Jinkster

A friend at work gave me his old alloy bars off his trek (he replaced w/ CF) and while it appears they are definitely "Shallow Drop" (at 5"s from top too drop center) but I'm not certain your could call them "Short Reach"...anyways "Shallow Drop/Short Reach" is what the mech at the LBS recommended too me to replace the ergo anatomics currently on my bike and here's several pix of the "Bontrager Race" bars he gave me along with a Bontrager stem....



Now here's "The Thing"...the mech told me it would be about $40-$50 for him to swap out these bars, do away with my top bar mini brake levers (he said would clean up the looks) and custom cut new cable housings and re-wrap but...should I?...as I'm not certain I want to rid myself of the ability to brake from bar top hand position just yet...and I'm not sure if these are "Short Reach" bars...what say you all?....as here's what my current set-up looks like...goofy as it may be...



so go for the swapout?...or hold out?

T.I.A. Bill.

JanMM

Hang onto the new bars and ride what you have until you are sure what you want to do.

David Bierbaum

Do you use the top bar mini brakes frequently? If so, well, this is the fifty-plus forum, where real men wear checkered jockey shorts if they feel like it, and "feeling good" trumps "looking good."

If you feel confident enough in your general mechanical skills, swapping out bars yourself isn't all that difficult. I managed to swap out my risers with a trekking bar successfully, and my wrenching skills are only so-so. Otherwise, follow the sage advice of "ride with what you have"... unless you have a bicycle with no handlebar or no seat on the seatpost... or no wheels...

qcpmsame 

I am also for sticking with what you got set up by the mechanic if it feels right. Don't get caught up in changing things until you have ruled out what is there as unsuitable, or you progress in your riding and need to change something. You said the gift included a stem, what is the length of the stem? If you are planning on using that new stem it is as important as the shallow depth and short reach bars, maybe more so.

And, David has another point, why pay for the shop to swap things out when you are working on your mechanical skills, you won't develop these without actually doing the work yourself. Taking out the extra levers and re-wrapping the bars isn't difficult at all. All this said, it your bicycle, your riding and your money, do as YOU see fit.

Bill

Dave Cutter

I don't think you should.

I see you already installed the short adjustable stem to reduce the reach... and now your looking at short reach bars. How does the rest of your bike fit? There isn't anything wrong with making a few changes to get the best fit. But if the bike is too large you might be better off looking for a smaller bike.

This is the time of year when the leftover 2014 season bicycles are heavily discounted to make room for the 2015's. This might be a good time to take a few "test rides" on some smaller bikes. I've found that I need a slightly smaller bike as I've aged. I think because I am less flexible... and I don't stretch out on the bike as I once did.

Then you could look at installing the new bars on the old bike yourself and saving a few bucks. Keeping the old bike as a rain/winter bike. Or wait till spring to get the best price for the old bike to defray cost.

Little Darwin

I would only change when something needs replacing, or you really do want to try the new bars. Depending on condition, it may be time to replace the housing anyway, so that could provide a little benefit, but unless you are noticing braking issues possibly related to cable or housing, it is not worth the change.

While I have the interrupter levers on a bike I will promote to my daily rider next season (after having it built 3 or 4 years ago) I am seriously considering removing mine, but after thinking about your question, I don't think I'll bother until something arises to make me do some other related maintenance (needing to replace bar tape etc). Or, if I want to try a different bar. I am seriously considering a switch to a shallow drop bar.

When I get to the point where the cable housing or tape need replacing, I will probably remove them, but until then they aren't disruptive.

I am moving from a hybrid to a touring bike, so I will already be gaining hand positions appropriate for braking (on the hoods or in the drops) instead of the one I currently have, so I don't see the need for myself to bother maintaining another set of levers.

If I didn't have large enough hands to brake effectively from the hoods, I would consider keeping the interrupter levers, but I found a few years ago when I briefly rode the bike that I didn't like braking with my hands so close to the stem.

$40 seems like a reasonable price to replace cables/housing and bar wrap, so the real question seems to be whether you want to try the new bars.

volosong

Bill, is your current setup "broken"? Any neck, shoulder, arm, lower back, hand pain with your current setup? If not, then why change from what works.

If you do want to try something new, make sure you first measure the width of the new bars. Is it the same as your current bars? If not, then you might be introducing a level of pain when you ride. (Due to a fit, I ride with one size narrower bars than a bike my size usually has. During the fit process, the fitter noticed how my wrists were cocked when riding with the normal, wider bars.)

