Compass rando bars as good as they claim?

[Lachlan Fysh]

Hi,

I'm in the market for some old school rando bars as I'm finding the modern bars I'm using don't have the reach I want and my hands feel cramped... Based on the stats I like the look of the Sim Works Wild Honey bars, which are basically Nitto Rando bars in a 31.8mm clamp. The downside is they are aggressively flared (ie to get 42cm at the hoods it's 47cm at the drops!), but the reach and drop is nice.

However, the Compass bars are also on the short list... their marketing copy is pretty direct:

When done right, Randonneur bars provide unmatched comfort, but most current “Randonneur” bars do little except raise your handlebars by a few millimeters. After trying half a dozen Randonneur handlebars in various long-distance events, we concluded that the 1940s AVA Randonneur was simply the best shape. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we decided to offer a replica of the originals .

I am skeptical that they are somehow massively superior to the alternatives (noting that both bars are made by Nitto) and I don't line up 100% with all of Jan's views on bars (e.g. narrower is definitely better) but I thought I'd ask to see if anyone has tried them out and can comment on whether they are the finest bars of all time or just another rando bar??

Cheers, Lachlan

[David Parsons]

I've got one of them.  It's okay;  I think I rode one 600k on it, but mine is really narrow (it's salvage -- I pulled it off a tipheap junker) and my rando bags crowded the ramps and didn't give me much room to fish my camera out of the side pocket for photos, so I ended up switching to wider regular short-ramped bars instead.

Mine has about 1cm flare (2cm total, so 39 ramps / 41 drops) though this might be suspect because they are dented and misshapen (I suspect they were in at least one wreck before I salvaged them.)

[satanas]

Rando bars generally have quite a bit of flare. If they don't they can be very narrow at the brake hoods, i.e., old SR bars. Flare isn't all bad in any case; a little flare gives wrist clearance in the drops, and can help control on dirt.

As for whether "Bar X" will suit any given person, the only way to tell is to try it...

Later,
Stephen

[Steve Palincsar]

Someone threw away a junker bike with a new Compass Randonneur handlebar
that cost over a hundred dollars still on it?

On 02/15/2018 01:56 AM, David Parsons wrote:
> I've got one of them.  It's okay;  I think I rode one 600k on it, but
> mine is really narrow (it's salvage -- I pulled it off a tipheap
> junker) and my rando bags crowded the ramps and didn't give me much
> room to fish my camera out of the side pocket for photos, so I ended
> up switching to wider regular short-ramped bars instead.
>
> Mine has about 1cm flare (2cm total, so 39 ramps / 41 drops) though
> this might be suspect because they are dented and misshapen (I suspect
> they were in at least one wreck before I salvaged them.)
>

--
Steve Palincsar
Alexandria, Virginia
USA

[Harald Kliems]

My edit to the ad copy:

When done right, i.e. ridden by Jan Heine and his friends who share his anatomy, preferences, and riding style, Randonneur bars provide unmatched comfort, but most current “Randonneur” bars do little except raise your handlebars by a few millimeters and provide longer ramps, a shallower drop, and varying degrees of flare. After trying half a dozen Randonneur handlebars in various long-distance events, we concluded that the 1940s AVA Randonneur was simply the best shape for us. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we decided to offer a replica of the originals .

I really like the Grand Bois Rando bars that Compass used to sell, but it did take me a while to figure out the best set-up with them. Would the Compass version work even better? Possibly, but I rarely do rides longer than 200k and the gains seem marginal. That said, I do prefer the Grand Bois version over the Nitto Grand Rando bars -- so subtle differences in shape can make a difference in comfort.

 Harald in Madison (WI)

[Max]

If you're mostly after a longer reach, perhaps the Maes Parallel bar would be of interest, or the Nitto Noodle paired with a 1-2 cm longer stem (as it does sweep back a bit on the "flats"). 

