Thinking about handlebar design:

• Neutral hand position is not "horizontal", (viewed from above) as a flat bar would position us, nor is it "vertical", as a road-type drop bar has us positioned. It is diagonal, with the thumbs a bit more inward than the heel of the hand.

• Drop bars for a gravel bikes often have the drop part of the bar wider than the top/hood area, presumably for increased steering torque. It seems to me that when we're in the drops, we would want the hands closer together, to tuck the arms in a bit more for better aerodynamics. Also, we would need more steering torque when traveling at lower speeds, for example on single track. Therefore, shouldn't the top/hood be the wider part and the drops be narrower?

The result of the above would be a bar design that had the hands angled a bit inward in at least one of the positions, but not horizontal, and also wider at the top than down in the drops.
Is it impossible to implement? Or just heavy or expensive? Or ugly? Or did no one think of it before? Or are they around but unpopular for some other reason?

It shouldn't surprise you to realize that every possible bend has been explored over the years and the market has chosen which ones are successful. There is a lot of variation in personal preference, and that is why there are so many different bends out there. If you think that your concept (which exists nowhere in the market) is a better one, then you should try to get a manufacturer interested. That said, I can predict the outcome. Having your arms angled toward the center of the bike sounds very uncomfortable, but that's just me.

Good thinking. Seems like the easiest way to implement your idea, would be to lower the stem as much as possible, and then mount that flared gravel bar upside down. That way the flared part would be on top, and the straight-ahead narrow part would be on the bottom.

Pro road racers have been going to narrower drop bars for the last few years, prompting the UCI to revise their handlebar rules.

Clearly, pros have found that narrower is usually better, even for pushing hard while climbing and sprinting. And the combination of ultra-narrow bars plus turned-inward brake levers makes for a position that closely mimics that of an aero TT setup.

From a quick search:

The Union Cycliste International (UCI) has several rules for bicycle handlebars, including:

• Minimum width: The minimum width for the outside of traditional handlebars and base bars is 350 mm.
• Maximum width: The maximum width for the outside of handlebars is 500 mm.
• Cross-section: The maximum cross-section for handlebars is 10 mm and the minimum is 80 mm.
• Front of handlebars: The front of the handlebars cannot be more than 100 mm ahead of the vertical of the front wheel axle.
• Lever turning: The levers cannot be turned inward more than 10 degrees.
• Height difference: The height difference between the midpoint of the forearm support and the highest or lowest point of the extension cannot be more than 140 mm

No. It’s not just you.

I like this.



Velo-Orange Tourist bar.

OP: You are correct in your assertions. My current solution is:
- 580mm flat bar with slight back sweep, +
- bar-ends that are angled inboard slightly, mounted upward about 30 degrees from horizontal (I used to run bullhorn bars at same angle but find the bar-end width more comfortable than 400mm bulls), and these bar-ends are oversize diameter for more area to cushion hands, +
- bolt-on aero bar, both for aero and to take pressure off hands on long rides, however I'm not racy like I used to be, so want to raise this about 75mm for more comfort.

Good multiple hand positions, plus angles of each are independently adjustable.

I think I would like those. V-O says they have a 50 degree sweep. I have many years running the classic tourist bars with a sweep of nearly 75 degrees.

I’ve tried just about everything, including straight bars with bar ends both inner and outer and even integrated Scott bars that are straight with integrated bar ends.

Eventually I end up not like the straight part especially when braking and I don’t really like using the bar ends because then I’m spending my time in a position where I can’t brake.

For a combination of a close, low bar grip with a good angle and grips near the braking position, a touring bar with more than 45 degrees of sweep is what I always end up liking most.

Otto

Do you ride fast and hard enough where narrow is going to matter ?

I don’t and am migrating to gravel bars on my street road bikes. I specifically like that when I am in the drops, my wrists are not getting pushed by the upper part of the bar. It’s a more comfortable feel to me. I just ordered some Easton carbon EC70 AX bars which only have a 16 deg. flair, where some have a 24 deg.

Putting my MotoGR into commuter mode had me choosing this:



Also from VO, one of their Postino bars.

Had to add their threadless stem adapter (and a threadless stem too) otherwise the positioning just wouldn't have worked as well.

