Amt0571

I have ridden a 26" bike with 640mm handlebars and bar ends for 10 years. I currently have a new bike (a Canyon Grand Canyon) with 740mm handlebars and I'm having issues with wrist and hand pain.

I have a history of hand pain problems which I succesfully alleviated using a combination of silicone grips, lowish pressure on the suspension fork, bar ends to change hand positions and powerful brakes to avoid prolonged efforts on descents.

I'm in the process of tuning my new bike. So far I'm ok with the fork, fitted silicone grips, and I just bought MT520 brakes to have nice braking vs the stock MT400. I'm not so sure about using bar ends on a 740mm handlebar though. I've been thinking about trying a 16 / 20º backsweep handlebar instead, but I'm not sure if I will compromise handling when descending or if I'll need a longer stem with them to avoid having them too close for climbing. Has anyone tried such handlebars? suggestions?

I don't care much about aesthetics. I care about riding without pain.

Thanks!

frankenmike 

H-bars were the ticket for me.

pyze-guy

Nothing wrong with bar ends. As bars got wider they became less popular
I much prefer backsweep on my bars, my cx bike has backsweep in the tops, and my mtb bar has 17 degrees with 25mm rise from Niner. I run it flipped, with rise. I kept the stem I had before, the forward bend from the stems means you hands are in the same spot on the bars as they would be on flat bar. For me the sweep helps with wrist and shoulder issues, carbon is nice. Plus it’s a super nice bar for a great price.
It takes a few easy rides to adjust to the backsweep, slightly different feel turning. Didn’t notice a difference on descents or climbs. No desire to go back to a straight bar.
I also have TOGS. Like them a lot. I know people say you can just rest your hands on the grips to switch it up, I find these work well.

qclabrat

Might be hard in covid days. But a bikefit might be your solution. ConsulT a lbs and order from them

Kapusta

You can always stick bar ends you already have on the 740mm bars, and try it, but I find that they are not very useful that far out. I used to use bar ends back when I ran narrow bars, but once I got beyond 660mm bars, they served no purpose for me, just added extra width I could not use.

Another option before buying a new bar would be cutting the one you have down.

seat_boy

You could also mount your bar ends inboard of the grips. I've run some that way, and it gives a pretty good alternate position for grinding into headwinds.

Leebo

most of my bars have 15-20 degrees sweep. I find them very comfortable. Big hands, I like a double wrap of cushy bar tape. 1 roll will do a bar and a x2 on the grip part.

DMC707 

H bara are working pretty well for me so far

These are the 2.5" ride model and I am having them swapped out for the zero rise model as the front end is already pretty tall on a 6" travel 29'er

hermanchauw

I haven't tried such handlebars but i have tried Swiss Bar for bench press.

Having a less pronated grip puts the elbows further in, weaker than standard pronated grip on a straight bar.

If your grip is too wide, it can hurt your wrists. Go narrower one finger width at a time until it doesn't hurt. That would be maximum comfortable width.

If the new bar shorter reach, you could mount it lower to improve climbing. I have this really short reach and short stem bike but i don't feel disadvantaged during climbs. Just need to lean forward enough to weight the front wheel.

hermanchauw

And back to the question of bar ends vs backsweep handlebar. My solution is bar ends.





Red for braking, tight turns and descending.
Yellow for acceleration and light braking.
Green for cruising.

davei1980

+1 on H bars - worth a shot - you can get the H bend for cheaper/lighter option than the H loop if you don't need the forward hand position - or you can go with the H cut and mount up bar ends on the inner/fwd part as pictured above. That would be the holy grail of hand positions right there....

davei1980

I had this exact setup when I converted my CX bike to flatbar commuter w/ trigger shifter (was running a clutched, short cage Shimano Zee DR/shifter, actually really cool, bullet proof set up)

I loved all my hand positions (for $5 at the used bike co-op no less) but the bike itself turned out to be too short wheelbase and twitchy race machine to be worth a damn as a commuter.

Kapusta

You call those hand positions? Y’all are a bunch of dilettantes.

Caliper

My wrists are the same - flat bars kill me. Currently my two favorite bars are the Surly Molokko (as pictured by Kapusta, but without the extras) and the 23* Salsa Bend. I also run the bars with some rollback to fit how my body naturally aligns better. The Molokko is especially nice with the forward section that can be used on dirt roads to stretch out a bit, nice for a bike that sees more than just trails. The Bend bar has a noticeable forward sweep before the backsweep that keeps the controls at the same distance.