Boy, I just love those Nitto Dream Handlebars

[keno]

Just ordered another set of the Nitto Dream bars, 46cm c-c, for the Serotta after putting them on the Spectrum. Comfy room, comfy hands. It's nice to find something that works for me. If I could only scrap the "for how long" part.

keno

[Sandy]

46 cm c-c bars are certainly very wide. I am using Salsa Short and Shallow 44 cm c-c bars on my Ottrott and find them to feel wider than the TTT bars on my CSi. I have even considered using 42 c-c bars. I think that I am at least as broad as you are, Keno, and OBVIOUSLY substantially better looking.

The Handsome One,

Suave Sandy

[dbrk]

I have Dreams on a slew of bikes but like my bars more narrow than conventional wisdom suggests and even my pal Grant who loves widewide bars. Not me. Back Then many French bikes came with narrow bars, bars as narrow as 38c-c. I don't like them that narrow but sort of still fall into that narrower-is-preferred category. This is a Good Thing because narrower bars are usually the left overs on sale.

If you like Dreams, you may well like Noodles. The Noodle swoops back a bit at you and has the same sort of square, even tops. I reallllly don't like bars that round and turn gradually. Dreams and Noodles are squared off at the point of drop and turn. Morphe TTT are sort of like this but not as nice. I use Ritchey BioMax bars on modernmodern bikes when I become a slave to fashion and go black. Ritchey nearly always makes a fine product that is affordable and just as good as others twice the cost (seatposts come to mind...).

Anyway, those Nitto bars are the best, period. Gotta love'm.


dbrk

[keno]

You're Older not Broader. Have you forgotten already? BTW, the 46's allow me to dry laundry on them.

You're also definitely more handsome, which, unfortunately for you may be damning with faint praise, and I know some do faint when they see you.

young keno, the broad

[keno]

I opened the package which were to have Nitto Dream 46cm bars in them, but Rivendell goofed and sent me the Noodles in that size.

QUESTION: Should I be an adventurer and try the Noodles or go conservative, send them back and get the Dreams?

keno

[Kevan]

http://rivendellbicycles.com/webalog/handlebars_stems_tape/16111.html

[keno]

been there, done that several times even before I bought the Dreams, even spoke to a voice representing itself to be from a live human working at Rivendell who even offered to sell me a prototype 50cm linguini.

Quoting a line from My Fair Lady, "no time for words, show me".

I.e., I'm interested in the experiences of others with the bars. I still love my Dreams, but they're on my Spectrum, which lingers in Tom's operating room recovering from my Velomax experience, described in my "Skewered" anthology.

Maybe I should ask the jerk. Nah, no chance he would know from Dreams and Noodles.

Best,

keno

[Andreu]

Am I missing the point here....I thought the idea was to ride with bars that suited your physique i.e. a six foot three plus, wide chested brute, would need wider bars than a 5 ft nothing rake, and would be, therefore, more comfortable (i.e. not splaying your arms too wide or constricting your chest).
Please let me know as I am in the market for new bars when my new bike arrives.
Thanks;
A:o

[paengn]

I love the noodle bars. I have a 44 cm on my Confente in the gallery. They are my favorite handlebars

[keno]

I think you are missing the point. I have determined that the 46cm, c-c bars are for me. I have 46cm Nitto Dreams on my Spectrum and love them. I ordered another pair, but Rivendell sent me 46's in the Noodle model by mistake. The Noodle and the Dream have somewhat different shapes to them, but the fundamental measurement of 46cm is the same. It's the shaping rather than the sizing I am wondering about. It's all make clear on the Rivendell site.

Feel free to ask for ideas. The 46 Deda's on the Serotta have always felt a bit cramped to me. They are o-o measured, so I pick up about 1.5 cm with the Nittos. The reach on the tops is also 10mm longer which gives more comfortable hand positions for me.

keno

ps I wanted silver bars, and these are all that at all closely fits my needs. I could take some Oven Off to black bars and get to aluminum, but there weren't any suitable bars even for that approach.

[Kevan]

I figure you had, but thought others would be interested.

[Ahneida Ride]

Love the wide bars.


Comfort = Performance.

[Andreu]

So wide bars = comfort. But is this because there are more positions to choose from and therefore it can give you a bit of a rest from being stuck in the same position for too long? And I agree bar shape is important too! But there must be a limit on width --- you guys must be giants!
A:p

[flydhest]

Andreu (can I call you Franky :D )

These are not your normal sized cyclists. Keno is about my size, which is to say over 6 feet (well, at his age, he's likely shrinking, but at one point, I'm sure he was 6'2") and Ahneida Ride . . . well, I felt dainty and delicate when I got to meet him.

[Andreu]

No probs....middle name is Frank! (TRUE!)
F :beer: :beer:

[dbrk]

I like narrow bars which is not the usual way of things since most size wider. Old bikes came with narrow bars, especially French bikes, and that's what I am used to (which accounts for about 90% of what folks usually think is "great" or "better", including myself of course).

Anyway, when the 40cm c-c Dreams were no longer available I went with the 41cm Noodles and now these are BY FAR my favorite handlebars, even better than the Dreams. One cavaet, they come back at you a little, just a little. The Dreams do not. Don't let this dissuade you. It works great. I was upset that the Dreams were discontinued in the smaller size because I'm a tried -and-true sort (Regal/Rolls/B17/Swift or Chorus Ergo or Simplex dt shifters or TA cranks, like that...) but the Noodles not only do not disappoint, they surpass.

dbrk

[flydhest]

Franky, (hmmm, maybe he spells it Frankie)

anyway, where in Spain do you live? Espana me encanta. Un verano, pase dos meses en Valencia. Conozco Barcelona un poco tambien. Me imagino que hace buen tiempo, no?

