What Cockpit Brand for New Build?

[993rs]

Originally Posted by dpdan93

If you want to stay alu maybe go with Thomson?

This.

[mtechnica]

PRO or 3T IMO, although you can't beat Thomson for a non-setback seatpost. Not a fan of their stems though.

[MagicHour]

Deda Zero 1, 2, and Zero100 series of parts has been great for me - looks good, reasonably light for the $. Love the RHM bar shape. No issues at all. Ritchey and Zipp Service Course/SL stuff is nice too. If you're OCD you can start with choosing the handlebar shape and dimensions you want, and then match with stem and seatpost from same brand. Doesn't really matter though, and sometimes you need to mismatch parts to get proper seatpost setback and things like stem rise you want.

Originally Posted by zmalwo

Merlin has a lot of alloy deda stuff on sale, but Deda doesn't offer compact handlebars and they measure them from outside to outside so a 44cm deda bar is a normal 42cm fizik / enve / fsa / 3t bar.

[mtechnica]

I guess the reason I gravitate towards PRO and 3T is because they also have classic bends.

[macaroon]

A curveball perhaps, but have a look on ebay for Cannondale C1 components. They top quality, very light and are often cheap, as people remove them from their new bikes to replace them with something different.

[R3awak3n]

I am a big fan of ritchey stuff but lately also really like 3T stuff.


I do have a ritchey carbon curve 42mm and a ritchey 110mm 4axis that I was about to list

[Blue Jays]

Ritchey stems/bars on all my roadbikes. Reliable, attractive, silent.
Ritchey stems/bars/seatposts on my mountainbikes. Also superb.

[vqdriver]

I like the cannondale OEM stuff too. Not boat anchors like giant/specialized stuff either.

Otherwise start with your bars and get matching parts from there.

[CSKeller]

I really like 3T and Deda. Can't go wrong with either. I have moved to short reach and shallow drop. They seem to work well for me. Ymmv

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[steelbikerider]

I have Ritchey Curve on my steel bike And Ritchey Streem on my carbon bike, both shallow drop that fit big hands with lots of width options. . I'm 60 BTW.

[alfordjo]

Originally Posted by 993rs

This.

Unless I am missing something it looks like the drop on the Thomson is a little more than I am looking for.

[alfordjo]

Based on the replies so far, it seems I should find the handlebars I like and then decide if I want to match the stem & seatpost. As long as I can get the right length / rise on the stem and setback on the seatpost.

thanks for all the opinions.

Jonathan

[Alaska Mike]

With my Moots Compact and Vamoots RSL, I went with ENVE builds (stem, bars, seatpost, and in the Compact's case, fork) and have been very happy. The shape, stiffness, and reach/drop were exactly what I wanted.

I know, they're all carbon and blingy, but it's what worked for me. After years of 3T, Easton, FSA, Zipp, and a lot of others, this is what is working for me now.

I'd figure out your preferred reach, drop, and shape, and then go from there. The stem can be adjusted as required. If you go with a "flat-top" bar, consider how the flat part transitions to the hoods and how that works with your hands.

The best advice I've ever gotten about building bikes is to invest in your contact points. Because of my large palms and skinny, long fingers, I've often had to spend more than I'd prefer on bars, but in the long run I don't regret it.

If you do go with aluminum or any other metal, don't forget the grease on the seatpost. Galvanic corrosion can make your day go very, very wrong.

What Moots did you get?

[m_moses]

A titanium stem and seatpost looks great on Ti frames but they are expensive. Someone was selling a moots stem and seatpost here recently (nhaero?). I’m surprised to often see older but nice Ti frames going for less than $1k but lots of Ti stems and seatposts for more than $200.

I splurged when I bought my Ti frame and got an Eriksen seatpost that looks great and would love to install a Ti stem that matches the finish of the frame. There are some Chinese Ti stems available on eBay for not much money but I’m worried about the quality.

That said, I’ve got a Ritchey on there now that looks and works fine.

Just remembered that Clean39T had a couple of titanium seatposts for sale recently for quite a discount.


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[R3awak3n]

I just put a pair of blackinc bar/stem combo on one of my bikes. Bless is paceline for allowing me to have stuff that I would normally never be able to afford. These got posted for a good price and I had to try them.

I think this is the nicest, most comfortable, best looking, very stiff (but in a great way) cockpit I ever had.