I have those Cinellis. They're period correct for my restoration project but they're just way too steep to be comfy for me. The more I look at Rad's Pinarello, the more I love it, and the more I'm convinced that La Madonna di Ghisallo will forgive me for putting a Japanese bar on a European bike.

+1 on the shallow bend... with Campy levers, they're quite flat on top.

Love 'em.

Yeah, the bend looks good... but the whole point of classic bars is to spend a lot of time in the drops. And those weird knobs at the corner of the bend would surely cause forearm trauma in a sprint.

Really? Don't you have to tilt the bars back to get a flat platform? The Deda shallow bars always looked very close to the Ritcheys in that regard...

I think you should look at them in person. FYI, I know I Martin (on 3rd St. near W. Hollywood) has a set of the shallow Newtons on the shelf right now, if you want to hold them. Set up right, they feel great. I don;t know how close to the Ritchey's they are, but they appear to be more like what you want.

Here's a pick of the bars with shifters:

http://www.bikecyclingreviews.com/im...ebar-lever.jpg

IMO, while not as table-top flat at the bar-hoods junction as some, they're *virtually* flat with the drops parralell to the ground. And while they don't look ruler flat, they certainly *feel* flat and offer a decently broad space to hold onto when riding on the hoods.

Here's a pic on my bike.
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...2&d=1184311549

The up-angle of the shot is a little deceiving to the eye, and exaggerates the dip between bars and hoods. They feel quite flat, and I really love how much room the drops leave you on non-anatomic bars. Much easier to get down and stay down on the drops with more room to move around down there.

FWIW, I don't really know any other bars, except some anatomic bontragers, and those were just evil. Well, evil and stupid, IMO.

eta: not sure you're in L.A.- but either way, do check them out. All them goofy euro-trash must use them for a reason... ;)

edit: IMartin Cycles... nice staff, good mechanics on staff. One of the most expensive shops in town, and for the money there are a few shops with better mechanics out there.
If you're in LA, find what you want - then go to InCycle or Orange20 or Cynergy and have them order it. Incycle or Orange20 might be able to get you whatever for a really low price.
Orange20 might be a little slower of an order though - great shop, just too busy with too few staff at the moment.

Bumping this thread because I'm now looking at Bontrager VR bars. Has anyone tried these?

The VRs are a good choice if you want a really short, flat platform for your hands while in the hoods. The drops don't give you a flat area like classic bars will, however, and I couldn't really find a sweet spot in the drops. The FSA Kwing Compact bars are a lot shallower than the VRs, but have the same style transition into the clamp area and have a more flattened drop that feels better IMO, especially in a sprint. Only complaint with those is the drops are TOO shallow (125mm).

Thanks. You put your finger right on the thing I was concerned about. It looks like it runs out of bar just at the point where it flattens out.

Yeah, check out the FSA bars. As I said, they may be too shallow. I had to slam my bars to get low enough in the drops, so now I'm pretty aggressive even in my hoods. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on what type of riding/racing you do.

JLF, do your bars have a rounded indentation on the ramps for riding on the hoods? My buddy's Bianchi came with FSA bars and that's the feature he likes best.

Nope, no ramps. And actually, I don't want anything like this. Just a short reach, shallow drop, non-ergo, constant radius, aluminum bar. Apparently, this is like wishing for a leprechaun.

So I went ahead and reserved an Easton Equipe Pro at my LBS. Carbon bars are the devil and I can't believe I'm going to buy one. But desperate times call for... you know.