mickw

OK , I'm a curious guy , and these are cheap (inexpensive) anyway.
It was my birthday and I had access to a credit card ......
The bike is a Giant Roam 3 , 2016 model , I love the bike , my hands were killing me.
I tried 3 different sets of grips and nothing worked , so I figured , lets try these wierd bars.
These are the XLC Touring Multifunction-Bail HB-C05 bars.
https://www.amazon.com/XLC-Touring-M...c+trekking+bar
I paid 18.99 and free ship for them.







The original bars were 24" wide and 13.5" control to control apart.
The trekking bars are 23.25" wide and the controls are 11" inside to inside from the controls.
The bike came with a 105mm x 15 degree stem , setup for 25.4 mm bars , which these bars are.
I was having numbness problems after the first mile each ride with the stock bars.
The trekking bars reduced the numbness about 50% right off the bat.
I did some reading and thought I'd try moving the seat back about 5mm , just to see.
I now have slight numbness after 9 miles , which I can alleviate somewhat by moving my hands around different positions.
The other strange thing is when I rode my usual 9 mile loop , my average speed is about .5 mph faster.
Not a big deal , but it's there and I can feel the difference , either comfort or position , I don't know.
In order to try this pretty cheap , I used a sunlite cycling road foam grip set , this is 4 pieces 210mm each long.
Part number 3105 black , about $9.00 , I grabbed a $9.00 universal mirror and placed it on the left side , out of the way of my normal grip range.
The regular grips are bell comfort from Walmart ~ $10.00 , I cut the end off and made the hole so the bars could enter from the end.
A side note , all the cables are plenty long enough , a couple even too long in this configuration
They're strange , look fugly , but they did what I hoped they would do for me.
Just a quick product review , and a few lousey pictures to go with it.
For your enjoyment....
Mick

therealjoeblow

Looks cool. What hand position do you find yourself using the most, or do you just keep moving your hands around?

Cheers
TRJB

mickw

I tend to ride on the outer most portion where my hands are widest and wrists are straightest.
I have a medium frame which is the tallest frame I could handle for my 5'6" height.
The stem is quite long which didn't hurt my position on the close hand location as bad as I thought it might.
The farthest hand position is actually pretty good for stretching out and bucking the wind.
Other than the unusual looks they are quite comfy for my particular physical build.
I do sometimes ride with palms on the close bar and fingers on the forward bar and it feels good to stretch , but the bike still steers fine that way.
So far I like it pretty well.
Mick

Cyclist0108

I have those, but currently not on a bike. I now realized I put them on backward! Fred^2

Lt Stonez

Cant blame you, would have done the same thing

mickw

The beauty of these (so to speak) is that you can use them in 4 different positions.
Open end to rear with rise.
Open end to rear with drop.
Open end to front with rise.
Open end to front with drop.
I just started with the most (standard) position , following the stem angle , as a baseline.
I've seen all 4 while I was checking them out and the users had a reason for each variation.
Whatever works as they say.
Mick

cycleheimer

Looks like the way to go! Way more possible hand positions than bar extensions. Anything to alleviate hand numbness is smart. Thanks for reminding me that I need to get these!!! Look good, too!

Cyclist0108

I'm going to put these on my wife's bike.

I think figuring out how best to put on her (mtn bike) brakes so that they are easy to access from a normal riding position is going to be the biggest challenge.

CosmicF

I think that they look very cool.

Craptacular8

There really isn't a wrong/right way to mount these bars. My frame fit me fine with flat bars. However, when I swapped out a set of trekking bars, I didn't have enough room in the cockpit to mount mine like the OP did without hitting them with my knees. I had to go with the open end kind of angled up and forwards to get them out of my way, and a place to stretch out a little more.

Cyclist0108

Yours look slightly different from what the OP has (and what I bought, which is the same). The sides are elongated more in a way that I wish mine were. What make are yours?

coominya

They look like they would give you many options on a long ride as your wrists got tired. Did you try other techniques to alleviate your pain beforehand? Like changing your seat height or forward position, or moving your grips in or out?

