Rethinking bars after my fitting this week. Fitter suggested a short-reach bar to shorten my reach (all legs--short torso issues). Short-reach bar first, then a shorter stem.

Is a compact bar the same thing as a short-reach bar? Or does compact refer only to the distance from the top of the hoods to the drops? I guess "compact" is the same thing as "shallow" drop?

Currently have Deda Newtons, traditional bend b/c I didn't know any different at the time.

FSA Wing Pro looks good. Certainly cheap enough.

Will they be noticeably less stiff than the Dedas? Not that I'm super-cyclist or anything, but I like how stiff the Dedas feel. What about alloy bars in general -- does the stiffness decrease with the price?

Sticking with alloy bars, BTW. Zipp Service Course stuff also looks really good.

Also looking at the Deda RHM bars.

Thoughts?

If you like the Deda Newtons, check out the Deda Newton Shallow bars. They are shorter reach, shorter drop. I am running them and really like them compared to the FSAs I used to have on my Cannondale.

I'm running the 3T Ergosum bars on my new Tarmac and Deda Newtons on my older Litespeed. I really like the shape and reach of these new 3T bars so much that I'm contemplating swaping out the Deda bars and stem for 3T Ergosums.

depends on where you like to grab the bars.

shallow bars, are really only usable in the drops, and they're really good if you like staying there for >80% of the time. The tops are somewhat usable, and the hoods are not usable at all, depending on the lever.

compact bars are a different beast entirely. They're supposed to be used on the hoods, but the drops can be used too, with a small difference in height.


as for the original question, do a search or look up the manufacturer websites and look for the cross section images. The differences are quite obvious.

The only makers that actually make 'compact' drop bars are FSA and 3T.
Deda aluminum bars only come in 3 bends, deep, shallow and ergo.

one thing to consider, is that handlebar shape is 100% user preference.

[QUOTE=AEO;12140186]depends on where you like to grab the bars.

shallow bars, are really only usable in the drops, and they're really good if you like staying there for >80% of the time. The tops are somewhat usable, and the hoods are not usable at all, depending on the lever.

I guess it is personal preferance since I have ridden on the Deda shallow drop for about 2200 miles, 80% on the hoods and they feel great to me.

Ditto, on the Ergosum. I came from Newton Anatomics.

Also, check out the Ergonova for an even shorter reach. The main differences between the Ergosum and Ergonova are:

- Ergosum has slightly longer reach (sum: 89mm; nova: 77mm), and 5mm more drop.
- Ergonova has an egg-shaped cross section on the top. Some like it, some don't
- Ergonova has flared drops. I was told that are 2cm narrower at the hoods. Don't know if that's true or not.

Sticking with Deda, i have been loving their Zero100 aluminum bars. More of a classic bend than the newtons, and a compact design with an ever so slight bit of flatness across the tops.... Great bars, but as with any Deda bar, pay attention to their outside-to-outside measuring... I had to order a 44cm in order to get the 42cm width needed for me.

Not sure I follow why this would be. Something to do with the shorter reach making the hand position uncomfortable while on the hoods? Not enough bar to hold on to, perhaps?


That would be nice. For the life of me, I couldn't find those on Deda's site, where I was primarily looking. But finally saw those on 3T's and Zipp's website--helpful, and now I know. Shame on Deda!

3T ErgoNova would do it or to stick with Deda the Zero100 are excellent (what I use).

I think the ErgoNova only got wider in the drops on the carbon versions but I may be wrong.

Bought a Deda Zero 100 on eBay. Got it put on today, and took a 25 mile ride. Felt good. I think it will probably shorten the reach enough to make the low back stuff go away.