Re: [RBW] Drop Bar Suggestions?

[Steve Palincsar]

On Thu, 2012-09-27 at 16:10 -0700, tragicallyaverage wrote:
> Building up a bike and it needs some new drops. Any suggestions? What
> do you ride?
> I know Noodles of course, and I've tried them in 3 different widths
> and for some reason they don't hit home for me.
> If you had to put a drop bar other than a Noodle on your Riv/Riv-ish
> bike, what would it be?

I have Nitto 176s on mine.

[PATRICK MOORE]

For me, who have used dozens of bars, these are the ne plus ultra of road bars:

http://www.compasscycle.com/handlebars_gb_maes_para.html

They are made by Nitto to more-than-Nitto standards -- they make Noodles look crude. but the essential benefit is the shape: you can set them parallel to the ground for comfortable hooks while maintaining the long, flat ramp.

They are narrow by Rivendell standards -- I think those on my Rivs are 37 or 38 at the hoods, tho' they flare at the ends of the hooks -- but again, bar none, these are the most comfortable bars I have used. Road use implied, of course.

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[reynoldslugs]

Salsa Bell Laps. If they were made in silver instead of black , they'd be my version of the perfect drop bar.
Max

[cyclotourist]

Nitto Dirt Drops if you can find them. Someone posted that Merry Sales stocks them???

On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 7:57 PM, reynoldslugs <be...@perrylaw.net> wrote:

Salsa Bell Laps. If they were made in silver instead of black , they'd be my version of the perfect drop bar.
Max

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[Philip Williamson]

I like the flared drops of the classic WTB Dirt Drop bars and the Salsa Woodchippers. I don't tend to like normal road drops, but I've only tried SR Randonnr and Noodles in the last 10 years.

What other bars have you used or are you used to?

Philip

www.biketinker.com 

[Michael_S]

this online shop  http://store.biketouringnews.com/drop-handlebars/   carries both Nitto dirt drop models. I picked up a 48cm RM013 but have not used it. The hood position is slightly narrower than a 46cm Noodle. 

I also have an Origin8 gary II bar that seems to be a good  in-between choice looking at the fit of both the RM013 and the Noodle bar... but black only too.

~mike

Carlsbad Ca.

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

My favorite is the Salsa Cowbell. Black only, but you'll probably cover most of that with tape. The bigger issue is the 31.8 mm clamp size.

[Eric Daume]

I'm really enjoying the VO Rando bar I put on my Sogn. Looks strange, feels great.

Eric Daume
Dublin, OH

On Mon, Oct 1, 2012 at 4:28 AM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thil...@gmail.com> wrote:

My favorite is the Salsa Cowbell. Black only, but you'll probably cover most of that with tape. The bigger issue is the 31.8 mm clamp size.

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[Kevin Mulcahy]

Nitto B-135 in 45cm are the bee's knees.

[Jeremy Till]

The normal Nitto choices (Noodle, 176 Dream, Marks, Rando, etc.) and the similar (in shape, not saying anything about quality) Compass/Grand Bois and Velo Orange options are the broad range of go-to choices around here, and a lot of people like their classic looks and roomy curves.  However, the flip side of flat ramps and roomy curves is that these bars often have a lot of reach and sometimes drop, so if you feel like these might stretch you out too far with your preferred cockpit length (TT length and stem), there's tons of good options in the short reach and drop department.  The tradeoff is tighter "ergo" curves on the bars which may or may not jive with your aesthetic sensibilities. 

The aforementioned Salsa Bell Lap and Cowbell fit into this category, and both feature drops which are slightly flared.  Other "short" bars include the Salsa Pro Road, the Soma Hwy 1 (available in silver with a 26.0mm clamp diameter), and a number of Nitto designs not sold by Rivendell.  Check out the Soma online store, which is the retail outlet for Nitto importers Merry Sales (any LBS with a Merry Sales account can also order most of these bars):

http://store.somafab.com/nittoroadbars.html

If you want to try the short and shallow thing without investing in nice new bars and can work with a 31.8mm clamp for a while, a lot of LBS's that sell contemporary road bikes will often have a "take-off" bin of stock drop bars from current road bikes, from when they are swapped out by customers for a different design.  I'm running a pair of Felt-branded generic drop bars at the moment and they've convinced me that I prefer shorter reach bars.  Maybe i'll buy something nicer sometime soon. 

I'm leaving out full-on flared drop bars like the On-One Midge, Salsa Woodchipper, Origin8 Gary V1, Nitto RM-014 and older WTB designs, since in my mind these are a distinct category of bars requiring a completely different cockpit geometry from normal road drop bars to be set up comfortably. 

[Peter Pesce]

How does the width of the 46cm Cowbells compare to the 46cm Noodles?
I'm really interested in trying the 'bells on my new commuter... it's threadless so the 31.8 is no problem.

Thanks,
Pete in CT

On Tuesday, October 2, 2012 12:45:16 PM UTC-4, lukeheller wrote:

I second the vote for the SALSA COWBELL.

I have been on a rampage for the right bars. I have a set of salsa bell lap's on my Surly LHT touring bike but decided, when building my Riv, that I should go with the classic look of the quill stem + polished silver Nitto Bars. 

I started out with the B135 Rando bars. I liked them for a good while till the narrow hoods just wore me out. If they were 45 in the hoods instead of the drops, I probably would've kept them. However, those bars are not for big riders!

I had a set of 46cm noodles on another bike that I liked... but not that much.

After swapping bars and stems several times on my Riv, I decided that I was done with quill stems and that I'd try out the quill stem adapter so I can try some 31.8 bars. There are so many more bars options in 31.8. So I'm now running the 46cm Salsa Cowbell 2 and love them. I love them so much that I put another set on my other bike... and I ordered a set for my sister's bike... and I put them on a bike I built for my buddy. I know bars are a personal thing but I think these bars have a great formula going for them.

The short reach, shallow drop, and flare in the drops in fantastic. I highly recommend!

[PATRICK MOORE]

I went to 37 or 38 mm (at hoods) GB Maes Parallels at Jan Heine's suggestion even tho' I was used to 42 cm 185s and 46 cm off road drops. I find the narrower bars extremely comfortable, so much so that I went back to 42 cm Noodles for the Fargo. (Tho' more comfortable for me, they are lousy for singletrack.)

On Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 6:59 PM, tragicallyaverage <daba...@gmail.com> wrote:

I stumbled upon some Grand Bois Maes Parallels at 41cm, they look wonderful just wondering if they'll be too narrow as they have a medium amount of flare IMO.

[Jeremy Till]

I haven't touched a 176 but I seem to remember that it has a slightly more sloping ramp to it than the Noodle, and it doesn't have the backwards curve to the flats.  The 115 is similar, I've used it and found it to have too much reach and drop for me, except on bikes with a super short top tube.   It does have roomy ramps and flats so there's plenty of hand positions on top of the bar.  

On Thursday, October 4, 2012 6:02:05 PM UTC-7, tragicallyaverage wrote:

Thanks. I'm considering the Nitto 176 - can't quite tell from photos of it - is the angle between the ramps and drops the same as the Noodle?
I'm also considering the Nitto B115. Anyone used that one?