Bullhorn bars on a road bike

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06-05-16 | 03:32 PM
  #1  
So I have an attraction to the bullhorn bars, mostly for comfort and since I usually have an aggressive riding position, the lower part of my drop bars never get used. I'm told to just use the hood part of the brake/shifter but it's not the same. I have bar ends on my mountain bike and use them most of the times on straight long trails.
Anyone using these on their road bikes? Would love to hear pros and cons.
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06-05-16 | 03:41 PM
  #2  
Mine was a single tube bullhorn aerobar combination , reverse levers i open bar ends, 2 friction levers on the front of the aero Bars

Zipper Thriller fairing on the front , bars set up High and close behind the fairing.. Opposite of an Aggro posture.

This was my Commuting 12ish miles between towns set up on my light touring bike 26 years ago.. arm elbow pads let me take the pressure off my hands


I had a modified Musette bag behind the fairing and my cassette tape player went in it to play recorded Book readings as I rode. ear Buds for the sound.


Anyhow ...

Guys like you seem to be in the crosshairs of the marketing/designers at Shimano.. https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...try-again.html
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06-05-16 | 06:14 PM
  #3  
Quote: So I have an attraction to the bullhorn bars, mostly for comfort and since I usually have an aggressive riding position, the lower part of my drop bars never get used. I'm told to just use the hood part of the brake/shifter but it's not the same. I have bar ends on my mountain bike and use them most of the times on straight long trails.
Anyone using these on their road bikes? Would love to hear pros and cons.

Aggressive riding position yet you don't use the drops...confused.
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06-05-16 | 06:26 PM
  #4  
Quote: Aggressive riding position yet you don't use the drops...confused.
That would be another topic.

I'd like to keep it all at the same level, using the drops at this point would be way too low.
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06-05-16 | 07:12 PM
  #5  
check out:

www.youtube.com/user/2wagondragon

especially the section under "bike rides". Dave also has a youtube on how he cut down (chop & flop) a standard drop bar to make his present bars.
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06-05-16 | 07:20 PM
  #6  
Quote: So I have an attraction to the bullhorn bars, mostly for comfort and since I usually have an aggressive riding position, the lower part of my drop bars never get used. I'm told to just use the hood part of the brake/shifter but it's not the same. I have bar ends on my mountain bike and use them most of the times on straight long trails.
Anyone using these on their road bikes? Would love to hear pros and cons.
I did a chop and flop for one of my bikes. I liked it, though after a year I decided I missed the drops. You'll get lots of double takes
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06-06-16 | 09:42 AM
  #7  
Quote: I'd like to keep it all at the same level, using the drops at this point would be way too low.
How tall are you; what size bike? Is the saddle currently level with the tops of the bars, or is the saddle much higher?

Quote:
Anyone using these on their road bikes? Would love to hear pros and cons
I do not because they are not made for road bikes. The majority of people that have them put them on for looks more than anything else; they are an urban hipster fashion statement.
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06-06-16 | 09:55 AM
  #8  
Quote: I do not because they are not made for road bikes. The majority of people that have them put them on for looks more than anything else; they are an urban hipster fashion statement.
This. Bullhorn bars began as "flop & chop" drop bars for a special purpose, time trials, where multiple hand positions could be sacrificed to provide an exclusively aerodynamic riding position. Seeing them on the road for general purpose riding is incongruous.
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06-06-16 | 10:02 AM
  #9  
Quote: How tall are you; what size bike? Is the saddle currently level with the tops of the bars, or is the saddle much higher?



I do not because they are not made for road bikes. The majority of people that have them put them on for looks more than anything else; they are an urban hipster fashion statement.
Well, I'm about the furthest thing from an urban hipster that you will find, but for me, the bullhorns are about function, not aesthetics.
I do have a drop bar bike, but I find the bullhorns on two of my bikes to be more comfortable on longer rides. Your mileage may vary of course.
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06-06-16 | 10:09 AM
  #10  
Quote: Well, I'm about the furthest thing from an urban hipster that you will find, but for me, the bullhorns are about function, not aesthetics.
That's why I wrote "the majority" and not "all."
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06-06-16 | 10:10 AM
  #11  
Check this out:

Nashbar Bullbar Handlebar

Perhaps you can use this as a trail bar to solve break and shifter problems
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06-06-16 | 10:10 AM
  #12  
Judging by the number of people I see on drop bar bikes where they either never bother to use the drop positions or can't because they're tilted up too much, I don't have strong feelings on people who would ride bullhorns exclusively.
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06-06-16 | 10:21 AM
  #13  
When should I put bullhorn bars on my bike?

1) I ride pursuit on the track.
2) I am an urban hipster that fantasizes about riding pursuit on the track.
2) I want to look like an urban hipster that fantasizes about riding pursuit on the track.
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06-06-16 | 12:17 PM
  #14  
Man I can't win... 30 years ago I didn't want to look like a triathlete, now at 60, I definitely don't want to look like a hipster.
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06-06-16 | 12:21 PM
  #15  
I feel like some of the spectators have more emotional investment in how bikes and riders look than the riders themselves.
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06-06-16 | 01:22 PM
  #16  
I had bullhorns on one of my roadbikes for a while and really liked them. My bullhorns were some old drop bars that I "flopped and chopped" when I converted that bike to a singlespeed. I ended up switching the bike back to an 18-speed but kept the bullhorns for a while because they seemed to make the bike more fun to ride. However, I eventually put drop bars back on the bike because bullhorns don't give you anywhere to hide on windy days.


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06-06-16 | 02:22 PM
  #17  
If you like riding on the hoods but never in the drops, why not use a bullhorn? Same difference, slightly less weight.
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06-06-16 | 02:28 PM
  #18  
Quote: Man I can't win... 30 years ago I didn't want to look like a triathlete, now at 60, I definitely don't want to look like a hipster.
By the time you hit 60, you're not supposed to care what people think ya know.
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06-06-16 | 03:10 PM
  #19  
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06-06-16 | 06:56 PM
  #20  
When I rebuilt my current commuter I put bullhorns on because I'd never ridden them before so I wanted to try and because I thought they looked pretty boss.
I have enjoyed them a lot. They give me a bunch of hand positions and allow me to be more upright or leaned forward without being too bent over in drops.
Here's my bike


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06-06-16 | 09:03 PM
  #21  
Like these? Yeah, I'm considering it. Just need to arrange terms with the current owner.



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