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interesting thoughts on positioning and bar shape
Last Post 12/31/2014 02:12 PM by Kenny Gonzales. 7 Replies.
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ChinookPass

Posts:809

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12/12/2014 07:21 PM
http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/12/bikes-and-tech/reviews/reviewed-enve-ses-aero-flared-road-bar_355826

No one has really been able to explain to me the trends in bar shapes but this makes a lot of sense especially the part about having arms straight. I still like the ends of the drops to flatten out a bit more than these enve bars though.

"The drops, these days, are reserved for descending, sprinting, and cruising, so a bit of extra width is appreciated. Why cruising? Because the drops of a racer’s bike are often low enough to provide for a flat, aerodynamic back position even with arms almost straight. It takes a lot less energy to hold yourself up on arms that are almost straight than it does on arms bent at 90-degrees (as they would be in the hoods if one tried to maintain a flat back). So if you need to be somewhat aerodynamic for hours on end (say, in a day-long breakaway), the drops are the place to be."
longslowdistance

Posts:2881

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12/12/2014 08:14 PM
What's old is new?
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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12/12/2014 11:26 PM
What trends are you looking to have explained?
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
ChinookPass

Posts:809

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12/13/2014 08:38 AM
My questions start with the position of the brifter on the bar. Can you get a nice smooth transition from the top to the hoods AND still reach the brakes properly when in the drops? It seems like we went through a time in the last 10 years or so when on some bars with shimano 9sp and the first 10sp, I couldn't achieve both with certain bars. Either the tops and hoods were uncomfortable, or to make the tops and hoods comfortable, it was awkward to reach the brakes. This was around the time we started seeing bars rotated upward to get a smoother transition to the hoods but the drops could be a very awkward place. I think the bar manufs and component manufs are finally converging so now it's easier to achieve both. They are making the drops a lot shallower, intending that you will not have your hand rotated as much in the drops and hence a straighter arm (if not totally straight). What I still find is that with big hands, even the little curve in the drops can be uncomfortable after awhile.

When I was shopping for bars last year, the guy in the shop showed me a half dozen or so bars of different shapes from various manufacturers and never explained what the manuf is trying to achieve. Yeah, I Know it's not rocket science and it comes down to individual preference, etc but there seems to be a deficiency in the marketing of bars and differentiation.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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12/13/2014 09:08 AM
I was one of the guys who was rotating his bars so far forward / up that they looked like anti-aircraft guns. Since I spent most of my time on the hoods, I was more focused on comfort up top than in the drops.

The problem was further compounded by threadless headsets. Bike manufacturers largely kept the same HT lengths and never compensated for the loss of stack from the old threaded headsets. In addition, the drops in HBs remained the same, so people were really low and it wasn't comfortable. This led to the development of shallow drops, which did help address some of the problem (but from the wrong direction).

Bontrager introduced a bar about 10 (?) years ago called the Flattopper or BarTopper, which was, I believe, the first bar to specifically address the issue of bar / brifter interface. The problem was that you ended up with a pretty sharp angle coming down from the brifter......or a very deep drop.

HT's are beginning to lengthen (see the new Cervelo goes) and that is helping, along with a new generation of flattopped / aero bars.

But, as you note, the issue is largely personal and there is no "golden solution" unfortunately.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
jmdirt

Posts:775

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12/13/2014 07:32 PM
Salsa beat enve to that punch by about 10 years.

lsd, I had some of those in the '90s but the sleeve on two slipped while riding so I got nervous and switched to Bob bars (similar design with one piece construction and the drop in nearly touched in the middle).

chinook, I'm not sure if they are trends, marketing, or an attempt to get a wide range of people comfy on their bikes...maybe a combo.
roadbuzz

Posts:24

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12/30/2014 08:08 PM
[delete - how'd my FSA comment wind up on *this* thread?]
Gonzo Cyclist

Posts:568

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12/31/2014 02:12 PM
what jm said......Salsa has been doing the flared bar shape for a while, the Woodchipper, but for them, it's for adventure bikes like the Fargo. Works really well brifters
I think the issue with Hood placement, etc....has been solved with compact drop bars, FSA Omega is still one of my favs, and it's a fairly cheap alloy bar, they just work for me, I use this bar on all of my drop bar bikes.
A really cool bar I have on a single speed niner is the Soma Junebug, I used this bar with a 30 degree Ritchey riser stem, works really well, it's similar to the Salsa Woodchipper
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