A "Correct" Way to Position Levers on Handlebars

[Dave]

Let comfort be your guide. I'd never choose old fashioned bars with a substantial ramp down angle between the horizontal top and the brake hood. I like the ramps to be close to horizontal.

I then position the hoods so they angle up just a little. I pay no attention at all to the ends of the brake levers. As long as I can operate the brake levers easily from the hooks, I'm good.

This link has several pictures of my preferred Easton EC-90. The last picture is from the side.

https://eastoncycling.com/products/e...29642184032365

I find that most bike pictures distort angles and seem to show more upward angle on the hoods than really exists.

[slowpoke]

Originally Posted by djg21

Against the bottom of the hooks. The end of the brake lever should touch.

I agree with this, but I disagree with the classic setup of drops being parallel to the ground.

A more neutral and ergonomic wrist angle would have the drops slighting rising up. That way when your arms are extended in the drops, your wrists are ideally straight, not kinked.

Cycling Tips has some great photos: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/09/how-...ps-guidelines/

[Velocipede]

It depends on the bars. Some bars, the levers will sit higher than level with the bottom of the drops, some won't. And you need to be careful because the curve of the bar CAN affect the shifting. If the lever is rotated to low or high on the curve, that section can push too much into the back of the shifter body and put pressure on the internals. Both Campy and Shimano make mention of this in their install instructions.

My rule has been 5 degrees up from level. I have a tool I made that sets it that way. But some levers have longer blades. And again depending on the curve of the bar, you might not get the lever up that high.

I attached a pic of a bar where I could only go level with the bottom of the bar. A Campagnolo SR12 mechanical lever and Deda Superleggero carbon bar. I could only get it level, not the usual 5 degrees up I do. Also, I believe In level or 5 degrees up on the bottom of the bar from the ground.

I attached a pic of a SRAM Force 1x I did on a Zipp Service Course SL alloy bar. I could get that 5 degrees up from level though.

It just depends on the levers and bar in the end.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Here are a couple bikes that had Ergos on rando bend bars. Slightly different than the Compass/RH model but should be helpful.

Ergos on VO Randonneur bars.

Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr
Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr
Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr
Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr

Ergos on Nitto B132a randonneur bar

Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr
Untitled by ColonelJLloyd, on Flickr

[joevers]

Honestly the hoods would be pretty close to the right place if you rotated the bars down. Bars are rotated way too far up as pictured. Hoods might have to come down a little still but not a bad starting place.

Reading about those bars now, 115mm reach is ridiculously far for a bar marketed for comfort. For example Salsa cowbell's reach is 69 and most other compact and ergo bars are in the 68-75mm reach. I know Jan Heine has some polarizing opinions and taste and I'm not trying to make another thread about his opinions but 115 reach and that shape on a "randonneuring" bar is kind of ridiculous.

Originally Posted by slowpoke

Cycling Tips has some great photos: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/09/how-...ps-guidelines/

I'm pretty firmly in the camp of drops parallel to the ground or within a few degrees but that's a really informative article with some great examples and tips. Thanks for sharing.

This is about as far as I'd *personally* consider rotating the drops up (something like 5* ?) but an example of levers in a great place.



This is about as far as I think anyone should ever rotate bars. My phone clocks it somewhere around 13*. People seem to rotate classic drop bars up because the reach is usually excessive. But it is a good example of where your hoods should be related to the bar.

[brewsmith]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

A flat transition is all but impossible without totally jacking up the angle of the drops. I personally prefer that "notch" transition of the hoods from the bar, and a flat drop for easier use of the drops.

I agree with this, after years of winging it, I have settled with starting the bars at a position so the end (where the plugs go) are ~90° from the ground which puts the drops flat ie. parallel with a non-sloping top tube. From there adjust the levers as high as needed to get that right 'notch' which I find give a comfortable spot for your palm to sit. I did try this recently with some Salsa Cowbells and found the bars needed to be angled slightly up from the position described above, but it does give a good starting point.

[weiwentg]

Just a thought here: it seems to me that drop bars are designed for a particular ramp angle. Here's a graphic from Zipp that was on Cyclingtips' article.



Those 3 bars are designed for ramp angles from -7 to -14 degrees. Obviously you can rotate your bars so that the ramps are higher or lower, but too much and you mess up other things like the reach to the lever in the drops. So, it's not that the drops are parallel to the ground per se. That's a result of you putting the bars at the ramp angle they were designed for.

