handlebar idea
 

When I'm riding my road bike I really like to ride on the brake hoods. It's comfortable enough for long stretches, and I still feel I have more control and power than when I'm riding the flat-center section of the handlebars. I just recently built my fixed gear bike up, and since I didn't put any brakes on it, I don't have any hoods to ride on. This isn't meant to be another brakes vs. no brakes thread. I simply put the bike together without a brake, rode it, liked it, and decided to keep it that way. I'd like to eventually put a front brake on it, but even then I'll probably put a small lever on the flat section. I realize I could flop my bars or get bullhorns to acheive a similar position to the hoods, but I also like riding the drops. Basically, I'm always switching my hand positions, so the more the better.

I've seen some fixed gear bikes with the hoods mounted sans lever, and that's swell and all, but I don't think that's what I want, mostly because of aesthetic issues. So basically, after this long string of words, my question to you all is this: Has anyone ever seen a handlebar which is a combo of drops and bullhorns for riding brakeless? I've tried doing a few sketches, and I'd like to do more, but even if I came up with something I wouldn't really know how to make them. Would anyone else be interested in something like this? Anyone interested in collaborating on a project like this, or even just taking this idea and running with it? Based on reactions, maybe I'll work on some more sketches and post them here.

people have posted about this before. and if aesthetics are an issue for you just give up. theres no way that wouldnt look ugly as ****.

wrapping it would suck.

How about a set of these (or something similar) on bull horns?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Road-ends-drop-b...QQcmdZViewItem

functional yet fugly as as hell

ummm....wouldn't correctly chopped chop and flops be pretty much the same as having the hoods?

oh, i get it now....

listen, i had nitto 021s that i titled a little down and i could drop down and out. didn't have the hood position, though...the shoulders just off the flat did occasionally offer me a place to put my hands. nitto 019s are also a good compromise, with more shoulder and less drop.

i think you're probably going to have to go with bullhorns and make some compromises, or do the goofy-looking fake hood thing.

Yup, but he wants both drops and a hood substitute.

what's wrong with some stoker hoods?

but without faux hoods, i can't see how it'd work without some compromise. maybe i'm just being narrow-minded, heh.

Those wouldn't work, the clamp faces the wrong way, but yes somthing similar would acheive what the OP has in mind, if it is made. I think I might do a sketch/photoshoping of what these hypothetical bars would look like

Cha'Ching

I don't see how some frankenstien bar would look any better than a pair of hoods or non-functional brake levers.

werd dummy levers for tandems are the jam

Posting this pic for the 1,000th time:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/136/3...8db01b882e.jpg
Bullhorns with scott rake clip-ons.

Doc Octopus' bike!

:eek: I didn't think anyone had actually tried it! You run this all the time?

My friend has these weird Specialized drop bars that are kind of like Randonneur bars, and the way he has them tilted gives an awesomely comfortable spot on the curves/tops. Instead of sloping down they slope up, and then slope down (and into the drop section). I'm running chop n flops now that are just ok.

wow. 30 cm wide drops.
that can't be comfortable for more than 2 minutes at a time

I don't use those bars all of the time. Right now I have regular bullhorns on that bike (which is out of commission anyway). I plan on replacing the stem and using those bars on my group buy frame.

Maybe, but those 2 minutes are damn sweet. If you think that looks uncomfortable, you should see where my saddle was relative to those drops.
I change my hand position pretty often, especially while riding in traffic. Hence, I like having bars with lots of options. This was one of my favorite bar setups.

I'd say just throw on some levers and a brake. If you're so far into the zone of sensibleness that you want proper road bike handlebar functionality, it's stupid not to have a brake. The Tektro/cane creek/soma levers are sprung so you can run one as a dummy without it flopping around. IMO this is by far the best looking of the many possible kludgy solutions to your problem.

i think I'd also end up mashing my knees on them when hammering out of the saddle.
or definetly get knee/elbow interference when down in the drops

....and this is why they make bullhorns. Find a set, like the Nitto RB-021, with a drop on the extension and you will have the best of both worlds. I'm a roadie and have a set of these on my fixie. They allow me to stretch out/power on (climbing), like being on the hoods, yet the drop in the bar let's me get low (if needed) for those long flat windy sections. Sure you hands aren't on the brakes like a roadie out on the hoods but then again your feet are clipped into the drivetrain and you can control yourself just the same. You could even run TT brakes out on the bullhorns if you wanted brakes out there. I, like many, just use a cross lever in the center of the stem.