- Max 

[djm323]

With respect to comfort, as Stephen said, I dont think anyone can answer this question for you.  It is akin to asking if a given saddle is comfortable.  Please post your experiences if you do try out some of these alternatives.

:Dan

:Chicagaux, USA 

On Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 12:09:28 AM UTC-6, Lachlan Fysh wrote:

 

...I thought I'd ask to see if anyone has tried them out and can comment on whether they are the finest bars of all time or just another rando bar??

 

[David Parsons]

On Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 4:42:01 AM UTC-8, Steve Palincsar wrote:

Someone threw away a junker bike with a new Compass Randonneur handlebar
that cost over a hundred dollars still on it?

    No, a bike with a set of Ava randonneur bars.

[Reed Kennedy]

I agree with Dan, these things are just so personal. I’ve hated many bars but I assume they must work for someone or they wouldn’t have gotten made, right?

I’ve ridden two 200k brevets (which are the two longest rides I have ever done) on 44 cm Compass Rando bars wrapped in shellacked cloth tape and had no hand troubles at all. I like them quite a lot. 

That said, I also like the 45 cm Nitto B135 bars a great deal, though I haven’t done as long a ride on them (about 50 miles tops).

One nice thing about the Compass bar: If you try them and find they don’t work for you they are easy to resell for the majority of what you paid. 

Best,

Reed

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[Paul Sherman]

Just another rando bar IME. They are a noticeably different shape from the Grand Bois rando bar, likely from the various Nitto ones as well. The Compass ones are nice and light though. They worked ok for me, but were finicky to set up. I'm about to switch mine out for a set of Maes bars, which are my first choice for long reach drops.

Paul
Beijing

[Brian Campbell]

I bought a set and did not like them. Road them in various positions for hundreds of miles and then went back to Nitto Noodles. YMMV.

[Lachlan Fysh]

I have had good success with noodles in the past, but I'd rather not mess with shims so I'm trying to stick to bars with 31.8 clamp... 

Sorry if my questions came across as trying to fish for whether they'd be good for me - obviously that's highly personal so I wasn't hoping to work that out, I was mainly just testing whether they are somehow handlebar nirvana like the copy would imply... based on the responses it seems not, just another set of bars that work for some and not for others..

I think I'll go with the Sim Works, if only because they come in black which will match my bike better :)

[bikerbob]

I used the Compass Rando bars on a cross country ride - admittedly not the same as long brevets but it was still 10 hours a day on the bike.  On another bike, I have the VO Rando bars that Chris (former owner of VO) prefers.  Those were great on a 1200.  In my experience, the Compass bars are fine but I don't think they are worth the premium price as the VO bars are just as comfortable and offer as many hand positions.

Bob Bingham
Graham NC

[Michael Arciero]

I recently put the Compass Maes parallel on my gravel bike and after getting them set and adjusting for reach, etc, they are about perfect on that bike with 6700 shifters, though I have not done any long rides yet. I sure appreciate the room and the shape. That said, it is really hard to beat Noodles, which I have on three other bikes, including my distance/rando bike. For me, they have the ramp-shape-that-fits-the-hand  that Jan describes (on the compass rando), but subtly. They have a respectable reach, and are great for long distances. I will give the rando bars a go at some point. 

[Eric Langley]

I'm also a fan of the 45cm Nitto B135 bars. 

I'm very fidgety with my hands and like rotating through many hand positions whether commuting 7 miles to work, or riding a brevet. The shallow drop, long sweep back in the drops, and comfortable ramps make this bar a real favorite for me. 

It's funny, but it never seems to get much attention when folks go on about randonneur handlebars. 

[Lachlan Fysh]

For clarity - the Sim Works are just the B135s with different branding, 31.8 clamp, available in black and in a 47cm (40cm at the tops)... so they are getting attention :)

[Sukho Goff]

Eric, my thoughts exactly on the B135. Really the only drop bar I've ever been comfortable on. It's $38 at Universal, which is kinda crazy considering how just about perfect they are (for me). Yeah and they don't get mentioned much. Actually the VO rando bars work pretty well for me too. But they're $60 bucks compared to $38 for made in Japan B135's.

Sukho in PDX

[Evan Estern]

I like the Compass Rando bars.  I have them on my main ride and I put in about 10 hours a week on them and I've had them on a few longer rides including D2R2.  I like the 2cm or so of rise you get over standard drop bars.   Because the hooks are pretty deep you still keep a nice low position in the drops.  if you mainly ride on the ramps, hoods and in the drops I think you will find these bars very comfortable.   If you tend to keep your  hands close to the stem you will find they turn inwards and down which is not as comfortable as standard drop bars.  Personally I find that what I lose in that one positions is more than compensated by the increased comfort everywhere else.  I also like the Maes Parallel bars a lot.  I can't say for certain which of the two I prefer, but probably the rando style.  I've tried other Nitto rando bars and their "noodle" bars.  Not for me.  YMMV.

[Adem Rudin]

I really wish Sim Works would make an even *wider* version. I like the B135/Wild Honey shape - especially the wider flare than the Compass bars - but I have a pretty wide chest and anything under 420mm at the tops starts to feel really cramped.

-Adem Rudin

Mountain View, CA.

[Igor Belopolsky]

I've been comfortable on the B135 but wish they were a bit wider at the hoods.

In contrast, I got some 46cm Noodle bars and they seem too wide for me ;)

[Scott Calhoun]

My experience is based on ~4000 miles on VO Grand Cru 46cm Rando bars and ~1000 miles on the Compass Rando Bars 46cm. For really long rides, or just a sprint to the grocery store, I love the rando bend of both bars but slightly prefer the VO on account of its longer flats (120mm reach vs. 115mm reach for the Compass), and lower price. Downside to the VO is that it only comes in 26.0 clamp diameter and therefore won't fit some popular stem/decaleur combos. I've attached photos of my two bikes set up the same rider-position-wise. The yellow Coho (now sold) has the VO bars, the purple L'avecaise (current rider) the Compass bars.

Scott Calhoun

Tucson, AZ

[Ken Freeman]

I have the same curiosity as Lachlan.  The way I look at the question is, has anyone here changed to the Compass Rando bar from any other current or vintage rando bar of similar size, and found it to give a large improvement in comfort?

I have a Nitto B135 42 cm, a Gerry Burgess in 39, and a Gran Cru in 46.  I liked the 135 on a two-day tour 60 miles/day.  The GBs feel good on my 1952 Rudge in brief sit tests, and the GCs are as yet unknown on my Terraferma - that's pretty darn wide! But I did not really like 42 cm noodles on that bike.  

But Jan seems to be saying he has the only good bend, so my question is, "Really? Does it work?"

Ken Freeman 

On Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 5:42:44 PM UTC-5, Lachlan Fysh wrote:

[Ken Freeman]

Are the VO Randos the same as the VO Gran Cru?

On Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 6:09:48 PM UTC-5, bikerbob wrote:

[Sukho Goff]

You know, last night I was thumbing through the BQ where Jan showcases his Mule and I have to admit those Compass rando bars looked pretty darn luscious. Yes BQ's studio photography is very nice, but the curves really did look EXTRA comfortable..almost enough for me to want to try a pair. Now of course the way a bar looks in a magazine and the way it eventually feels on the road can be quite different. Most likely the boutique price will ultimately keep me off of them, but I am curious now as well.

Sukho in PDX

[Chris Cullum]

The VO bars are sub branded as "Grand Cru", available in Course or Rando bends. Compass bars are significantly lighter and made by Nitto, they are significantly more expensive however.

--

[Chris Cullum]

On Feb 16, 2018 08:56, "Scott Calhoun" <sc...@zonagardens.com> wrote:

My experience is based on ~4000 miles on VO Grand Cru 46cm Rando bars and ~1000 miles on the Compass Rando Bars 46cm. For really long rides, or just a sprint to the grocery store, I love the rando bend of both bars but slightly prefer the VO on account of its longer flats (120mm reach vs. 115mm reach for the Compass), and lower price. Downside to the VO is that it only comes in 26.0 clamp diameter and therefore won't fit some popular stem/decaleur combos. I've attached photos of my two bikes set up the same rider-position-wise. The yellow Coho (now sold) has the VO bars, the purple L'avecaise (current rider) the Compass bars.

Nice to see the ex-Nigel L'avecaise built up again. That's one nice bike!

Scott Calhoun

Tucson, AZ

On Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 11:09:28 PM UTC-7, Lachlan Fysh wrote:

Hi,

I'm in the market for some old school rando bars as I'm finding the modern bars I'm using don't have the reach I want and my hands feel cramped... Based on the stats I like the look of the Sim Works Wild Honey bars, which are basically Nitto Rando bars in a 31.8mm clamp. The downside is they are aggressively flared (ie to get 42cm at the hoods it's 47cm at the drops!), but the reach and drop is nice.

However, the Compass bars are also on the short list... their marketing copy is pretty direct:

When done right, Randonneur bars provide unmatched comfort, but most current “Randonneur” bars do little except raise your handlebars by a few millimeters. After trying half a dozen Randonneur handlebars in various long-distance events, we concluded that the 1940s AVA Randonneur was simply the best shape. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we decided to offer a replica of the originals .

I am skeptical that they are somehow massively superior to the alternatives (noting that both bars are made by Nitto) and I don't line up 100% with all of Jan's views on bars (e.g. narrower is definitely better) but I thought I'd ask to see if anyone has tried them out and can comment on whether they are the finest bars of all time or just another rando bar??

Cheers, Lachlan

-

[Brent Avery]

        Beyond the price difference between the V.O. version and those from Compass and Nitto I cannot for the life of me think that there is any real world difference in weight - both are aluminum basically and there would not be enough difference to sweat about. I use two of the 46 cm Grand Cru bars and find the longer ramps quite comfortable and welcome, they seems to do their intended job quite well.  Admittedly cost is a factor as it tends to be for some of us and they are a definite option.




        Brent Avery

        Burnaby, B.C., Canada

[Chris Cullum]

On Feb 16, 2018 12:56, "Brent Avery" <urag...@gmail.com> wrote:

        Beyond the price difference between the V.O. version and those from Compass and Nitto I cannot for the life of me think that there is any real world difference in weight - both are aluminum basically and there would not be enough difference to sweat about.

IIRC the Compass "superlight" is just under 300g and the VO Grand Cru is just under 400g. So a little less than 100g. I'm not sure if that counts as a real world difference but I'd say it's significant and worth mentioning. A lot of folks here really trust Nitto, there's that too. The Compass bar is double the price however.

BTW Brent I sent you a PM about the Nitto Noodles you have for sale.

[Clayton]

Love the Compass bars' shape. Hate their clamp area for modern 31.8 threadless stems. Too narrow for many of then and too thin-walled to withstand normal torque specs in stem clamps that have a hollow side.

Clayton Scott
STF, CA

[Greg Walton]

100 g is almost a quarter pound, so yes, if you are weight conscious, adding that in your handlebars alone is a lot…

Greg
Seattle

Sent from mobile

[Chris Cullum]

On Feb 16, 2018 13:29, "Clayton" <clayt...@gmail.com> wrote:

Love the Compass bars' shape. Hate their clamp area for modern 31.8 threadless stems. Too narrow for many of then and too thin-walled to withstand normal torque specs in stem clamps that have a hollow side.