[saab2000]

......Cinelli 65-42. These are their criterium bend bar. Cinellis are measured c-c if I am not mistaken. The unfortunate thing is that these are no longer made, nor do they make a modern version of them.

What Cinelli needs to make (IMHO) is a version of this bar with modern stronger, lighter aluminum in a shape which will accept modern "brifters". The original ones will only very grudgingly accept Ergo levers. When mounted, the tip of the lever points way out.

I have purchased a set of Modolo Curvissima carbon bars in the hopes that these are similar. The shape looks comfy, but they are not yet mounted on a bike. That will happen when my Strong arrives. I am nervous about the carbon bar, but the aluminum version does not seem to have the same bend.

The new Zipp carbons don't look too bad shapewise, but I am very nervous about this trend towards carbon-only bars which cost 8 times what aluminum bars cost only a few years ago. Especially since carbon is not yet a proven material for handlebar usage.

Sorry for the drift.....:rolleyes:

[keno]

For me, more room to breathe as well as to have more freedom in the shoulders, allowing the chest and spine to move more freely between them. But, as many things in biking, it's all somewhat personal. You never know, though, until you experiment a bit. A few bucks now, maybe alot of pleasure in the future.

keno

Kevan, nice inbounds catch while perilously perched near the sideline.

[bulliedawg]

I switched to 46s and never looked back. They're super comfortable. Of course, 46s are the correct width for my shoulders, so they should be comfortable. Use whatever fits.

[Kevan]

Glad to assist. So, which way are you leaning? Keep? Exchange?

Might be nice to experience some additional difference in ride characteristics.

Added later:

Actually, I wasn't assisting, I was trying to determine what the heck a noodle bar was all about. Once I found out, I figured others might want to know. There, I dropped my pants, now you know the truth.

[jerk]

the jerk likes narrow bars too.....but he doesn't hate wide bars as much as he hates anatomic bars....jerk will probably get attacked for this but it seems to me that the only people who ride anatomic bars are people who never ride in the drops.....any thoughts on this? dbrk's french fit bikes are all set up so that the most comforteable and usable position is in the drops....he likes round bars....most of the pros ride round bars.....they like the drops...it's definatly personal preference but in general anatomic bars have only on advantage....the brake levers end up being far enough away....ever try to put modern shifter/levers on a round bar? you either end up with them super high up on the bar a la every damn frenchman in last years tour....or there ain't no room for your fingers in the drops....anyway, the jerk digresses....another thing the jerk has found (dbrk being the exception) wider bars generally only work for people with really high handlebars....as the bars get lower a narrower position seems to feel better...anyway.

the jerk who does know about grant's bars....and won't tell you that he knows grant because i'm feeling picked on.:D , but eho'll stick with his cinelli 65s and 66s when he can't get those.

[saab2000]

I have a lifetime's supply of 65s and 66s. Or at least 66s. One can never have enough 65s! :D

[PaulE]

I use a 46 cm Salsa Road Pro, and it's the only anatomic bar I could find with the flat spot behind the brifter wide enough for my hands, which are not that big - I wear a large size glove, not an extra large. What I would really like in addition would be for the horizontal bottom section of the bars to go back about two inches longer so I could ride with my hands there also.

[Dr. Doofus]

The Doc Declares:

He and I like anatmoic bars -- now. We were saddled with a pair of ITM 260 years ago, and I liked them ok, and after a while he said they felt "normal"...whatever that is. We and he really like Cinelli 66s, but they dont work for crap with Ergo levers, as has been noted.

The doc and I are nothing if not weird, or at least blithely unaware...but he likes Ritchey bars...the curvy hand drops make sense to our mits...we ride 8cm of drop, and we ride in the drops (when I ride...I and he are runners now until we get the shoulder fixed) about 80% of the time...in a headwind, obviously, you ride the drops...in a crosswind, well, you ride the drops...with a tailwind, well, you ride the drops....

Anyway, we also ride wide bars (46)...he and I have really broad shoulders, but even with riding the drops most all the time, and with a fair amount of drop, the wide bars feel ok...but then again, its what we're used to....

[keno]

to enjoy a broader biking experience, and will keep the Noodles. I would like nothing more than to feel they eclipse the Dreams. BTW, it was not until I rode the Dreams that I ever felt comfortable in the drops.

keno

[Climb01742]

love rounded bends. hate anatomic bends. love narrow-ish bars. ordered a noodle. shape is nice, but the drops flare out too much for me. but in a smaller size, would be sweet. ritchey makes a really nice shallow drop, rounded bend bar. graces my fina, but can't recall name. just got a deda newton bar. haven't ridden yet but feels comfy. given that its st paddy's day, fugure a dissertation on bars was appropriate. :beer:

[Andreu]

Originally posted by flydhest
Franky, (hmmm, maybe he spells it Frankie)

anyway, where in Spain do you live? Espana me encanta. Un verano, pase dos meses en Valencia. Conozco Barcelona un poco tambien. Me imagino que hace buen tiempo, no?
Vivo cerca de Barcelona. Me encanta ...ciclismo aqui es genial. Y aqui, se necisita habla catalan tambien.
Hace buen tiempo en verano pero no ahora. Hay muchas nubes, Ojala mejore!
Hasta luego
Frankie
:beer: