Jones bars for touring?
 

Anybody switch to jones bars
Did you need a shorter stem¿
comfortable?
how do you like them for touring=?
http://topangacreekbicycles.com/blog...4/IMG_1787.jpg

A friend switched out his mountain bike bars for these and really liked them. I felt like I was driving a tiller when I used them. They have so much sweep that i think a short stem may not work. I've ridden a bit on Woodchippers which are similar with less sweep but dropped and they have a nice feel in the drops. If you like a wide hand position they may work.

this is kind of like asking about seats, hard to get an informative answer as it is personal. I have not ridden with these, but do ride and have toured on straight bars, risers actually with a slight rear angle to teh grip area and also using bar ends to give some diff positions. Certainly from my experience, these sort of bars may be nice as you will clearly have diff hand positions that will change the angle of your back and neck, but when I looked at them, I wasn't willing to spend "I cant remember how much in Canadian dollars" to see how they are (I forget the number, but it was probably 150bucks)

re stem, given how far back the area of the bars with the brake and shifters are, compared to a more regular flat or riser bar, you may find you need a longer stem in fact, not shorter.
Also, notice that there is essentially no rise to these bars, so take that into account for bar height in relation to your seat, and therefore playing around with stem angle as well as length may end up having to try diff stems to see what works for you.
I can only say that the increased angle of my risers was a nice change from relatively straight bars, some people like this radically more angled hand position , some don't....which leads back to my opening comment....and are you willing to spend X dollars to try them?

ps, just looked up prices, 125US, so for a Canadian, you're looking at OVER 200 bucks to try out a set of bars...ouch.

Nope!
 

not for $125.00+S&H

My Raceface XC mtn bars
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=518227

I put Jones bars on my fat bike; I swapped out the stock flat bars. These bars came stock on the Surly ECR, so you can find some folks selling their stock bars off if you look on fat bike, adventure bike, or Surly forums.

I found I had to put on a longer stem to counter the sweep-back of the Jones bars.

I think the "Rest/Climb" position next to the stem is unusable, but the other three positions are legit.

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/n-d57o0b...g?t=1417710700

The front "loop" is a great place for adding accessories, or hanging a handlebar bag (I use a Revelate SweetRoll). If I could find a bar-end grip with a hinged, open clamp, I'd attach them on the front loop for another "aero" position.

I tried them, and also used a 10 mm longer stem, but my wrists didn't like the angle. Went back to a standard riser bar with Cane Creek bar ends. Wrists are happy again . . . they do much better in a position mimicking hoods on drop bars . . . and the grip for climbing out of the saddle with the Cane Creeks is really nice. I did like the multiple hand positions and room for plenty of accessories. Ended up selling them to [MENTION=309372]mdilthey[/MENTION].

At a more reasonable price, I might buy a set just to try them out. I like the look of the VO crazy bar which is half the price of a Jones bar; trekking bars are cheaper still.

I'm using the Jones Bar. Just last week finished up a four day tour in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Love the bars. I did go to a 90mm from a 100mm stem. For me there are five good hand positions. The good thing about these bars is the resale value. You can try them out and if they don't work you can sell them for probably $20 less than you paid if you paid retail. If you're able to find them used, as I did for $100, you can sell them for what you bought them for.

Yup! I appreciated the deal. I tried them out and found that the top tube on my Pugsley was too long to use them comfortably, but I loved them on my Soma.

Ultimately, I used the Soma as a SS and needed ultimate leverage for climbing SS, and so I switched back to flats. And the flats were perfect for the Pugs. So, flat bars all around for me. Yadda yadda... I resold the Jones bars, and as [MENTION=326363]revcp[/MENTION] says, I sold them for the same exact price I bought them for, so it was a wash in the end.

Straight flat bars give me wrist/hand fatigue & buzzing on longer rides. I think swept-back Jones style becoming more common since it's probably more ergonomic. Straight bars weren't popular before the MTB craze.

They got some good press from locals a couple of years ago and I was very tempted to be a relatively early adapter.

Facing not just the purchase price but also a large shipping price to get them to Australia and a tanking Aussie dollar gave me pause.

