I've been riding my Gary Fisher Utopia since January this year and I love it. I rides well, handles nicely and can take the semi-rough stuff easily. I only have two problems both I think can be dealt with by a change in my handle bar setup.

1. After a few hours riding I sometimes get a bit of numbness or tingling around my palms. I suspect this is due to me not being able to change my hand position.
2. Second, I am coming to loath headwinds (don't we all). My previous bike was a hardtail MTB so my gearing was what limited my speed. Now on my GF the bigger wheels and broader gearing range now lets me pedal fast enough but when the headwind gets up I feel like I'm a Tea Clipper sail attached to the top of a Ferrari.

I spend most of my time on the road but do like to get off onto tracks and trails.

I see myself having 2 main options with a third possible

1. Add bar ends and aero-bars to my current flat bar. I suspect not quite as many hand position options as the trekking bars and noting all the comments on geometry I wonder if I could really take advantage of the aero-bars.
2. Find a trekking bar that I like. So far though I can only find 1 trekking bar in the UK and don't want to go coughing up for one and shipping to find out it's not quite what I want. Also I've noted it can be a pain to then get a mirror mounted.
3. Drop bars. Most drop bars look a little narrow as I do like the control I get from a wide flat bar. Once again maybe a mirror problem.

Your comments and suggestions please.

I have what you call "option 1" and find it to be ff-in' fantastic.
I put some pictures of my setup in the pictures-thread on pages 45 and onward, so have a look.
With that setup I am able to reach average speeds of 28 to 35 km/h on 10 to 40 km trips.
The aerobar will both get you a more aerodynamic position AND get the weight off of your hands while putting it on your elbows, which is also great if you have a sore back like me.
If you are still unable to beat headwinds then, you should probably upgrade your motor

There are other options, you may consider.

Ergon Grips, GP-1 = keep your hands from pressing on nerves, and keep your wrists straight.

Bar ends, give you more places, and positions, to grab the bars, especially when standing,

Origin 8 Mini Drops - a bolt on miracle to give you even more hand positions, and also help you get more aero in the wind. (Niagara stocks them)

I have, and really like, all of them.

Eron grips, barends & minidrops ... nice one wanderer

Velo Orange Milan bars, ergonomic grips. https://www.velo-orange.com/milanbar.html

No more wrist aches or any other issues. Mine are mounted flipped so they droop instead of rise.. but that way works too.

Pete

If standard drops aren't wide enough try Salsa Bell Laps or the cheaper Moto Aces. These are extra wide and have flared drops designed for off-roading. Or you could look for 48cm Nitto Noodle Bars, but these would probably need to be a special order from the US or Japan. You could combine either with aerobars if you like.

Re. aerobars on the road: they're definitely faster than drops - that's the point. And a lot of people find them very comfortable. But using them around traffic or where there is any possibility you might hit a pot hole is risky; they're banned from most forms of racing because they reduce stability and turning and braking ability. Reasonable cross section of opinions:

https://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=15497685

https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-219052.html


This calculator is very useful if your're playing around with performance options:

https://bikecalculator.com/veloUS.html

Your hybrid's position is most similar to the "bar top" setting but probably a bit slower, as you're hands will be further apart and the stem shorter.

I'd try the Ergon grips with integrated bar ends, the longest ones. That should give you a couple additional hand positions. You're already wearing padded gloves, I suppose. If not, get some with gel padding. Sweet cushion and vibrations cannot penetrate.

That's a cool looking bike. Don't make it dorky.

I've been looking at the Ergon series closely (particularly the GC3) as there have been a number of comments on similar threads. The only problem so far with these though I can't fit a bar end mirror with them. I'm going to have to look into a helmet mirror if I go for these.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'd need to go for the small size for them to fit my bars (so far totally standard).

Before you say it qmsdc15, yeah I know it's a cool looking bike.