Hmm, this is interesting. I had a Grand Bois Rando bar on my rSogn with a VOthreadless 1 1/8 stem, 25.4mm clamp. I went a wider bar and took the GB Rando off. I was going to sell it here but when I took the stem off I noticed the bar clamp area was indented. I didn't over clamp it either. In fact initially it was a bit too loose and the bars rotated a bit. I added just a tiny bit more torque to prevent that, but not much. I figure this might be a problem unique to the 25.4mm bars in a stem with 4 bolt faceplate. I guess not. It seems to me the aluminum might be to soft/thin. Mine was the regular not superlight. FWIW I've never had a problem with other bars, 3t, Deda, Ritchey etc in 4 bolt 31.8 stems.

Clayton Scott
STF, CA

--

[Clayton Scott]

Never had that issue on any other bar either. Had it on the original grand bois and compass bars though. I even used a torque wrench. Looking at the kind of stems GB and Compass sell for their bars wall thickness might be enough as they have no hollow spots but for modern regular Threadless stems they are underbuild in the clamp area and too narrow. I.e. a Thomson stem ends up being too wide. 

[Mark Bulgier]

I like, in theory, that the lighter bars will be more flexible.  Can't say for sure I would be able to pick out the more flexy bar in a blind test, but I think I could.  Either I imagine that it feels better, or maybe it actually does...

The added flex is more of a benefit to me than the light weight, but I also like that it's lighter. Even though I am definitely not a weight-weenie (anymore).  I often carry a big ol' U-lock, fer cry's sake.

For some people, extra flex in the handlebar is a downside, but not for me, I think it's pure upside.  I am large and somewhat a sprinter by nature, so I think the Compass ultralight bar is probably stiff enough for most anyone, unless he is convinced that bar flex is a bad thing.

For this reason, I would never use any 31.8 mm bar.  That's just silly IMHO, a diameter that has no reason to exist, in metal.  Maybe in plastic, but I would never put plastic bars on any bike of my own, so I am not interested in that "feature".

I have the other Nitto Rando bars that Compass used to sell (not anymore?), and their own bend in the ultralight, and I think I like the Compass bend a little better.  

Worth the extra money?  To me, yes.  I am not wealthy, but I keep bike parts for a long time.  And I am spoiled from decades in the bike biz, using mostly high-end stuff.  I'm definitely a bike snob.  I drive a clapped-out 12 year old econobox car, drink $8 wine, and my house has paint flaking off, but I don't skimp on bike parts.  YM (obviously) MV.

Mark Bulgier

Seattle

[Will Morris]

+1. I had the same thing happen to me with a 31.8 Compass Rando SL bar
on a threadless stem. Took it off to sell, and there were subtle dents
matching the clamp area. I've installed a lot of bars and never had
that happen before.

[Stephen Poole]

And this is why torque wrenches are useful wuth 4 bolt stems... It's basically impossible to crush bars with trad single bolt quill stems (unless you're a gorilla or a stone mason), but can be quite easy to tighten 4 bolt stems "just a little more" and indent the bars. I managed to do this with 26.0 ITM bars back in the early days of threadless, and kept waiting for the bolts to feel tight...

As for bar weight, I recently paid a similar price to Compass EL bars for some carbon 3T Ergonova Teams, which weigh ~200g, and still aren't their lightest model (= LTD); I've had 3T SL bars since 1982 with no problems thus far, but YMMV.

Later,

Stephen

[Mark Bulgier]

Some stems, mostly traditional one-bolt designs (e.g. Nitto Pearl), have a relatively thick rigid clamp area whose hole doesn't deviate much from circularity when tightened.  On other stems, the hoop around the bar is thinner and more flexible, depending on the handlebar to keep it in a circular cross-section.  If the bar can collapse inward, the stem will follow it.  Sometimes the bar will show both a collapsed-inward area and a pooched-out area where the surface of the bar is outside the original cylinder.

My ultralight Compass bar is in a Pearl stem and doesn't show any marking that I can see -- though I haven't removed the bar, so there might be some.