Given that I didn't even know if they would suit, I was over the moon to discover that a cheaper version albeit secondhand was available.

Under license to Jeff Jones, so I heard, Titec issued at least two different bars emulating the JJ's design.

They were bars with a cut out of the front loop very close to the JJ cut H-bar H-BAR

Named Titec J-bar and Titec H-bar, I was able to source a secondhand pair of the now no longer produced J-bar from Ebay.

After a couple of years with the J-bar, and now informed and experienced in the hand positions, I was then able to be confident in the purchase of the pricier genuine JJ unit albeit in the more budget alloy.

https://bikecarson.com/2010/06/10/ti...t-impressions/

https://bikecarson.com/2010/10/25/ti...-final-review/

Titec J-Bar review - BikeRadar Australia

First Impressions: Titec J-Bar Handlebars | GRAVELBIKE

So there you go, more options for those with cautious attitudes and/or budget constraints.

Oh and I'm very happy with my full loop genuine full loop jones H bar and on the off chance I buy another bike, I'm hanging on to my Titec J-bar.

Happy Spinning

http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/...psuv74mgk8.jpg

The 45 degree angle of the Jones bar works really well for me and I use three positions:

1) The DH position at the very ends of the bars. I use this position rarely and usually when I'm letting up from pedaling hard and just coasting for a few seconds.
2) Just behind the cross-bar. I have my controls all the way up next to the crossbar and that is my "cruising" or "slow speed maneuvers" position.
3) Palms right on the junction of the cross-bar, usually with thumbs hooked around the junction. This is my "working" position and is probably my equivalent to being in the hoods. I feel the most power and efficiency in this position and I can still change gears (barely) and initiate braking, although I switch to position #2 for complete braking control.

A bit late to this thread but I love them for long rides on the fat bike for trail riding and adventure/exploring including with luggage onboard using all except the rest/climb position above. No plans to try anything else. The aero position is excellent for stretching your back and getting down out of the wind and I'm thinking of putting them on my other bike now which is fast tourer/gravel bike with cable brakes so I would like to try using arrestor brakes on the front loop to get braking in the aero position too and maybe trim them a bit narrower as I wouldn't need the extreme wheel control leverage. Mr Jones suggests a 15 deg down tilt and I think he's right - it feels very natural for the arms and wrists on the grips and brings the aero position to a natural place too. I probably don't need to mention that there are some similar designs from other manufacturers that will save you money, including some very lovely titanium ones on Aliexpress with 25.8mm clamp that I may just consider.

I tried the Jones bars a few years ago. They didn't work for me. I have the VO Crazy bar.



https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7ba5d4da6c.jpg





https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e26bd924d4.jpg




https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...409b674a5b.jpg

That's a cool looking rig.

I went the home-made Crazy-Bar route, and super-love it. Got the VO Seine bars and put some mtn bike bar-ends on at a width that I preferred (Crazy-Bars are fixed and too narrow for me). Then carried on and put friction shifters on the bar ends and I'm completely converted.

dschad: That is my Co-Motion Pangea Rohloff. I changed it from drop bars. Several people have thought the Rohloff is a motor. I go into the bank, grocery store and sometimes the hardware store with it. A police officer approached me once in a WalMart claiming someone complained about me getting grease from my chain on their clothing. I pointed at my belt and suggested he arrest the lying Karen or himself for the lie. I have the older Crazy Bar and am considering the newer one. The new one has the horns shorter and at 42 cm apart instead of 40 cm. The new one has the swept back at 35% instead of 45%. I will alse need to change the stem. the new Crazy Bar has a 31.8 mm for the stem and the old one has a 26 mm clamp area for the stem.

Ha, I am considering an igh but am worried people will think I'm riding an ebike!

The vo Seine bars are the same as the CBs without the horns. Mountain bike bar ends fit nicely and allow flexible spacing and angle.

I also love the friction shifters on the horns.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...05e48616c.jpeg

Just spotted my post (#11) here in this resurrected thread from 2016.

I still have my Surly Ogre and its still rocking its Jeff Jones bars, so it looks like Jeff was definitely on to something back then.

Happy Spinning