mickw

I did my own "bike fit" from what I read online , so here it goes.
I did a KOP (knee over pedals) with a plumbline.
The seat height by heel on pedal , and 2 good test rides.
Then KOP again to make sure of the start position of the seat fore and aft as a baseline.
Backround , I am 5'6" with a 6' armspan and 32" inseam.
Comfort wise , the seat pedal position was perfect for my physical dimensions and arthritis/scoliosis.
Any speed any distance , no body pain other than hands.
Tried bar ends , moved grips in , tried bigger/softer grips , moved seat forward 10mm , same hand thing.
New bars , seat where it is , about 50% better than stock.
Moved seat back to KOP base position , 90% better than stock.
In all fairness , if I rode REAL hard (stock bars), my hands were fine , back off slightly , hands hurt.
With new bars , can ride any tempo and just less hand pain overall.
Actually when climbing hills , the new bars are fabulous , nice wide grip spread , open chest , nice control.
Being an auto mechanic for 40 years has probably taken it's toll on my hands and forearms , these bars just what "my body" needed to make riding more enjoyable.
I had the same problems with motorcycles over the years , and a bar change usually did the trick on those also.
Thanks for the interest and questions guys.
Mick

khutch

My Fuji came with flat bars and I could not ride them more than about 30 miles. I tried some bar ends with no joy and then I tried trekking bars. I agree that they work quite well, much better than flat bars. They are generally inexpensive and they fit your existing controls. Probably won't have to re-do the cables either. Drop bars would be fine but the cost of switching all the controls over would be rather high. In the end I remained unconvinced that there was nothing better than the trekking bars and when Jeff Jones decided to make his "Loop H Bar" in a semi-affordable aluminum version I decided to go with them and have been quite happy with them. The controls will fit them fine but I needed to re-do the cabling to get the proper cable slack. But if you are happy with trekking bars you save yourself about $100 over the Jones bars. I don't understand what the point of flat bars is, either of these other options is so much better if you intend to ride any great distance.

mickw

I was looking at the Jones "Loop H Bar" , they look like they would be the cats butt for sure.
Only thing keeping me from going with them is the price , ouch.
Then the stem has to be the larger size than mine also.
Then those really fat long grips would be slick too....
I was looking at a set of Humpert Boomerang bars , which are very similar , smaller center , and 1/4 the cost.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handleba...black/?geoc=US
The front bar portion of the loop bar would be perfect for mounting forward lighting too , like the h-bar.
I also like the Casey's Crazy Bar by Velo Orange.
Casey's Crazy Bar
They look nutty enough to be useful and comfy.
Along the same angular idea are the origin8 space off road 2 bars.
https://www.amazon.com/Origin8-Space.../dp/B00RNFXNUO
These can be had with either the 25.4 or 31.8 center section and I think they look pretty cool too.
Lots of options , so many choices.
Mick

loky1179

I'm pretty sure the point of flat bars is that there isn't anything cheaper to stick on a bike to maximize profits.

I love seeing all the options in this thread.

Back in the day, every Schwinn, Raleigh, etc, had some form of northroad type bars. It wasn't because they hadn't figured out how to make a straight handlebar. It was because they knew that northroad bars gave you a more natural hand position. I still can't figure out why these types of bars are not on every hybrid - except for the above mentioned profit motive.

khutch

I don't doubt that this is true in some cases, especially among the bottom feeder brands and models. But people who make flat bars generally make a myriad of models and have some at very high price points. The bars that came on my Fuji were not super high end flat bars but they were not as cheap as trekking bars either. Someone buys flat bars in large numbers and pays premium prices for them. I don't know who and I don't know why but they don't do anything for me. I realize that they are good for off road use on loose/soft trails but even then they are not as good as the Jones bars I use and the Jones bars are actually cheaper than many flat bars.

Craptacular8

They are Nitto's trekking bars. They work quite well to move around on, and with as high as I have my seat, fairly aero aside from when I'm going to the very top position.

Juan Foote

So ah...hey man...what's the word on all the Dell's laying in the floor?
Got any SFF cases laying in there? Lol

mickw

Punkncat , friends drop off their old machines , and I clean , re-format , and max the ram.
Then I load a couple versions of Debian Linux depending on it's use , and customize them for neices and nephews or kids that need one for free.
This way children can learn a safe , secure , and crash free system for their internet surfing.
Just exercising my inner geek.
The Sportster '48 is for sale too.....
Mick

cycleheimer

Read this thread..happy I did! I've known guys in the past who toured with these bars on. They liked them. Plan on getting a pair the next time Nashbar has a promotional discount. Bar end extenders just ain't cuttin' it, and a drop bar conversion would be a moderately expensive PITA. The trekking bars will also add diversity to my bike herd.