Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

How busy are your handlebars?

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

How busy are your handlebars?

Old 09-14-23, 04:25 AM
  #51  
Full Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: NW Minnesota
Posts: 200

Bikes: Lemond Poprad, Cervelo Soloist, Cannondale F4, RANS Velocity Squared

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 41 Post(s)
Liked 60 Times in 43 Posts
1. Bell
2. Light
BobsPoprad is offline  
Likes For BobsPoprad:
Old 09-14-23, 06:54 AM
  #52  
Senior Member
 
The Chemist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Shanghai, China
Posts: 924

Bikes: 2023 Waltly Custom Ti // 2011 Giant FCR3500 // 2008 Dahon Boardwalk

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 106 Post(s)
Liked 447 Times in 210 Posts




Clean on both bikes. My headlight is mounted underneath my GPS on both.
The Chemist is offline  
Old 09-14-23, 12:44 PM
  #53  
Newbie
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 12 Times in 5 Posts
DeoreDX is offline  
Old 09-16-23, 07:59 AM
  #54  
Veteran, Pacifist
 
Wildwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Seattle area
Posts: 13,040

Bikes: Bikes??? Thought this was social media?!?

Mentioned: 280 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3735 Post(s)
Liked 4,382 Times in 2,043 Posts

Clear your handlebars and your mind will follow.
Wildwood is offline  
Old 09-16-23, 10:48 AM
  #55  
52psi
 
Fahrenheit531's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 4,089

Bikes: Schwinn Volare ('78); Raleigh Competition GS ('79)

Mentioned: 29 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 779 Post(s)
Liked 754 Times in 365 Posts
__________________
A race bike in any era is a highly personal choice that at its "best" balances the requirements of fit, weight, handling, durability and cost tempered by the willingness to toss it and oneself down the pavement at considerable speed. ~Bandera
Fahrenheit531 is offline  
Likes For Fahrenheit531:
Old 09-16-23, 01:25 PM
  #56  
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 104

Bikes: 2017 Raleigh RetroGlide iE

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 47 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 22 Times in 17 Posts
2 brake levers, 1 7-speed shifter (right), e-bike controller pad (left).

I am about to add a center light mount. I am also looking to mount a left-hand mirror in the future.
George Mann is offline  
Old 09-17-23, 11:56 AM
  #57  
Cheerfully low end
 
ofajen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,887
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 618 Post(s)
Liked 985 Times in 627 Posts
Road bar bike has two brake levers and one bar end shifter. I keep the bell on the stem so the bar is clear and I can climb with hands close to the stem if I want.

Touring bar MTB has two brake levers, one friction thumb shifter to the right of the stem.

Edit: turns out I didn’t like the bell on the bar so back on the stem it goes. And I may go back to single speed, at least til next summer,
so the shifter may come off too.

Otto

Last edited by ofajen; 09-17-23 at 04:43 PM.
ofajen is offline  
Old 09-17-23, 12:37 PM
  #58  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Tucson Az
Posts: 1,627

Bikes: 2015 Ridley Fenix, 1983 Team Fuji, 2019 Marin Nail Trail 6

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 326 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times in 117 Posts
Nothing extra on my vintage Fuji or my Marin Hardtail, the only accessory my Ridley has is a Cateye computer mount.

I like my bars clutter free.

Last edited by Wileyrat; 09-17-23 at 12:40 PM.
Wileyrat is offline  
Old 09-18-23, 07:33 AM
  #59  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,356
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 350 Post(s)
Liked 364 Times in 209 Posts
The only thing on my bars is a strap on front light (dice cube thing), I don't even bring a phone with me on most rides.
wheelreason is offline  
Old 09-18-23, 08:56 AM
  #60  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Windsor Ontario, Canada
Posts: 522

Bikes: 2018 Giant Sedona

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 175 Post(s)
Liked 115 Times in 94 Posts
I think of those 9 items (plus the rubber handgrips) as being both functional and decorative too. I could do without the cluster f$%k of 4 cables in front of the handlebar though.

I'm surprised the people that compliment this bike with all these options, Which includes a rear rack and trunk bag. The base Sedona was Giants least expensive adult bike. They don't even make it anymore. Just the DX version.

Last edited by xroadcharlie; 09-18-23 at 05:28 PM.
xroadcharlie is offline  
Old 09-18-23, 10:49 AM
  #61  
Senior Member
 
79pmooney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,439

Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder

Mentioned: 121 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4484 Post(s)
Liked 3,572 Times in 2,318 Posts
Originally Posted by daihard
Beside the obvious (i.e. brifters levers and bar tapes), mine's not very busy. Just a bell and a phone/light mount.
Yup. My 4 good bikes have just brake levers and tape. Shifters on two are on the DT. Other two, it's a wrench. (Fix gears.) My two winter/rain/city bikes have headlight brackets next to the stem. One has a computer bracket for indoor training.

Handlebars, bars where my hands can hang out. No place "reserved" or "off limits". I am not a fan of brifters for several reasons. Relevant here - likely to be damaged in an otherwise "routine" crash and adversely affect the rest of the ride. And I ride with my fingers pushing in on the levers when I ride the drops and reach for my WT or pockets to steady the bars. An unplanned shift might well be a crash. I started doing that long before brifters were invented.
79pmooney is offline  
Old 09-18-23, 12:16 PM
  #62  
Just a person on bike
 
daihard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 2,140

Bikes: Specialized Roubaix, Tern HSD, Dahon Speed D7

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 132 Post(s)
Liked 86 Times in 56 Posts
Originally Posted by 79pmooney
Yup. My 4 good bikes have just brake levers and tape. Shifters on two are on the DT. Other two, it's a wrench. (Fix gears.) My two winter/rain/city bikes have headlight brackets next to the stem. One has a computer bracket for indoor training.