Though the removable face plate is a handy feature sometimes, I think the trad design is more gentle on the handlebar.  Or can be anyway, if it's well made with a smooth bore inside, like a Pearl, or Cinelli or other high-end stems.  Certainly cheap traditional stems have been made with really ugly bores that mar the handlebar.

-Mark

[Clayton]

Regarding torque wrench: I use a torque wrench on stems.

I was able to dimple the Compass and GB bar by tightening to spec.

I am not alone in this. They are underbuilt for modern applications. Same is true for the 25.4 too.

Regarding the 31.8 diameter: For the me the benefit is not stiffness but rotation resistance. The greater surface of the clamp to stem interface decreases slipping/rotating of bars for me. Not an issue typically on road bikes, but on mixed terrain, cross or mtbs I have come to really appreciate 31.8 for that reason. Tighten stem bold to spec and bars hold, even very swept ones like Jones bars won't slip. All depends on how you ride too I assume. I have yet to find a downside of 31.8. 

Clayton Scott

SF, CA

[Steve Palincsar]

On 02/16/2018 06:43 PM, Clayton wrote:
> Regarding torque wrench: I use a torque wrench on stems.
> I was able to dimple the Compass and GB bar by tightening to spec.
> I am not alone in this. They are underbuilt for modern applications.
> Same is true for the 25.4 too.
>

What does "modern applications" mean?  Are you really saying "underbuilt
for 4-bolt removable faceplate stems"?


--
Steve Palincsar
Alexandria, Virginia
USA

[Clayton]

Underbuild for modern stems as their "stem side" of the clamp is tipically open in the center. Often times their faceplate is relieved too. 2 or 4 bolt stems can exhibit this "feature" some are worse than others.

Older style stems (quill) typically have a "full" surface clamp that put less stress on bars. 

There are exceptions to this of course. I use a sim-works 31.8 stem for my compass bar that is steel and has the "full clamp". Compass stem is also of the "full" variety.

In addition, the clamping area of all Compass and GB bars I have used so far is silly narrow. Many stem clamps these days are wider, so you have to be very carefull in regards to stem selection for these bars.

Clayton Scott

SF, CA

[Stephen Poole]

Yeah, "holy" stem faceplates with 4 bolts aren't such a great idea with thin bars, and the extensions are usually hollow too, also reducing surface area. At least with carbon bars it should be possible to make the bar centres thicker easily, and with little weight penalty. I suspect 3T do this, as their Team series bars are clip-on compatible and weigh ~15g more than their LTD bars which are not.

As for bar slippage, I've only ever had this with small diameter (25.4 or 22.2mm diameter at the clamp) steel bars and stems on MTBs. I think the hard, smooth surfaces, little surface area, plus minimal elastic deformation when clamping are the reasons why.

Later,

Stephen

On 17 Feb 2018 10:57 am, "Clayton" <clayt...@gmail.com> wrote:

Underbuild for modern stems as their stem side of the clamp is tipically open in the center. Often times their faceplate is relieved too. 2 or 4 bolt stems can exhibit this "feature" some are worse than others.

Older style stems (quill) typically have a "full" surface clamp that put less stress on bars. 

There are exceptions to this. I use a sim-works 31.8 stem for my compass bar. Compass stem is also of the "full" variety.

[Chris Cullum]

On Feb 16, 2018 15:43, "Clayton" <clayt...@gmail.com> wrote:

Regarding torque wrench: I use a torque wrench on stems.

I was able to dimple the Compass and GB bar by tightening to spec.

I am not alone in this. They are underbuilt for modern applications. Same is true for the 25.4 too.

+1 

For the record I didn't overtighten mine either. Any looser and the bar was slipping/rotating. I was surprised/dismayed to see the clamp area deformed when I took the stem off. I'd probably still use them myself in a full wrap stem but I wasn't comfortable selling them like that.