$40-$50 isn't all that out of line, considering the time the fellow will spend. Personally, I'd do it myself. But, if you are not confident, then that is a fair price. Not a great price, but not a rip-off either. Does his price include new bar tape? If so, that's $10-$20 just by itself.

leob1

$40-50 to swap the bars, move components, new housing, rewrap is a very good deal.
Should you is the question only you can answer.
Can you remove the bars from the stem with the tape, and levers still attached?
I'd do this;
Take off your current bars, just let them hang.
put on the new bare bar.
Sit on the bike and put your hands on the bars.
Do they feel better, or worse?
Better, swap them out.
Worse, stick with what you got.

IMHO, either way, get rid of those bartop levers, you really don't need them. My wife wanted to get a set for her bike, I siad "no". She has never regreted not having them.

lphilpot

FWIW, I've got interrupter levers on my bike, too and I'd hate to give them up. Too convenient for the way I ride.

Jinkster

Lots of sage advice here folks, thank you...and I agree that if I did do away with my new cool (but heavy as lead) adjustable stem and use the one my friend gifted me with the new shallow bars?...what I'd gain in "short/shallow" I'd lose in more reach...but I was thinking it might be nice if I mounted the short/shallow bars in my current stem however if I do?...the interupter/mini brake levers must go as they would not fit the new bars...and this is the show stopper for me wrenching as I don't have the where with all to cut myself new customized cable housing and this would be the only reason I'd take it too the LBS mechanic who BTW does a fantastic job of things from what I've seen.

But all in all?...let me list my highly OCD thoughts here....

1. I would like to lose the cool looking but awkward feeling current anatomic bars.

2. I'm up in the air regarding the deletion of the mini brake levers as I do find them very convenient for my current riding habits where my hands seem to bop around a lot and having them negates the need to "make a dive for the brakes" when I'm riding the bar tops.

3. I'd feel bad that my friend gifted them to me and then not even trying them and I'm sure he's going to ask sometime soon.

4. I wish I had some cable housing and knew what I was doing with it as then I would just tackle the job myself.

That's where I'm at...guess I'll just figure things out from there...I guess there's lots worse problems to have LOL!...and thanks again, Bill.

leob1

Unless the housing would be way too short to reach from the brake levers to the caliper in front, and the stop for the rear, there is no need for new housing. As long as there are no gaps inthe housing sections, it will work as one piece. At least so you can try it out. If you like it, you can get new housing later.

qcpmsame 

If the guy is a friend he'll understand if you return them and say "thanks, but they don't work for my set-up." As to doing the interrupter removal and not having the means to properly cut the cable housing replacement, buy or borrow a pair of quality cable cutters, say Pedros or Park Tool Co,. They aren't terribly expensive, I recently purchased the Pedros as a replacement an old worn pair, not pricey at all, especially for a quality tool that does the job properly.

I doubt that you'll ever regret buying a quality tool, its a guy thing.

Or, if its just removing the interrupters, replace them with a barrel adjuster in the cable housing, it would eliminate the space and provide a useful adjuster.

Bill

Jinkster

Well?...check this out...

this is straight from giant found here...

https://www.giant-road-bike.com/index...itting-issues/

regarding my OCR's frame size which is a "Medium"...and they state their OCR medium frame to be...

[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD] 54cm[/TD]
[TD] 5ft 6 – 5ft 11[/TD]
[TD] 555mm[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


However...when I put a tape too mine?...I get 19 3/4" (50cm) from center of crank to top of seat tube and 21 3/4" (555mm) from front of steering head too front of seat post which seems exactly like I got a frame that marked as an OCR but measures as though it were a TCR according too Giants specs as here's their measurements for a TCR...

[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD] 50cm[/TD]
[TD] 5ft 6 � 5ft 9[/TD]
[TD] 555mm
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

So it seems to me like my OCR measures as though it were a TCR Aero frame which was painted, equipped, marked and sold as a OCR3...is that possible?...also?...I'm 5'6...right at the cut-off point of their SMALL VS MEDIUM frame sizes and have a 29" inseam measurement...my boys just barely touch the top bar when I stand over and thanks to being blessed with a wide chest and broad shoulders?...my arms are 22"s (short).

