Bar-swapping: Drops out, Jitensha bars in

[Bill Lindsay]

Handlebar swapping is one of those eternally noble pursuits. Like many of you, all paths tend to lead back to drops, but still I try to keep open minded about things.  For context, I think Noodles are fantastic, and I have Noodles or Soba Noodles on several bikes.  I also really love Compass Maes Parallel, which I have on one bike and which will appear on my next build.  The latest "new" handlebar I've tried and LOVED is the Salsa Cowchipper on my new Monster Cross.  These are really great for on-road and off-road.  I'm a big fan.  I suspect I'll be miserable if I'm caught in a stiff headwind, but aside from that suspicion I give them high marks. 

This handlebar swap was enabled by my practice to jump on deals when they present themselves.  My east bay home-skillet, Justin sold on the list a Jitensha bar and a Noodle, at a really good price, so I snapped them up with no real plans for either.  At another time I picked up a pair of Paul Canti-Brakelevers at a really good price.  I have lots of shifters on-hand, including a set of IRD thumbies from Riv.  I always have at least five or six different colors of Newbaums ready to go.  I was already stealing the swank wheelset from my BART bike to go onto my new Monster Cross.  So, I decided to convert my Rosco Bubbe Road to more of a cafe-bike, 

Off came:
Noodle 46 bars
SRAM S500 levers
Shimano 9sp barcons
Dura Ace Rear der
HED Belgium/Dura Ace Wheelset

On went:
Jitensha bars
Paul brakelevers
IRD friction thumbies
Green Newbaums
Twin-hollow 6sp freewheel wheelset

So far, so good.  I love how thin the clamp is on the Paul levers, so it's like the handlebar tap is one continuous wrap.  The slight sweep of the Jitensha bars feels good on the wrists in a still pretty aggressive position.  My morning commute always includes stopping for a coffee and then riding one-handed to the BART train, and it's FAR easier to get on the saddle and start one-handed with this bar.  This configuration might stick on a dedicated commute bike. 

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Chris Birkenmaier]

I have the Jitenhas on my Quickbeam. I’ve totally gotten away from drops and am a total convert to alt bars. I like them - a lot!

[Ron Mc]

Really like how the colors blended, and the bag ties them together.  Yes, Paul brake levers are the very best.  

Everybody needs at least one bike with upright bars, but the angles on this bar shape makes for totally relaxed arms and wrists - and great control - I can corner very hard on this bike.  

Ahearne map bars with a home-brewed aero extension using a Nitto 2-70 lamp holder and mountain bar ends.   

Came up with these over our wet winter on the mag trainer to get some variable muscle usage, but after the weather broke and I got them on the greenway and downtown streets, don't know how I lived without them - I have 5 hand positions - hook just in front of the cork; grab the bend; resting on bar with thumbs hooked; hooking solid on red bar ends; aero tuck grabbing bar ends (I've had it out in 20 kt wind).  

A week on the trainer also gave me enough time to perfectly dial in the two rotation points.  

Map bars are basically the Jitensha touring bars with an extra inch on each end.  

I mentioned the leather wraps when I posted this mod earlier, but they came from India via etsy for $25.  https://www.tripmachinecompany.com/collections/handlebar-accessories  They're intended for motorcycle grips, but are just long enough to do the mid portions of a Jitensha or Map bar.  

[Toshi Takeuchi]

I have a Cowchipper on my Roadeo and like it a lot.  I went nuts and used a Woodchipper on my road bikes for a while.  They are really funky with a super wide flare.  I've done double centuries with the Woodchipper and never felt like I was miserable in the headwinds because of the bars.  Only because I was miserable :).  I loved climbing with the Woodchippers because it felt like I had lots of leverage.

You can't really see the flare from this angle, but here's a picture with the bars:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42771204@N00/7037147233/

Toshi

[Belopsky]

I have the Jones SG on my Gunnar now. I went from the Specialized Hover bars, to Salsa Cowchipper, to the Jones.

I trimmed the Jones a bit for width.

[Ron Mc]

my buddy put cowchippers on his tandem

you can see the width and flare here

[tc]

The map ahearnes with your additional “tri- like” bars are Avery cool idea!

[Ron Mc]

thanks - I just did it for trainer time in the winter to give me some more body positions and muscle groups.  But when once I got it on the road, I loved it.  Grabbing the cork ends makes for very fast steering, but I found all the inside hand positions to be very stable and very slow steering.