... It's difficult for me to get to the brakes from the drops. I attribute this to my smallish fingers. I've experimented with moving the brake levers and moving the bar position, but I can't find a happy medium in order to get easily to the brakes from both the hoods and the drops. I'm considering getting another set of bars to fix this problem. Here are the two that I'm considering:

Morpheus (go to the bottom of the page)

Deda Newton

Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Any other suggestions on how to fix my problem???

As always - thanX!!!!!!!

I don't know how wide your shoulders are, but Terry makes handlebars with an indentation in them for reach help:Terry T-Bar handlebars

Also, I've found that Campy levers are a bit closer to the bar than Shimano levers.

bac,

I'm also curious about this, as I also have small hands. I've considered the bars made for women (smaller diameter). I also have narrow shoulders so I think they might be appropriate.

Shimano makes ultegra level STIs called R600s, and the Sora STIs. They have adjustable reach, much like on MTB levers, but for drop bars. You could get these and adjust them so that they rest slighty closer to the h-bars then your old Shifters.

Also, it use to be that anytime you start to bring you come out of the drops and onto the hoods.....this allowed you to use your upper body as an added air brake.

I have neve felt comfortable braking from the drops.

Hi,
You can plug mtn bike levers into STI shifters; and get a 2nd set of brake levers.I would try the small Shimano shifters, and those nifty looking handlebars first,but.....it might be something to consider. The ones I have are called something like Paul's Love Levers.

you might also want to look into Ritchey Pro bars. They are slightly more shallow in the drops and I have found that they improve my reach. I would also suggest going to your LBS to try out a few different bars and see which one feels best. Good luck!

ThanX for the information, but after looking @ these it seems that if I adjust them so that the levers are closer in the drops, I'll lose some of the leverage when on the hoods. Does that sound right to you?

So that I understand, you're stating that I can replace the shifter lever part of my current Ultegra STI's with a Shimano or other mountain bike lever. This would allow me to, in effect, have 2 brake levers - the original, and the new shifter/brake lever created with the mountain bike levers?

Please let me know if my thinking is right. ThanX!!!!!

I don't know about putting mountain bike levers on, but you can definitely get some topmount brake levers that people put on cyclocross bikes and integrate those with whatever you currently have.

Top Mount Brake Levers

Hi,
it's just a 2nd set of brake levers. But it's handy to have brakes on the top bar.

I just had the Specialized women's handlebars installed on my bike last week. I'm still getting used to the different setup so I can't tell you if I'm completely happy with it yet but the reach to the hoods and the drops is shorter and I'm getting more of my hand on the levers from the hoods.

I really liked the Shimano short reach STI levers but I'm not willing to spend the $180 to upgrade the levers ( I currently have Tiagra levers).

If there's a LBS near you that sells Specialized, I suggest trying out one of their WSD bikes (Allez Dolce or Allez Vita(?)) which have both the women's handlebars and the short reach STI levers on them. My LBS built up a Dolce for me so I could test out the handlebar/lever setup before I ordered the handlebars.

First off - thanX for the good information! Now, are these short reach STIs the R600s that are adjustable, or are you speaking of another model?

ThanX!!

Yes they are. You can see them on the Supergo website as Shimano ST-R600 Short Reach STI .

Description
At last! Shorter, adjustable reach STI levers for smaller hands! By inserting or removing the included wedges, the R600 levers can be adjusted closer to the bar - this becomes especially important with ergo-bend bars! Compatible with all 18-spd and 27-spd Shimano drivetrains.

They're a little pricy for what you get. They're only $50-60 less than Dura Ace shifters. But, if it makes a difference, it's probably worth the price. I'm new to biking so I don't know if I just need to get comfortable with my biking skills or if the short reach levers will fix everything so I'm just going to wait awhile before making that decision.

ThanX for the info. and the website! The only issue that I see with this type of set-up is that while you will gain some reach while in the drops, you'll lose some leverage while on the brake hoods.

I'm still scratching my head on this one. I may go for a new set of bars, and if that isn't enough, I'm considering making (or buying) some shims for my current brake levers.

So, soes anyone else have any new information regarding handlebars for those of us who aren't well endowed in the finger department?

ThanX!!