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which handle bars and stems for the low look?

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which handle bars and stems for the low look?

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Old 04-08-06 | 12:13 PM
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which handle bars and stems for the low look?

hi
I have a 50cm Reminton track frame. this is gonna be my first build. What measurements for the handle bars and stems would give it that really dropped low look on a 50cm frame? lookin for somethin like this:

Thanks
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Old 04-08-06 | 12:15 PM
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Do you want it to look cool or do you want it to fit?
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Old 04-08-06 | 12:15 PM
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Old 04-08-06 | 12:19 PM
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uh, deep drop stem, with deep drop track bars? I guess you want the steep nitto jaugar stem and the nitto b123 steel bars. Thats about as low as you can get, and you'll probably find it too low unless you're doing flying 200's or something.
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Old 04-08-06 | 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by jim-bob
Do you want it to look cool or do you want it to fit?
since this is going to be my first build, I do have options. I would want it to look cool. And I do want to make it fit. So, what bars and stem would it look cool?and what bars and stem would make it look fitted?
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Old 04-08-06 | 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by sweetbike
since this is going to be my first build, I do have options. I would want it to look cool. And I do want to make it fit. So, what bars and stem would it look cool?and what bars and stem would make it look fitted?
What's the reach and drop on your current bike? Let's work from there.
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Old 04-08-06 | 12:37 PM
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here you go mang, form AND function:



and while you're at it:

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Old 04-08-06 | 12:39 PM
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riser bars
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Old 04-08-06 | 12:39 PM
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Bonzo bars drop it like it's hot.
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Old 04-08-06 | 12:41 PM
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Originally Posted by jim-bob
What's the reach and drop on your current bike? Let's work from there.
Please excuse my newness.. Seat tube is 50cm and Top Tube is 53cm. Other than that i dont know whats a reach drop...
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Old 04-08-06 | 01:00 PM
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what cm sized handlebars are good with a 50cm frame?
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Old 04-08-06 | 01:02 PM
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The size of your frame is less important than the width of your shoulders.
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Old 04-08-06 | 01:38 PM
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Bikes: heh, like that info would fit here...

a few things regarding fit and deep drops:
All else constant, it is more comfortable to ride low drops if you are:
flexible
lanky
young

Deep drops may make your neck/back hurt if you ride them more than a few hours in the city.

For city riding you will probably not spend much time in the drops if your bars are that low, so you might as well put the padding on the flats.

Most track rides who ride bikes set up as above do so for a couple of minutes at a time on a perfectly smoothe surface with no cross traffic.
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Old 04-08-06 | 02:09 PM
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im thinkin to go with the nitto b-123s. what would be a good size? how do you determine correct fittament of the handlebar to the frame? I guess my main question is, when the handlebars increase in cm (36-44cm), do the bars increase in width, depth, or both?

Last edited by sweetbike; 04-08-06 at 02:29 PM.
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Old 04-08-06 | 02:09 PM
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make sure you put some padded OURY grips on the tops where the bars are reachable
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Old 04-08-06 | 02:40 PM
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Originally Posted by sweetbike
im thinkin to go with the nitto b-123s. what would be a good size? how do you determine correct fittament of the handlebar to the frame?
Originally Posted by mcatano
The size of your frame is less important than the width of your shoulders.
The size of your seat tube has little to no bearing on the width of your bars. Measure from the bony part of one shoulder to the other in order to get in the ballpark for "proper" sizing of bars. A lot of people seem to like to get the narrowest bars humanly possible, allegedly for darting through traffic. Honestly, whatever floats the boat. If they're comfortable for you, then they're the right size.

Originally Posted by sweetbike
I guess my main question is, when the handlebars increase in cm (36-44cm), do the bars increase in width, depth, or both?
The size in cm = the width of the bars. So, yes, as the size increases, so too does the width of the bars. The reach and drop is constant. ie, 36cm and 44cm B123s look the same in profile.

If you want to get the bars and stem with the most drop humanly possible, get a nitto jaguar stem and soma bonzo bars. That should put the bottoms of the drops somewhere around your front axle. If you want a bar/stem combo that will be comfy and practical for tooling around the city, get short-ish road quill stem and risers.
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Old 04-08-06 | 02:50 PM
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Originally Posted by sweetbike
hi
I have a 50cm Reminton track frame. this is gonna be my first build. What measurements for the handle bars and stems would give it that really dropped low look on a 50cm frame? lookin for somethin like this:

Thanks
I remember there was a poll and many of the participants with similarly extreme setups, seemed to rarely ride in the drops. The most popular hand position was on either side of and right next to the stem, which coincidentally, also helps to slow down the steering on super responsive track geometry. IIRC, the owner of that bike has a new ride that is set up much more moderately with a level road stem and spacers.

Last edited by pigmode; 04-08-06 at 04:09 PM.
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Old 04-08-06 | 03:13 PM
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seems like super steep isnt such a great idea for comfort? I figured out my size for the nitto b123, and im going for a 36cm. Thanks Mcatano for the help.
So, i am still kinda dreamin for the steep look. Im set on the nitto b123 in 36cm, what would be a good size nitto jaguar stem to have the bottoms of the handlebars perpendicular to the wheels?

Last edited by sweetbike; 04-08-06 at 03:21 PM.
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Old 04-08-06 | 03:19 PM
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I was going to buy some 123 for a long time, but then after talking with some people I decided to go with the 135's. I love them and I am glad that I didn't go for the "cool" deep drop. Ridding in the city can be hard on the back with deep drops.
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Old 04-08-06 | 03:35 PM
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Originally Posted by sweetbike
seems like super steep isnt such a great idea for comfort?
Deep riding positions are optimized for areodynamics and power transmission, not comfort. Those track bars are designed primarily to be ridden in the drops, with additional wrist and forearm clearance when in that position.
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Old 04-08-06 | 03:39 PM
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This thread encompasses everything I hate about bicycles.

I, for one, went with looking cool. **** you, rhomboids!
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Old 04-08-06 | 03:52 PM
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Originally Posted by BoogerBike
I was going to buy some 123 for a long time, but then after talking with some people I decided to go with the 135's. I love them and I am glad that I didn't go for the "cool" deep drop. Ridding in the city can be hard on the back with deep drops.
+1 and if you have something awkward in your bag or heavy for a long distance, you'll wish you had more upright handlebar options.
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Old 04-08-06 | 04:07 PM
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how do you determine what mm nitto jaguar stem suites you? and how much of a difference is 65 and 58 degrees? pics or links would be sweet. and ill be set. thanks for your help yall.

Last edited by sweetbike; 04-08-06 at 04:35 PM.
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Old 04-08-06 | 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted by vomitron
This thread encompasses everything I hate about bicycles.

I, for one, went with looking cool. **** you, rhomboids!
hipster
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Old 04-11-06 | 07:40 PM
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Originally Posted by vomitron
This thread encompasses everything I hate about bicycles.

I, for one, went with looking cool. **** you, rhomboids!
this from someone whos face is about 2 inches form their front wheel.
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