Have you looked at the Coefficient designs?
eg. their Allroad
https://coefficientcycling.com/colle...road-handlebar

Velo Orange crazy bars (version 1). For Drop bars I like Ritchey Venturemax.

What we need are some upright bars with 2 articulating joints per side so everybody can adjust to their preference.

drops that are narrower than the ramps would make it uncomfortable and difficult for me to be in the drops because I would have to flex my forearms outward and roll my wrists in order to get around the tops/ramps.

In the early 90’s, Scott was all about jumping the shark in terms of handlebar design.

The AT-4 for mountain bikes and the one with a secondary flat area inside the ends of the drops for road were their most iconic.

Its interesting that with all their wild ideas, nothing really stuck and bars today are only slightly refined versions of bars from the 70’s.

Such heresy! Such an abomination!!! May thee be smite with a Zefal frame pump for such an anathema. 👹

Not being a fan of straight bars, it isn’t surprising that I am of the opinion that a lot of folks with straight bars would be better off with a swept bar. Bars in the 45-50 degree range like the Jones H-bar and the V-O Tourist have a lot to recommend them for cities, roads, gravel, and easy trails.

I’ve ridden a fair amount with the AT-2 and a bit more with the curvier version of the AT-4. Again, I eventually didn’t dig braking on the straight section and spending time on the extended parts where hands are far from brakes.

Also the extended parts are basically pointing forward which isn’t quite the natural wrist angle and they end up being rather far forward. I’d prefer low and close to high and forward. That keeps the reaction force from having much of a component that pulls me forward off the saddle when I’m working hard.

I donated all the Scott bars, straight bars and standard drop bars to the local coop I always seem to end up back with the standard touring bar on the MTB and a randonneur bar on the drop bar bike. YMMV.

Otto

Velo Orange Crazy bar version 1

(bold above) Major issue for me. Two solutions:
- L-shaped brake levers that allow use on both flat bar and bar ends. These are RARE, I saw them online, no longer sold, asked at LBS, they didn't know what they were called, I looked in their used parts bins and darned if I didn't find one pair, looked unused. Love'em. Warning: I've seen extension levers to make same that bolt to the end of standard levers; DO NOT USE! Standard levers with a stamped U-section do not have the torsional rigidity to handle an offset load from the extensions. My L-levers are solid cast or forged triangular section handles, will take that torque, but are heavier than standard levers.
- Interrupter/mid-cable levers; I put one of these on the front left of my aero bar, plumbed into the front brake cable, to have braking if needed while tucked. I could have done same for rear brake as well, but not needed. Qualifier: Interrupter levers seem to be all "short-pull" as they are designed for the flat top area on road bikes with drop bars. My bike has long-pull v-brakes. My interrupter lever works fine, as long as the brakes are well adjusted to have the pads close enough so I don't run out of lever travel, and it's nice for the lever to have additional leverage, as I can hold the bike in place on a steep incline stoplight with only 1 or 2 fingers, easy. And if I need to brake fast on the aero bar, it'll usually be an emergency braking situation so I'll want the greater mechanical advantage, i.e., braking power.

It's not that I'm fast; I tend to average between 14.5-16 mph on my road bike. But I do ride a lot of hours & miles, where ergonomic comfort matters. If I have to ride into the wind for 20 miles, it's nice to know that I'm not wasting energy being wider than I need to be.

My thinking is that a narrow grip higher on the bars = wider grip lower on the bars, aerodynamically-speaking.

The choice should be the other way around; Wide and high for torquey steering and low speed cruising, low and narrow for max efficiency and higher speeds.

There are a lot of good solutions here in this thread. For simplicity on a flat bar bike, the Velo Orange Tourist or Postino look perfect.

rosefarts What's that middle bar? That looks perfect. The bottom one looks good too, and simpler.

I just looked now, and that looks nice, except for the $350 price.

FYI, this is how my bars are set up.




Otto

I saw this last year. It's a very interesting design, allowing the hands to rest in a more natural position on the tops than even ergo bars with swept tops do, AND it has an extra bit for mounting a head unit - which is good because the shape of the tops would make that damn difficult.

They go from $300 to $400 when you click the link on this page: https://coefficientcycling.com/collections/all-products

And at those prices, they'll go without me!