthentic rubber (Kraton) coated carbon-fiber. Lightweight at 148 grams. Nicely contoured and also fit right into my hands.

The combination gives me three primary hand positions, one on the grips, one with my hands moved partially over the bar ends (resting the outside of my palms on the flat area of the bar ends) and partially over the grips, and then with my hands turned with the bar ends fitted into my palms. All three are very comfortable.

Does anyone recognize these? I can't remember where I got them...nashbar I think, about 16-17 years ago. I haven't found any exactly like them, but the concept is like the butterfly essentially.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/bikes006.jpg

Although i just ordered Soma Sparrow bars (where is that UPS guy anyway..expected them today) in my long and agonizing decision process which included the H bars and Mary bars, I found these at Velo Orange

http://www.velo-orange.com/milanbar.html

Relatively cheap, but I decided to try the Sparrow's first. Velo Orange is local to me, although I've never been there...someday i'll pay a visit and see what follows me home

Pete

Hi,

I ended up with the Soma Sparrow bars on my Milano. No photos yet but will post some soon.

Hi Cleave. Still waiting for mine to show up. I got the black ones in 520mm width ( just cuz the 490s were not available...a decision made for me..i like that!). I will post some pics maybe this weekend (if they come by then!)

Pete

The On One Mary is great for comfort on my townie.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g6...e/IMG_0752.jpg

Yep, the On One Mary is nice. Your pic looks a lot like the one I posted in message #23 in this thread. Nice simple setup.

Picked up the Origin-8 version of the Mary bar at a shop the other day for $15. Hope to play around with it soon. They had the Soma Sparrow bars there for $28. I looked them over but decided they were a bit too narrow for me.

I sure wish the derailleur and brake cables on my Fuji had come a couple of inches longer. I may have to re-cable all 4 cables just to make them 2" longer. That irritates me. I can't quite get them to fit a couple of the handlebars I want to test.

Hi,

Finally took some pictures of my Milano with the new handlebars:

http://www.pbase.com/cleavel/image/1...1/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/cleavel/image/1...5/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/cleavel/image/1...5/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/cleavel/image/1...0/original.jpg

The last two photos illustrate a problem that I discovered during this conversion. The shift control on the right side actually required a 60 cm grip instead of a 90 cm grip that came with the bike. The left side takes a 120 cm grip. I discovered this because the control barely fits the flat section of the bar and when I started measuring things I figured out the problem.

Anyway, I rode this bike during my club's annual Christmas ride (30 miles) and the bars worked great for that distance.

Sleek looking bike. Wish I could ride something like that, but I suspect I would need those handlebars placed at least 4" higher.

Hi Tom,

If you hadn't started this thread I might not have found out about the Soma Sparrow bars. So far they seem just right for this bike. :) I also like how they look on the bike.

As for position, I suspect as time passes I'll have to flip them.

Flat bar alternatives
 

My personal approach on bars has as much to do with the seat on the bike as the bike itsself.
The origional Northroad design I have on my vintage letour tourist (which has a B66 sprung saddle) are ideal for that bike and for upright riding. (I can ride for hours on the mag trainer with this setup but on a traditonal drop bar setup my shoulders are done in 90 min and with a flat bar,even sooner)
However; the uprights wouldn't work well with the E3 Gel saddle and the position it requires a rider to take.
I put an E3 on the GT city bike which had a titec hellraiser on it and found it uncomfortable. With the origional flat bars on the bike the riding position seemed far more comfortable.
I'm not sure what they're called but I saw one of Performance Bicycles bikes on line(catalog) with an almost triathelete style bar (but with a shorter reach)that I might be interested in.
Caveat being; I don't want to be changing out shifters and brake levers with every change.

As others have written, this is a wonderful thread!

I'm still using the stock flatbars that came with my bike, but just today added a pair of extensions onto their ends -- after only one ride, I can feel the difference in my hands and arms (and "yes", it's a positive difference).

Still, my issue is one of handlebar height, which prompted me to buy-and-install a 3-1/2" steerer-tube extension. However, the handlebar stem angles forward, which (somewhat) defeats the extension.

While perusing the links in the OP's post, I found this at JensonUSA -- interesting, and the price is certainly right. Maybe with a different stem on my bike...

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/imgWr...254.jpg&type=3

I haven't decided what I'm going to replace the flat bars on my commuter with, yet. But this thread is just one of the most informative and helpful I've ever enjoyed here. Thanks very much to Tom for starting it and for all of those who have contributed, particularly the photos of the cool things you have done with your own rides. As usual the 50+'s just rock!

mary bar & quest
 

Hello Tom,

Thanks for this thread. I got on a similar quest in 06 when I resumed mtn biking and sought bars for a more relaxed wrist/elbow/shoulder position. I bought Mary Bars from On One and have been very happy with them. My friends have great fun ribbing me about my girlie bars. I mounted bar ends inboard but as far out as possible on apex of the bend by beveling the edges of the clamp id to accommodate the interference. This creates some great position changes that I'll try to show with pictures later.

Now I have a new quest to help an old boy revisit childhood and perhaps you can help. He is looking for an elusive bar that might best be describe as a North Road with about a 7 - 8 inch rise.

http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/The...izzer_9_sm.jpg
http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/The.../whizzer.html#

Any ideas whether anyone still produces such a bar?

Thank you,

Phil McDonald

Soma Sparrow
 

Thanks for the link on the soma sparrows!!
My thought when I saw the bar was: THIS would work on the contemplated fixie I want to build up
Has anyone else seen the curved moustache style bar on the Scatante Emrald that Performance Bike offers.
Like that set up as well!
UPDATE!
The Bars on the Scatante Emerals are called NOAH'S ARC and available thru Cycles9

Some options:

http://www.niagaracycle.com/index.php?cPath=108_182

They have 6.5" and 9" riser bars from Wald.

These are somewhat similar to the Jensen bars above. These are Dirt Research bars, I got them on ebay for $10. I haven't seen them on ebay for awhile, but they have been on the web from other suppliers for around $10 as well.

I personally like the Nashbar style better, but these DR bars fit my Trek 950 better.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/...f79247b2d2.jpghttp://farm4.static.flickr.com/3185/...27b8ff947a.jpg

I have the Emerald City SS but by the time I bought mine it had a flat curved bar. It's ok but I too wanted a certain look. I bought the ECSS for only $349 at the end of Dec 08 which left me plenty of room to buy the Soma Sparrow, the narrow version. You do lose the top bar but the bike fits me soo perfectly with the Sparrows. I only ride about 10 miles to work and find it very compfortable and of course.... different. I have a standard road bike for trips that are longer though. I do get lots of compliments and I love the feel of the bar.

Tom,

I found this photo and thought is was relevant to your thread here :


http://www.jaysmarine.com/TH_northroads1.jpg