Handlebars, bars where my hands can hang out. No place "reserved" or "off limits". I am not a fan of brifters for several reasons. Relevant here - likely to be damaged in an otherwise "routine" crash and adversely affect the rest of the ride. And I ride with my fingers pushing in on the levers when I ride the drops and reach for my WT or pockets to steady the bars. An unplanned shift might well be a crash. I started doing that long before brifters were invented.
Now just curious... why did you cross out "brifters" and replace it with "levers"?
__________________

The value of your life doesn't change based on the way you travel. - Dawn Schellenberg (SDOT)
daihard is offline  
Old 09-18-23, 05:42 PM
  #63  
Senior Member
 
79pmooney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,439

Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder

Mentioned: 121 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4484 Post(s)
Liked 3,572 Times in 2,318 Posts
Originally Posted by daihard
Now just curious... why did you cross out "brifters" and replace it with "levers"?
That's my aversion to putting hundreds of dollars of vulnerable stuff in the most vulnerable place on a bike. And to the thread, downsizing from a multi function unit that really counts as two to a single purpose one. No reflection intended on your choices. (DT levers were heralded in the "CONI Manual"; the racing "bible" for those of us coming up in the 1970s as the most secure and safest type of gear shifter for racing. I have maybe seen one damaged DT lever from crashes in more than 50 years. The CONI Manual - carefully translated from Italian to British. With enough time and effort, it can be translated again into read-able American English.)
79pmooney is offline  
Likes For 79pmooney:
Old 09-18-23, 09:03 PM
  #64  
Just a person on bike
 
daihard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 2,140

Bikes: Specialized Roubaix, Tern HSD, Dahon Speed D7

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 132 Post(s)
Liked 86 Times in 56 Posts
Originally Posted by 79pmooney
That's my aversion to putting hundreds of dollars of vulnerable stuff in the most vulnerable place on a bike. And to the thread, downsizing from a multi function unit that really counts as two to a single purpose one. No reflection intended on your choices. (DT levers were heralded in the "CONI Manual"; the racing "bible" for those of us coming up in the 1970s as the most secure and safest type of gear shifter for racing. I have maybe seen one damaged DT lever from crashes in more than 50 years. The CONI Manual - carefully translated from Italian to British. With enough time and effort, it can be translated again into read-able American English.)
I see, thanks. Now, I owned a Bridgestone "Roadman" road bike when I was in 6th grade back in the 70s. It had DT shifters. I didn't think much about it back then. t do I like how brifters allow me to keep my hands on the bar when shifting, but I don't think I'd mind having DT shifters today.

Now, I've read somewhere on ****** that brifters became popiular in pro racing mainly because DT shifters gave a massive clue to your competitors as to what you were about to do, and integrating shiftres into the brake levers made it much harder to get a visual clue as to when your competitor was changing gear to push harder. That had never occurred to me. Is there truth to it?
__________________

The value of your life doesn't change based on the way you travel. - Dawn Schellenberg (SDOT)
daihard is offline  
Old 09-18-23, 10:45 PM
  #65  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Elevation 666m Edmonton Canada
Posts: 2,359

Bikes: 2013 Custom SA5w / Rohloff Tourster

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1175 Post(s)
Liked 282 Times in 219 Posts
The only thing guaranteed to NOT be on my bars is TAPE.
All have 2 bells to carry bags. LOL. Mostly just one SIGMA speedo and a GoPro mount somewhere. My mirrors are 20x safer than any hellmet.
I've had a bag or 2 on more than half of all my rides. Coat, extra drinks, chocolate bars, some days I switch from shorts to pants. I think they padded a few wipeouts as well. LOL.
Here's my last tour setup. >>>


GamblerGORD53 is offline  
Likes For GamblerGORD53:
Old 09-19-23, 06:15 AM
  #66  
Senior Member
 
SJX426's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Fredericksburg, Va
Posts: 9,469

Bikes: '65 Frejus TDF, '73 Bottecchia Giro d'Italia, '83 Colnago Superissimo, '84 Trek 610, '84 Trek 760, '88 Pinarello Veneto, '88 De Rosa Pro, '89 Pinarello Montello, '94 Burley Duet, 97 Specialized RockHopper, 2010 Langster, Tern Link D8

Mentioned: 70 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1562 Post(s)
Liked 2,122 Times in 1,055 Posts
P1050285 by on Flickr
__________________
Bikes don't stand alone. They are two tired.
SJX426 is offline  
Old 09-19-23, 07:22 AM
  #67  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 8,463
Mentioned: 67 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3015 Post(s)
Liked 2,318 Times in 1,392 Posts
My bars are so busy I had to set up an appointment calender for them!
seypat is offline  
Likes For seypat:
Old 09-19-23, 10:04 AM
  #68  
Cheerfully low end
 
ofajen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,887
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 618 Post(s)
Liked 985 Times in 627 Posts


The bell is back on the stem. I prefer the shifter close to the stem so I can use more of the forward section on both sides. Still quite possible the shifter will come off until next summer.

Otto
ofajen is offline  
Old 09-19-23, 07:13 PM
  #69  
Resident PIA
 
Shadco's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: City of Oaks, NC
Posts: 742

Bikes: Gunnar Roadie, Look 765 Optimum, Spesh Aethos

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 159 Post(s)
Liked 299 Times in 152 Posts
Not very.





.
__________________
--
Shad
I knew where I was when I wrote this
I don't know where I am now...
05 Gunnar Roadie Chorus/Record
67'er
Shadco is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -

Copyright © 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.