Anyone ever use BP4 handlebars?

[54ny77]

http://www.bp4.bike/

shape kinds reminds me of this:

[Cicli]

They dont look comfortable, not even a little bit.

[toastedbread]

Bizarre.

[Mark McM]

Handlebar shape (as well as all the other bicycle contact points) is a very personal thing. If it works for you, great - but that doesn't mean that it is the best for everyone. Personally, I don't think I'd like that shape, as it limits the number of places to comfortably hold onto the bar.

The white paper referenced on the web site that supposedly 'proves' these bars are more efficient and aerodynamic appears to use a population sample size of 1. As wind tunnel results for body position are highly individual, I don't know that we can extrapolate out the results to the general population.

[Vinci]

Is this not just another attempt to get lower?

Wasn't it proven that that wasn't the answer back when funny bikes were all the rage?

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Vinci

Is this not just another attempt to get lower?

Not quite. It is not intended to change the position of the body when on the hoods or drops, it is an attempt to change the position of the body when on the bar tops by re-orient the wrists/arms into what is claimed to be a more 'natural' position.

I guess the analogy would be this type of curling bar:

[MattTuck]

Cool. The image makes it look more dramatic than the video. I can see an incremental benefit from having your wrists at a more ergonomic angle, and I buy that moving your hands closer to the center makes you more aero.

From an aesthetic standpoint, however, I'm not a fan. Although, the curves may play well with my terraplane seat stays.

Also, not sure if it is a big enough change that you'd have to get a different stem or perhaps add some spacers.

[Cicli]

I still don't see the different wrist position. It just looks like more drop at the hoods. It also looks like most of the bikes in the blog compensated for the extra drop with a riser stem.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by Tihsepa

I still don't see the different wrist position. It just looks like more drop at the hoods. It also looks like most of the bikes in the blog compensated for the extra drop with a riser stem.

The idea (as I am interpretting it) is that you hold the bars on the slanted section. So instead of having to rotate your wrists 90 degrees from vertical (which can add strain and make your elbows kick out), you're holding at maybe 65 degrees from vertical which I can imagine is slightly more comfortable.

[Cicli]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

The idea (as I am interpretting it) is that you hold the bars on the slanted section. So instead of having to rotate your wrists 90 degrees from vertical (which can add strain and make your elbows kick out), you're holding at maybe 65 degrees from vertical which I can imagine is slightly more comfortable.

Alright. Makes sense. Do people ride long distances on the tops like that?

[54ny77]

4 minutes, tops.

Originally Posted by Tihsepa

Alright. Makes sense. Do people ride long distances on the tops like that?

[Cicli]

Image saved.

[milkbaby]

I love the look on her face! LOL

[Dead Man]

Does not compute, for me. If you're on the tops, you're sitting up.... not trying to be efficient or go fast. Why would you care about a marginal improvement in aeroness when you're in an anti-aero position?

[Dead Man]

Originally Posted by The B

Does not compute, for me. If you're on the tops, you're sitting up.... not trying to be efficient or go fast. Why would you care about a marginal improvement in aeroness when you're in an anti-aero position?

it also seems like it would be more difficult to get into the one actually aero position you can get, on the tops - wrists resting on the tops, forearms flat. The bends are right about where I set my wrists/forearms, when I get in that position... and I love that position, for pounding out miles on the flats.