• I love the way the frame's shaped to increase strength at the weld points
• The fact that on a quick glance you can't see any brand logos add a little style that I like too

I'm going to try not to sacrifice looks for utility but I'd rather loose a little look for a better bike.

Which is exactly why I always recommend the GP-1s. They do not limit what you can do - the integrated ones make it impossible to change things.

Presumably you aren't running bar ends and the mini drops on the same bike? If you are: I'd like to see a pic of that.

Definitely. But the OP should know that this won't help significantly with riding into the wind.

Oh - another thing he should know is that a drop conversion would be complicated by the disk brakes his bike is fitted; the pull is wrong for standard drop bar levers. There are special models that do work and they're cheap, but they don't have the integrated gear levers of the expensive ones. There are various solutions, the simplest being to fit "bar end shifters".

YES, I am.

I slid the controls inboard about 3/4 of an inch - all work well.

Then I slid my GP-1 Ergons on.

Next come the mini drops, bolt on Origin 8s. You utilize your regulatr bars, and just bolt these on - no expensive midifications.

Outside of them are the bar ends, bolt on.

Farthest outboard, left, is my Mountain Myrracle rear view mirror.

Everything works great, and the Origin 8 drops are a very cheap change for more hand positions.

Bar ends, and mini drops are wrapped for comfort, but, they don't have to be.

I'll try to get a picture, and get it posted.

Pictures or it didn't happen, wanderer

I gotta charge up my camera - later........

Right so going over this the main thing is the numbness (it does suggest I might do damage if I keep it up). Battling headwinds has got to take second place in priority.

Everyone appears to be in support of the Ergon grips, just differences in opinion on which type. Although the long GC3s might have the "no bar-end mirror" problem I can quickly get over that with a helmet mirror. In addition going to the far end of these grips built in end bars wont give me an aero stance but by stretching forward that bit might help with the wind a bit. I may leave off the aero-bars for a bit for a few reasons.

• Expense - I'm not rolling in it at moment and have just got the luggage end of both mine and my partners bikes sorted.
• Bar space - Currently I have 2 Front lights and a Cat Eye Strada to place fairly centrally and the aero bars will probably take up more space than they'll give (although some look like they might take a light at the far end)
• Just starting to ride with panniers I've realised how handy a bar bag might be and even if I could fit both aero-bars and bar-bag I wouldn't be able to get into the bag without some serious gymnastics or poorly thought through solution as putting it on upside down

On the bar space front I've seen some gadgets such as this but many of them have questionable reviews. Any suggestions for a good quality one that will not only give me more space but put my Knog Gator 105 clear of my cables (and potential bar bag) so it can do me some good)

I have actual drops on my mtb and like them, but I can see what you mean about wanting a wider bar.

Makes sense to hold off on the more costly options and start with the ergonomic grips and some long bar ends. To tell the truth I've never used Ergon grips myself. I felt it was OK to recommend based on advice from many respected sources. I've never had serious problem with numbness either, maybe because I use barends and/or gel gloves, the additional positions should help. Think about Wanderer's advice to get grips from Ergon and barends from elsewhere, so you can easily mount a mirror. You'll have a wider choice of barends and you can add clip on drops like his later if you decide you want a lower position for headwinds.

Topeak makes a bar space extender that looks nice but probably only fits well on flat bars. If your bike has sort of curvy bars with taper, it might take some fiddling to get it straight and/or tight.

Seeing no-one has mentioned this yet: I presume you are wearing padded cycling gloves? If not, you can pick up some cheap ones from Evans or Wiggle for around £10. I found them very good for reducing numbness.

Scroll down thru this album until you get to the dashboard photos - a Super Delux Dashboard from B-Dop Cycling - or visit his website for the same pics of my bike

https://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s227/pjungels/bike/

This CF piece is super stiff and secure, holds lots of stuff, and works great. It will resolve all of your problems, as it did mine.

I am looking at all your suggestions.

Just to save more comments on this line. Yes I'm wearing Gel Padded gloves.