Handlebar Comparison: Albatross, MAP/Ahearne, Jitensha, VO Postino

[David Banzer]

I was set on putting Albatross bars on forthcoming Clem, but after seeing the very sweet Hunqa on the Blug sporting what I assume are the MAP/Ahearne bars, I'm starting to rethink things.
So, now I'm considering the following bars:
Nitto Albatross Bar
MAP/Ahearne Bar (who makes these? I thought it was Nitto but no mention of that on website)
Jitensha Flat Bar
VO Postino Bar

Anyone have any experience with the other bars (other than Albatross that is)?
Riding position, comfortable for longer distances, off-road-edness?

I can swap them out of course, all but the Jitensha as that would require a 26.0mm stem.

David
Chicago

[Ron Mc]

the last 3 are all pretty close to the same shape - main difference is the width.  I went with the MAP bars to get the 615mm width.  At this point don't think I'd want either wider (Mary bar) or narrower (Jitensa)

I've been 65 mi on the bars and they're very comfortable - a bit over 200 mi total - though just this morning I made a slight tweak in the angle and stem height.  

[dougP]

Last year I decided to replace the Nitto drops on my Atlantis with an upright bar.  I tried the Albas but didn't care for the orientation of the grip area (too straight back).  I tried On One Mary as it had less angle but it was still not quite right for me.  I rode those quite a while actually.  I finally settled on Origin 8 Space Bars.  They have I think a 15 degree angle to the grip area.  Longest ride is about 60 miles with no comfort or had issues. 

A lot of it depends on how you like your hands on the bars.  Certainly there are a lot of people who love Albas, M'stache, etc., that have a lot of bend.  They bring your hands further back than a flatter bar and you sit more upright.  If you think you may play around with bars, just get a 26.0 mm stem & a Nitto shim kit. 

dougP

[Richard L.]

The Jitensha bars are nice.  The bars have no rise, and if you are going to mount the shifters and levers near the grips, it's a little cramped.  You might have to use grip-shift length grips or shorten the common 130mm length grips.  The lighter version Jitensha bars are even shorter.  If you go to the Jitensha website, and look at the photos of the bikes built up with Jitensha bars, you'll see down-tube shifters are used.

[Ron Mc]

here's the setup I used on my MAP bar

  

I have compact double with 9-speed index

[BenG]

Discomfort on flat bar got me searching for a more neutral wrist position. Jitensha version just "flexed" my wrists outward, still not comfortable. An albatross, angled downward is neutral for me, and comfortable. Less secure off-road than the brace against a flat bar.

[DS]

I would say it also has to do with whether you want a more upright position or not.

I have had the Jitenshas on a Quickbeam. They're good, narrow urban bars. The Postino bars are the same shape and design I believe, but a little wider which would be good if you're mounting shifters (and since the QB is single speed I went with the more narrow Jitenshas). 

I wanted more upright and and reach so went with Albatross (really I liked the Jitenshas but needed the reach to get around a stem mounted child seat, but now i really like the albatross better). Not familiar with the MAP. 

But...since you asked the thread, you're going to get recommendations on things you didn't consider, in which case I'll throw my .02 in on the Boscos. I test road a Clem at the shop with those and it just felt right, like the bike and handlebars were meant to be together.

On Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 7:02:50 AM UTC-7, David Banzer wrote:

[cyclotourist]

If you want your bars at seat level, the J-bars are great:
https://instagram.com/p/3pEEF6RHVY/

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Cheers,
David

Member, Supreme Council of Cyberspace

"it isn't a contest. Just enjoy the ride." - Seth Vidal

[Ron Mc]

as I said, all these bars except the Albas are the same shape - all modeled on the Jones H bar.  

The critical choice is the width.  

here are the 615mm MAP bars

[Joe Broach]

Hi Ron,

Could you (gu)estimate where the center of the grips end up on the M/A bars in relation to the stem clamp?

Thanks,
joe broach

Caveat lector. Sent from a phone.

[Ron Mc]

I can do better than that, I photoshopped and measured the photos that Joe Ahearne provided.  

I have an 80mm Technomic, and the bars end about an inch behind the stem

[Philip Kim]

Nice, I love the Ahearnehandlebars bars. I have the narrower version, fit my ergo grips, brake levers, and shifters just fine. Makes a great trail bar.

Albas are really great too, but I like them on lighter trail and roads.

[Daniel Jackson]

Anybody know if the Ahearne MAP bar will fit bar end shifters? 

Thanks,

D.

[Ron Mc]

there are some paul thumbies for sale right down the page.  They make a lot more sense with this bar.  But I do not believe the "mountain" bar will take bar end shifters.  

[Surlyprof]

I believe mountain bars are usually the wrong diameter tubing for bar ends. More significantly, the shifters would stick out to the sides with those bars and probably catch on everything. They tend to work on the more swept back bars like the Albatross and Albastache (although I did hit them with my knee when I had them on Albatross).

John

[Kainalu]

I just put a Surly "Open Bar" on my bike and I like it so far, it's in this family of bars you're looking at. Switched from an albatross which I loved but wanted a little more width (the surly's are a wicked 66.6) and less sweep. The more options the better, generally.  

-Kai

[Garth]

For info, the Surly Open bar DOES accept bar end shifters and bar end brake levers thanks to it being steel. For a 22.2 dia bar only steel allows both . I am all in on bar end brake levers, it frees the hands for maximum use of the bar. Did I already mention I find regular mtb bars too limiting about a thousand times ? Yeah ! +1 more ! Ahahahahahahhahaha !