ilovecycling

So my PRO Vibe bars came in. Fantastic bars btw..oversized round top is even more comfy than the flat-top Ergonova bars they are replacing. I'm having a little trouble with the setup though. These bars were designed to provide a flat transition to the hoods of Shimano hoods, but are claimed to work well with SRAM and Campy too. I tried setting them up as flat as I could and with the hoods level with the ground. The problem is that the end of the drops seem too far behind the top of the bar.

The only solution would be to pivot the bars upwards a little bit and then move the hoods down the bend a little. I tried the Campagnolo method where I had the bottom of the brake lever level with the bottom edge of the drops, but then when the hoods were level with the ground it seemed that the drops (the flat part) was at too much of an angle as opposed to how they look in the pic, which is more level with the ground.

The link below is a pic of Thor Hushovd's 595 that he used to ride a few years back. Turns out he used these same bars. It kind of looks like his hoods are slightly lower in the bend, but it's hard to tell from a picture.

So here's my question. Is the flat section of the drops supposed to be perfectly parallel with the ground, or is it acceptable to have them angled up a bit. I've always had ergo/compact bars so the drops were naturally angled and not parallel with the ground.




https://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/art...h%2Farticle#32

justkeepedaling

Bars are setup perfectly in that pic. That's how it should look, the bottom of the drops should be parallel to the ground

znomit

The bottom of the drops should point to the rear axle.
But I adjust for comfort.

simonaway427

Confused yet?

Matt Gaunt

If they're comfy, they're right. /thread.

ilovecycling

Ha! I should have known I would get two conflicting answers.

I think I'm going to tilt them up a little bit to where the drops aren't as flat as they are now, but not quite as extreme as pointing them towards the axle. I just need to try something because I'm doing a club ride tomorrow morning.

Paul01

Rule one for bar angle is there is no rule. I like mine angled down but whatever works for you is what you should do.

DRietz

Here's the answer:

The Italian way is to have those bars perfectly parallel to the floor. The French way is to have the ends of the bars point down to the rear triangle. Either of those is fine, but your hoods must remain parallel to the floor either way.

dalava

There are no hard and fast rules as to how you set up a bar. If you look at some of the setups by the pros, they are all over the place. Personal preference rules.

A lot of people set their bars up for the look and that's the biggest mistake you could make. Depending on where you ride the most, hoods or drops, just make sure you are the most comfortable, with no loss of power, in that position first, and then adjust for the other position if needed.

mmmdonuts

Is it about looks or is it about comfort?

Set the bars so that you are comfortable in the drops if you use them a lot. Then adjust the levers up or down so that you are comfortable in the hoods. Find a good compromise if you use the positions between the tops and the hoods.

Then post more pictures so BF members can tell you it doesn't look PRO...

pgjackson

That sucks. I don't want to be Italian OR French.

tagaproject6

Adjust for comfort...not aesthetics. However, vanity trumps comfort. As the great Fernando Lamas used to say, "It is better to look good, than to feel good!"

ilovecycling

Definitely comfort. That's why I'm having a little bit of difficulty setting these up. I do use the drops a lot. The way they are set up right now in that pic, the bottom of the levers aren't even with the bottom edge of the drops, so accessing the levers from the drops isn't easy. But then if I move the hoods down in the bend to where they are parallel and easily accessible from the drops, the transition from the tops to the hoods isn't flat. So there is a compromise either way.

I think I know what I need to do- rotate the bars up a bit so the drops will be more of at the "French" angle, while still leaving the hoods horizontal/parallel with the ground. This should bring the levers closer to the bottom edge of the drops making them more accessible while using the drops. The transition from the top of the bar to the hoods might not be as flat as I'd like, but then again this isn't quite as important as being able to access the controls from the drops since you are either using the hoods or you aren't.

Campag4life

No two pros like them the same way. I like my FSA K wings hook ends to point at the rear axle. This isn't the best for drop use...I use drops maybe 15% of the time therefore the priority is on the hoods. I like the top foward curve of the bar to point slightly up along with the hoods. This isn't so much about bar height as it is about how my hand fits to the hoods. If hoods are level I am less comfortable. The only way in my experience to determine what is best is trial and error. I suggest you don't wrap your bars and change the position of the shifters on the bars up and down as well as experiment with bar angle. To me bar position is always a compromise between ergos on the hoods versus drops. I defer to the position I ride the most which is hoods but not to the exclusion of having the drops work fine.

mmmdonuts

What people leaning towards comfort are saying is that there is no hard and fast rule. The hoods don't have to be parallel to the ground and the transition from bars to hoods doesn't have to be a straight line.

Those leaning towards aesthetics have rules.

Paul01

There is no law that says that the hoods need to be parallel to the ground. If it's comfortable, its good.

AzTallRider

You can make the transition flatter/smoother by putting an extra little piece of bar tape in any "V" that forms, then wrap your tape over the rop of that.

rangerdavid

I would have put them on a Cannondale

but other than that, they're fine if they feel good to you when you ride 'em.

roadiejorge 

Adjust it to how they will feel comfortable to you. I ran those bars with the drops parallel to the floor and that worked great.

ilovecycling

Don't worry, I just ordered another one of this same exact handlebar for my caad 9 build. I can get these bars for $70.