Bar tilt conundrum

[Tandem Rider]

Bars and bar/lever setup is a very personal thing, like saddles. I ignore the levers at first, set the bar angle so that my hands are comfy in the drops. If I can't get comfy in the drops I get different bars. Next I put the levers where I have a smooth transition from bars to levers that is comfy. If I can't get this to happen, get different bars and start over.

[Seramount]

first photo looks almost exactly how I have mine set up...

[Mzilliox]

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

i think maybe hand size has something to do with this...as my hands do not fit into the front lower part of a traditional bend drop (where they need to be to grab levers) AT ALL...i can do it, but it is very VERY uncomfortable.

personally, i like the tops of my bars to transition perfectly into the brake lever hood, FLAT...like, no downward bend and THEN the lever...bar extends out from the stem, bends forward and straight to lever hood, THEN bends downward.

example:



i find that a bend like the one shown above allows me to
- keep my hands in a more comfortable forward position when in the drops
- easy access to levers
- maintains similar handling characteristics (to riding on the hoods) during hard efforts

i know this is a highly personal thing, again, just my 2c.

This is my second favorite way to set them up. and i totally agree it must have something to do with hand size. i have chunky short fingers and smallish hands overall, i could see having bigger hands the drops would feel small as you say. and then also, you can reach the levers in your setup, i love the flat transition and i love the slight slope of the drops on those bars, but in your setup i would struggle to reach the levers. this requires me to set up the brakes in a way that there was some slack allowing me to engage the levers some when descending so i could brake when needed. and there is nothing wrong with that i suppose.

good talk, hope the OP is getting some info and ideas

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I go through periods where I can't stop fiddling with my bar tilt. This is one of them. Does anybody get it perfectly right?

Do you happen to have any info on the bar you're using? The reason I ask is that different reach and drop figures for different bars will have a big effect on hand position variance. Also your bar looks to have pretty abrupt bends, with a large flat section at 45 degrees. Maybe a more gradually curved bar would help in hand comfort when in the drops?

Also, it looks like your stem is a -6 at around 100-110mm length. Maybe a -17 would help flatten out the hand position variances, as even in your first pic to me it looks like the transition from tops to the hoods is angled downward.

Just a few thoughts, but please post any changes you make.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by zap

The levers appear to be a little low. Use a straight edge that's lined up with the bottom of the bar end. The bottom of the brake lever should be a few mm above the straight edge. If you have the right bend bar, the tops of the hoods should be flat or rising slightly back to front.....better for your wrists.

Originally Posted by David Kirk

I agree with Mr. Zap - the levers are too low on the bars. I'd put a straight edge on the bottom of the bar and set the lower tip of the lever 5-10 mm above that.

This is hilarious because I just recently moved the shifters up the bar a little bit. But I'm game to move them up even more.

I know this is all very personal, but something tells me I've had them wrong for me for quite a while now.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

i think maybe hand size has something to do with this...as my hands do not fit into the front lower part of a traditional bend drop (where they need to be to grab levers) AT ALL...i can do it, but it is very VERY uncomfortable.

personally, i like the tops of my bars to transition perfectly into the brake lever hood, FLAT...like, no downward bend and THEN the lever...bar extends out from the stem, bends forward and straight to lever hood, THEN bends downward.

example:



i find that a bend like the one shown above allows me to
- keep my hands in a more comfortable forward position when in the drops
- easy access to levers
- maintains similar handling characteristics (to riding on the hoods) during hard efforts

i know this is a highly personal thing, again, just my 2c.

I've had my shifters looking like yours before, but eventually I found it to be too long a platform on the tops/hoods. Yeah, it's a personal thing, of course.

[vqdriver]

saddles and bars. expensive, time consuming. no substitute for trying em out irl.

[Hindmost]

Some of the issue is when an old ergo style bar is set up like a modern compact bar. When an ergo bar is rotated so that the transition is horizontal to the brake levers, then the levers can be at an awkward angle and the drops are awkward as well.

Ergo bars used to be oriented like traditional bars with a downward transition to the brake levers. This puts the brake lever and the drops in the more traditional positions.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by yinzerniner

Do you happen to have any info on the bar you're using? The reason I ask is that different reach and drop figures for different bars will have a big effect on hand position variance. Also your bar looks to have pretty abrupt bends, with a large flat section at 45 degrees. Maybe a more gradually curved bar would help in hand comfort when in the drops?