Regarding the 31.8 diameter: For the me the benefit is not stiffness but rotation resistance. The greater surface of the clamp to stem interface decreases slipping/rotating of bars for me. Not an issue typically on road bikes, but on mixed terrain, cross or mtbs I have come to really appreciate 31.8 for that reason. Tighten stem bold to spec and bars hold, even very swept ones like Jones bars won't slip. All depends on how you ride too I assume. I have yet to find a downside of 31.8. 

Clayton Scott

SF, CA

On Friday, February 16, 2018 at 3:12:49 PM UTC-8, satanas wrote:

And this is why torque wrenches are useful wuth 4 bolt stems... It's basically impossible to crush bars with trad single bolt quill stems (unless you're a gorilla or a stone mason), but can be quite easy to tighten 4 bolt stems "just a little more" and indent the bars. I managed to do this with 26.0 ITM bars back in the early days of threadless, and kept waiting for the bolts to feel tight...

As for bar weight, I recently paid a similar price to Compass EL bars for some carbon 3T Ergonova Teams, which weigh ~200g, and still aren't their lightest model (= LTD); I've had 3T SL bars since 1982 with no problems thus far, but YMMV.

Carbon bars are ~50g lighter for any given model. Not to be a carbon alarmist but they do occasionally break (as do Al bars but less frequently).

[Mark Bulgier]

Clayton wrote:

> Regarding the 31.8 diameter: For the me the benefit is not stiffness but rotation resistance. 

OK, fair point, I hadn't thought of that.

> All depends on how you ride too I assume

 

I started racing MTB-XC with drop bars in 1984 and never had one slip. Those were road bars of course, 26 mm clamp (since that's all there was back then).  I was a little wimpy on the downhills compared to some of the racers, but then again I crashed less than they did too.  I won a couple races (Expert class and even one in Pro), but that's before anyone real good started racing MTB in my neck o' the woods -- no Ned Overends to contend with.  I tended not to "air" the jumps too much, so my landings were seldom from more than 4 feet or so.  Did not race DH with drop bars, I mean other than the downhill sections of XC races.  Maybe DH racers need bigger diameter bars.

All past-tense because I am old and brittle now -- you wouldn't believe how wimpy I ride off-road.  I get off and walk sections I used to fly over.  So it is very safe to say I don't need 31.8 bars.

-Mark

[Evan Estern]

I have the Superlight version of the Compass Rando Bars. They are more flexible than my Grand Bois Maes.  It's only apparent in the drops--but to me it feels like bumps and road vibrations are noticeably lessened.  Not a huge deal, but I like it.  I'm glad I bought them. 

[Steven Frederick]

Heh, yeah-I used to love challenging myself on tough sections of trails.  Now at 55, my challenge is to stay injury free enough to be able to keep mtb riding for as many more years as I can!  I still ride stuff I probably shouldn't and sometimes go faster than I probably should but I try to remember that I don't bounce back from a fall like I did a decade or two ago.

Steve

On Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 9:13 PM, Mark Bulgier <ma...@bulgier.net> wrote:

<SNIP>

All past-tense because I am old and brittle now -- you wouldn't believe how wimpy I ride off-road.  I get off and walk sections I used to fly over.  So it is very safe to say I don't need 31.8 bars.

-Mark

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[Stephen Poole]

Sadly, I'm in this group too, though I am going to India for several months from early July and will be exploring some hopefully almost completed new roads in Ladakh, plus trekking, skiing, etc. Hopefully there will be no broken bones anytime soon.  ;-)

On 19 Feb 2018 11:51 pm, "Steven Frederick" <stl...@gmail.com> wrote:

...my challenge is to stay injury free enough to be able to keep mtb riding for as many more years as I can!  I still ride stuff I probably shouldn't and sometimes go faster than I probably should but I try to remember that I don't bounce back from a fall like I did a decade or two ago.