I am not familiar with randonneur bars, but I thought they were designed for a ramp angle pretty close to 0 anyway. At least one of us is saying that maybe that wasn't true for this particular pair of handlebars. In any case, I don't know that any bar is designed for a positive ramp angle.

Anyway, if the above is correct, then it seems like a flat transition from ramps to hoods is only possible if the bar is designed to have the ramp near flat. Then, it has to be designed so that the reach to the levers from the drops is correct when the hoods are positioned flat with the ramps.

As to a general rule, I was under the impression that you want your wrist pretty close to neutral when you are grasping the hoods, and everything else stems from there. At least, that's what I'm coming to understand.

[Tony T]

Campy says:

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

It depends on the bars. Some bars, the levers will sit higher than level with the bottom of the drops, some won't. And you need to be careful because the curve of the bar CAN affect the shifting. If the lever is rotated to low or high on the curve, that section can push too much into the back of the shifter body and put pressure on the internals. Both Campy and Shimano make mention of this in their install instructions.

My rule has been 5 degrees up from level. I have a tool I made that sets it that way. But some levers have longer blades. And again depending on the curve of the bar, you might not get the lever up that high.

I attached a pic of a bar where I could only go level with the bottom of the bar. A Campagnolo SR12 mechanical lever and Deda Superleggero carbon bar. I could only get it level, not the usual 5 degrees up I do. Also, I believe In level or 5 degrees up on the bottom of the bar from the ground.

I attached a pic of a SRAM Force 1x I did on a Zipp Service Course SL alloy bar. I could get that 5 degrees up from level though.

It just depends on the levers and bar in the end.

See this looks to be the opposite extreme to me. Reminds of of peoples Crit bikes set up to be in the drops for an hour.

[Dead Man]

here's traditionally "correct" on longer reach classic bend bars. i just reset these shifters last night, using a straight edge under the flats of the hooks - ends of the shifters stopping at the intersection. with these bars, the hoods wouldnt flatten out with the tops unless i rotated the bars up and slid the shifters way down on the bends, which would look betarded and feel ridiculous. to get a flatter plain from hoods to tops id need to go to a much shorter reach bar (like yours - which look pretty good to be, positionwise) or a "compact" bar - which im using as a catchall for bars with a more acute angle to the bends at the top of the hooks.

i dont actually like the way the hoods feel, riding on them.. its not awful, just not as comfortable as a more modern setup. but this is a "classic" bike built for a classic aesthetic, and im usually in the drops anyway, so im compromising some on comfort for vanity here

if this adds anything to the convo at this point

[Frankwurst]

Originally Posted by Dave

Let comfort be your guide.

This.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by joevers

...Reading about those {Compass} bars now, 115mm reach is ridiculously far for a bar marketed for comfort. For example Salsa cowbell's reach is 69 and most other compact and ergo bars are in the 68-75mm reach. I know Jan Heine has some polarizing opinions and taste and I'm not trying to make another thread about his opinions but 115 reach and that shape on a "randonneuring" bar is kind of ridiculous.

I'm pretty firmly in the camp of drops parallel to the ground or within a few degrees but that's a really informative article with some great examples and tips. Thanks for sharing.

I believe that the intent of the Compass bars is that you should go with a shorter stem, so that your brake hoods are in the same place as they would be with a compact bar. Then you get more options along the top ramp/flats of the bars forwards and backwards, rather than one single hand position. And when you're on the tops of the bars, you're not as stretched out. The idea of comfort comes in the greater variety of positions, or greater difference in positions.

If you use the Compass bars with the same stem length that you would use for a compact bar, you're right -- the hoods will be too far forwards. But that's not their design.

[Hellgate]

I like to set up a bar so the hook is correct and comfortable. Then I set the brifters so the transition from the flat of the bar to the hood is levelish. I'll fill the gap under the hood with material to create a smooth transition between the bar flat and the hood.

I hope this helps!

[commandcomm]

What I have done in the past is not tape up the bars and ride with the levers in different positions and I find the spot that feels most comfortable. When I say different positions, I mean small adjustments.

[jambee]

Thanks for the great advise everyone. I tilted the bar forward as suggested and moved the levers forward.

Picture attached.

In comparison to the Mae Parallel, if the position i found is the "correct" position, I'm likely to go back to the Mae Parallel. The reach becomes extreme and I find it hard to ride on the levers. It's really an interesting experience since the Mae Parallel are great and I enjoy them a lot, but i wanted to see how these bars behave.

Trying to make sure there is no user error before making a final decision :-)