Also, it looks like your stem is a -6 at around 100-110mm length. Maybe a -17 would help flatten out the hand position variances, as even in your first pic to me it looks like the transition from tops to the hoods is angled downward.

Just a few thoughts, but please post any changes you make.

It's an Aerius Composite alloy ergo bar. That's all I know. I can't recall where and when I got it. I haven't put any thought into handlebars for years, aside from deciding I preferred ergonomic bars after trying a couple different types.

That's a 6-degree 120 mm stem on there. I do also have a 17-degree 120 mm stem lying around. I put it on the other evening and did a spin around the neighbourhood, but thought it was too low for me. I may try it again in the next few days, just to see.

So I just went out and moved the shifters 1 full cm up the bar.



I'll do a ride tonight if the thunderstorms pass us by. Interestingly enough, a Google search on the topic turned up this link: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...r-positioning/.

And this photo was on that page:



Obviously everyone's different and has their own preferences when it comes to this, but I'm finding it interesting to see what other people are doing, especially those with more knowledge than I have. Because the shifter position in the photo on the bike fit site looks a lot like what I just now did to my own shifters in the photo above it.

Though bike fit guy's bar has a deeper, rounder drop than my ergonomic bar. I think I prefer my bar because it puts your palm closer to the brake lever.

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by rousseau

... Does anybody get it perfectly right?



When it's like this I feel pretty comfortable on the hoods when I'm seated, where I spend 85% of the time, but when climbing or pushing out of the saddle my hands feel way too high ... Plus the drops aren't horizontal enough, so I need to arch my hands upward.
...
What do people do?

My bars are set up very similar to your first pic, but the tops of the bends are parallel to the ground. I can't tell if yours are like that exactly, looks like they might slope down a bit, but could be camera angle. Then, flat transition from bars tops to hoods.

Personally, that works very well for me on the hoods seated, hoods climbing, and in the drops. I will say that I might have asked for a 10mm shorter top tube in retrospect, but the overall position is very workable for me.

[ultraman6970]

This.

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

first pic.
or get bars with a better bend...

[rousseau]

For those keeping score, I put the 17-degree 120 mm stem on and angled the bar like this.



Not sure if the stem is going to be too low for me. I can always switch back to the 6-degree stem if need be.

With this setup I've basically decided to compromise. It feels great on the hoods when seated, and where I complained before about the hoods feeling too high when out of the saddle, tonight I found I could live with it.

But in the drops I need to arch my hands up to reach the brake and the thumbshifter. Since I don't race and I only sprint in the drops on solo rides for fun, I'm thinking I can live with this.

For now, anyway. I welcome all critiques and suggestions. For example, can anyone link to a bar with a "better bend"?

[fuzzalow]

Based on the ways, methods and approach to how I fit onto a bike, it is not possible to know how close you are to getting a functional fit & position without seeing your entire posture on the bike.

What this means in real terms is that your issues with the bars could be either the last of minor tweaks to get dialed into a good position or it could be you are still a long way from getting a good fit and the bars are now present in your mind only because they are the last link in a faulty fit & position causal chain and the bars are, in essence, left holding the bag for all that is wrong preceding it.

Nothing can be viewed in isolation. Everything effects everything else. Again, this is not to discourage your effort here as you may well be very close to a good final position. But without seeing you on the bike, there's no way to know.

IMO classic bars are the best for a reason - they don't use an ergo bend to mask or create a solution in the bars when the bars themselves don't create the determinant element in riding a racebike. That happens from the power locus outwards which means it all starts from the saddle first.



Good luck.

[Ronsonic]

Originally Posted by Tandem Rider

Bars and bar/lever setup is a very personal thing, like saddles. I ignore the levers at first, set the bar angle so that my hands are comfy in the drops. If I can't get comfy in the drops I get different bars. Next I put the levers where I have a smooth transition from bars to levers that is comfy. If I can't get this to happen, get different bars and start over.

Yep, and comfort in the drops depends on how you ride them. Admittedly, when I'm in the drops it's because of a headwind, not because I'm going fast. A long flat at the ends helps for me. And no big humps in the hook area. Not what a sprinter needs.

[93KgBike]

No school like the old school!


Matching the bar and shifter as intended in the era of the build/bar/gruppo works out. I tend to follow the peloton of the frame era on bar choice. But I enjoy reading decades old CS's in the outhouse; only for the photos.