Bullhorns - choosing size & drop
 

I just got my first bike with drop bars and aero levers, and after a couple of days of riding I'm fairly certain that I want to try something different. I rarely, if ever, use the drops and I don't find it that comfortable with my hands on top of the levers either. I've seen some bikes with bullhorns around town and they look like they'd probably be best for me.

I did some research on the forum and it seems like the Syntace Stratos is a good choice (a bit expensive, though - are there any "knockoffs" with a similar shape?). However, I'm not sure what size to pick (i.e. 38cm, 41cm, etc.). How do I determine this?

Also, the Stratos bars come with 0, 5 or 15 degree drop. Since I've never ridden with bullhorns it's kinda hard to know the advantages/disadvantages of having a drop with bullhorns. What do you prefer and why?

Thanks again for your help.

if you have strong arms (or are an experienced cyclist) a larger drop is ok, but if you have weak little girly arms like me (or, again, you're new to riding) you'll want something with a straighter hand position. I have nitto RB021's and the bend wreaks havoc on the elbows, and makes skidding a bit more difficult. The 38cm, 40cm, 42cm, etc... is referring to the width. I always find I'm most comfortable with a midwidth bar, so around 40cm or so...

Yeah, I made the same switch and I absolutely love my RB-21's.

I have fairly smaller arms, and it was harder getting used to right when I switched from drops, but as far as sprinting and mashing up hills go, it's the best. I use a very short stem though, so that's something to also think about if you have smaller arms. I switched from an 85mm stem and it helped me the most.

width is measured by measuring shoulder-to-shoulder.

I got my Syntace Stratos 400 (40 cm wide, 40 mm Drop) on eBay new for $35 shipped and everything. Made the switch from track drops and risers and haven't looked back once. One thing you'll want to consider, however, is that the bars stay a fairly large diamter (too large for a brake lever) for ~4 inches on either side of the stem, making it relatively difficult to mount a cross lever. Mine barely fits with a little room to spare, but i would recommend a TT/Bar End lever (and I'll be getting one as soon as I have the funds). Hope this helped!

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...e/Pista1-1.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...xie/Pista2.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Pista4jpg.jpg

Thanks to everyone for your replies. So to get the width, I just measure from shoulder to shoulder? Easy enough.

I like the look of the Syntace and I'm glad to know I can get them for cheaper on eBay. I'll probably go with TT levers, maybe the Tektros.

Have to think about the drop some, though.

Nice looking Pista, BTW.

I'm pretty sure the way to measure for your bars is: feel your shoulder for the bump on the front of the socket, measure across and add 2 cm to the total. If that's not right someone chime in but I'm pretty sure that's what I did before I ordered my last set.

I guess I must have pretty broad shoulders. I just measured and they are 46cm from one side to the other. Suppose I should go for the 430mm bars. I'm 6'3 with medium length arms for my height.

Yeah, sounds like you'll wanna go as wide as you can

i'm a huge fan of my chop n flops, just to throw that out there

im using oversized cross brake levers (31.8) on my syntace stratos and they fit well with the shim provided. (Salsa)

Whoa, those are some expensive levers. $95 - is that right?

The Fantom Cross Uno came with Tektro RL570 cross brake levers. I wonder if they would fit on the Stratos bars?