Since i've been shopping for a build, I did a bunch of reading on handlebars.
It seems like the trend went from traditional to ergo to compact.

There are a lot of advertisements and video reviews out there - the one on competitvecyclist is a good example - that talk about compact bend bars like they are the best thing ever, and anyone who isn't using them is just punishing themselves.

They are described as "comfortable" as if no other bar ever was, and the world was just waiting for science to invent a bar that didn't bend as much. Check out the competitive cyclist review of the new FSA bars...he refers to ergo bars sarcastically like only idiots use them.

So what's the deal with them?

I have 150mm ergo drops on my felt. I like them, but I'm always willing to try something new. Note, For the build I bought 150mm ergo drops bc fhey were way cheaper, but I might try the k-wing compacts.

People are getting stiffer and can't get into the drops. I think for posers that have no spacers in their steerer tubes and realize that they can't bend that far. I like the ergos. I have compact on my newer bling bike and I am going back to Belgian bars or ergos.

I tried ergo bend bars a few years ago when I borrowed a friends bike and didn't like them at all. I have the WCS classic bars and really like those, even more than the Ritchey Logic curve bars I have on my Orbea which I got to try the flat transition bars. I really like the classic bend because it provides a large flat section at the bottom of the drop bars which I find more stable than the curved variety.

I have a hard time getting my fit dialed in on a 54 (or in my case a TCR M). The FSA compact bars were the perfect solution for me.
They shortened up the reach which enabled me to take out spacers so I could get into the drops without suffering as I did with the original bars that came on the bike.
If you're having problems riding in the drops I would recommend a compact bar, or getting professional fit.

Just popped-on a compact bar a few hours ago. (actually may be a woman's bar - Not sure. It's a Fuji brand but no other info on the bar. I got it used from my LBS that was swapped from another bike). Reach can't be more than 75 and it has shallow drops.
When riding on the hoods, I prefer to ride with them in a "jacked" position (mounted high on the bar) which limits the location my hands (large enough to palm a basketball) can be when in the drops on a regular bar and still easily access the brake levers. (even with the big hands)
With this new bar, I always have access to the levers. (will give it a run-through on Sunday's group ride).

the spiel on competitive cyclist is full of crap: loaded with marketing buzzwords and often contradictory opinions. ride whatever you feel like is the most comfortable. if you read their review on the 3T rotundo, you'll find they have now left out everything "bad" about classic bars & are now hyping how all the pros use it.

fwiw, i'm going from anatomic (ritchey wcs logic) to a shallow-drop classic (ritchey wcs classic), both, of course, in aluminum

tsk tsk, you should have never changed it to the curve bar . actually, i noticed your wcs curve as i saw the words ritchey wcs on your bar, but they looked nothing like mine (wcs logic) or the classic drops. besides, everyone knows that only classic round bars can achieve a pro look, with the best result achieved when you pair it with a set of campy levers and a -17 stem

I'm fine in my drops, but I haven't gotten a real pro fit.
My hesitation to go compact is that I feel like drops should be DROPS, not just something where I move my hands down a few cm. I don't give a crap about whether they look pro, but the fact that pros use deep drop indicates to me that they want something that lets them get down and aero. That's why I went 150mm for now.

*in my opinion

Ergo - bad
Shallow drop - god friggin awful
Classic bend - perfect

I use these:

I'll remember that when I go pro.


I have the WCS classic bars in my BMC and got the WCS Logic Curve when I built up my Orbea to give them a try since I bought them pretty cheap on e-Bay. I don't dislike them but I prefer the classic bend so I might get them and put them on the Orbea at some point.

It's not all about the drop being shorter. It's about the bend for me, it allows me to put my hands anywhere on the drops while maintaining comfort not just one or two areas.

Seriously, for 90% of the people who post in here?
That set up would never work.
But it looks really cool.....

Ideally I'd want carbon, classic bend, flat tops, cheap. I had to make the concession on ergo bends.

You can have carbon, or cheap, but not both.

geez. Someone define classic for me, plz. Cinelli made mods 63, 64, 65, and 66. All of these (except maybe the 65) were, ahem, "classic" bend, but the 63 qualifies today as a compact and the 66 is deeper than most "deep drop" bars on the market today.

actually they don't. the most popular models are the ritchey classic (135mm), deda newton shallow (135mm), and 3T rotundo (139mm). only the FSA energy T (145mm) is a deep drop. remember, we are talking about just 1.5cm here.

here's how pros(& a lot of people) actually get aggressive setups: a head tube of 13cm or less for a frame with a TT of 54cm, a -17 stem to make the stem parallel to the ground, and often riding a size down to get even shorter headtube and compensating for reach by having ridiculously long stems (12cm or longer). furthermore, an aggressive setup means nothing if it hunches you up as that will subsequently prevent your lungs from expanding to its maximal volume.

All 3T bars come in 2 grades of carbon & 1 grade of aluminum. carbon bars, stems, and seatposts are huge gimmicks as they will not improve your ride comfort. furthermore, you save at most 40g by switching to carbon but run the risk of the thing snapping apart when you crash (which will inevitably happen the more race you do)

So you're suggesting everyone here shoud be riding a -17 stem?
This is the road forum, not the other side of the fence.

a classic bend (3t rotundo)



vs an ergo bend (FSA K-Force Ergo)



the classic bend is basically two straight sections joined by a round section. the two flat sections form a rather acute angle. this is the set up you'll find on many old road bikes

that's half of the game . if here means the road cycling population in general, you are correct, but when you go to the racers, many will have a -17 set up (check the race rig porn thread in the racing subforum)

ride whatever is comfortable, but keep in mind comfort is relative. i went from a +8 stem with 2.5cm of spacers to a -17 stem with no spacers. doing a lot of core work will allow you do adopt more aggressive setups. sadly, not many do the requisite core work nor are willing to experiment with lower positions to ever get as aggressive as possible. look at my avatar (picture taken five months ago), this is me riding with a -8 stem. as you can see, my back is not parallel to the ground. i'm pretty certain if you were to take a picture of me in the drops now, my back would be parallel

let's get the terminology a little tighter. You are referring to a Maes-bend bar...and yeah, I still like that best. The six-bend bar from Modolo was the first ergo bend named as such (I think), and most ergo-bend bars nowadays have 8 bends. I rode ergo bars from Modolo for several years before I came to my senses. My current favorite is Easton EC-90 Equipe Pro, bent and proportioned a lot like the Cinelli 63. Back in the day is was almost required that the drop portion of the bar be set up parallel to the ground, but I find it easier on my wrists if the lower portion angles down a little toward the back of the bike.

I put the profile design cobras on my felt and I love them.

the idea of the ego was to have a flat or bump where you might put your hands on the forward drop position. I have it one of my bikes. I also have a compact bar and I was amazed by how little it dropped and it felt good. its only since the stem designs have gone away from the quill design that allows bars to have the tight turns. they didn't fit on the quill stems since they didn't have a face plate. the compact bars also have short reach which provides a flat run to the hoods. bars are really like saddles and shorts, it all depends on what fits you.

and I agree that carbon has no business in the cockpit.

The 44-66 is perhaps the finest bar ever made. I don't even know what the dimensions are, but if I could find this shape in a modern bar, that would be great.

-Z

I like the ritchey biomax...compact and ergo: https://www.ritcheylogic.com/dyn_prodfamily.php?k=299398