I know this...I broke out the wrenchs tonight and figured screw the the measurements and pro set-up specs...I'm just going with what looks right and feels good...so I rotated the anatomic bars back down to where the drop ends are level (like it appears in giants pictures) and then spaced it up to it's highest point...this put my bar tops like 2 1/2"s above the seat...the hoods 1 1/2" above the seat and the drops 4"s below the seat...this gives me 3 very different riding positions ranging from almost straight up tour too...stretching out and dropping an inch for the hoods or?...going low and inside for the drops...figuring "variety is the spice of life" when pedaling! LOL!

and this is what it looks like....



Anyways I'm stopping there and riding and most likely giving my friend his bars back or?...they may kick off the start of me doing my first piece meal build! LOL!

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate the help and suggestions Bill.

Retro Grouch 

Why did the mechanic recommend replacing the stock handlebar on your bike?

If you had asked him because you aren't comfortable with your current set up, I'd definitely recommend making the switch. Even if the new bars don't work for you, you will have gained at least $50.00 worth of bike fit knowledge.

Jinkster

He recommended the Dimension Short Reach/Shallow Drop Flat-Top bars to me for a few reasons....

1. The bike itself is heavily biased towards the large side for me fit wise.

2. I'm new back to riding and nowhere near what one would term as "in condition" yet and aggressive geometry is not a great place to start.

3. He said the flat-top bars minimize numbness in the hands and set-up properly with gel packs under the wraps can be made downright comfortable for more saddle time.

and due to my "wide chest/short arms" build recommended a 44cm bar size for me.

But for now?...I'm just sticking with what I have at the moment until I put some saddle time and miles behind me and then I'll have a better feel for what should (or could) be improved but the way I'm hearing it?...my body and my physical abilities are going to go through some serious changes up front so instead of chasing my tail by constantly swapping out components and making continual adjustments?...I need to allow myself enough time an miles for my body to get adjusted and settled in first.

Thanks again for the helps and advice all and L8R, Bill.

fietsbob

IMHO with the bodies of Brifters having to be so much bigger than the levers without the shifter inside of them
made a bar bend with a short ramp a desirable match so bar companies responded.

I often See common road setups the bar's top ramps to brake lever-hood becomes a continuation..

setting them so high on the bar downward curve then turning the bars down, suggests you stick into the drops most of the time ..

for my tastes I would retape the bars after loosening the 2 pair of brake levers Rotate the bar up, level the ramps .
move the main levers down . as described.
rotate the interrupter levers down to a comfortable angle , then re do the tape . more just labor than parts.

I personally never put brifters on my own bikes , just worked on setting a few up in shops..

jyl

The new bar doesn't look significantly shorter reach than what is on the bike.

Jinkster

Thanks Bob and you are correct about me wanting to retain the ability to fall into the drops but I wouldn't say "most" of the time as I tried to set it up in such a way that it's most comfortable in any of all 3 positions...the tops, the drops and the hoods as I seem to do best when I have the ability to move around and switch hand positions often.

It isn't...not by much anyways and I already told my friend I'm returning them to him but he said just keep them if I like...so I will...and someday....if I ever get more in shape and comfortable?....I might buy a real short stem and then appreciate the shallower drop they do offer.

a77impala

If you were able to swap the bars yourself I'd say try it. Paying someone to do the swap is not cost effective, if you don't like them are you going to pay again to swap back?

mud

I did it...shallow drop...got rid of the small brake levers.......learned how to maintain my bike and wrap the bars.....lovin it.....would not go back.....I jumped right in.....

Jinkster

That's cool....if you're happy?..I'm happy for you....but the one thing I'm learning about myself through all this how easy it is for me to obsess about all the intricacies of fitment, accessories and constant ergo adjustments which in turn have a strange way of detracting me from actually getting out and riding and when I do?....my focus seems to be more aimed at "What can I change (or make better) next?".

I've also come to appreciate that while these ergo bars are a bit dated?...in their current position they do afford me 3 very different hand positions each of which I can comfortably bounce around with (so to speak) as I've found that to prolong my miles and ride time at this point?...is a fine balance of acceptable discomfort between my hands and butt....with the most critical parts being seat height and bar reach...and if there's one thing I can say for the ergo type bars?...when I go low?...they do seem to afford a more natural wrist angle when addressing the drops.

If I do anything else to this 10 year old giant it will be losing the toe-clips and going clipless...other than that?...I do have one question but that's for another thread I'm going to post in a minute here.