re bar-end shifters on dirt-drop handlebars

[Jim S.]

This is a small point, but the type of thing that I ponder in my free time. I am trying out some dirt-drop style handlebars that flare out at the ends of the drops. Do folks with these bars angle their bar-end shifters so that they are consistent with the flare of the bars, or do they angle the shifters so that they are on a plane perpendicular to the ground? I think they'll shift fine either way. 

But I'm wondering if there are any practical considerations for one way versus the other, in addition to people's opinions on the aesthetics.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

[Tim Gavin]

Jim-

I've pondered this as well.  Any flare makes it impossible to get the shifters perpendicular; even if they're "straight up and down" when resting, their action causes them to swing outward.

So, you just do what feels right to you.  I've used Randonneur-type flare bars, with less than 20 degrees of flare, and just mounted the shifters orthogonal to the drop ends.  But I've never used massively flared bars (~45 degree) like Woodchippers or Nitto RM-3's.  I think I'd prefer a different shifter type (Gevenalle, maybe) on that type of bars.

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[iamkeith]

My preference for "normal" dirt drops like the WTB and Nitto ones, is aligned with the flare of the bar - so rotated a bit from vertical.   Part of the reason for the flare is that it more closely mirrors the natural angle of your grip.   If you rotate the bar-end shifters vertically, you have to rotate your hand back to the un-natural vertical every time you shift.  (Well, depending on the position of the lever and which way you're shifting, you may not "have to"  rotate your hand, but then it feels awakard.)

However, on REALLY wide and flared dirt drops like the Salsa Woodchipper, I've decided I don't like bar end shifters at all because they stick out to the side too much when installed in this proper alignment.   Every time I lean the bike against something, and half of the times when I mount or dismount the bike, I end up bumping the shifter into another gear.   

Woodchipper has a long enough grip at the drop part of the bar to not to "require" the bar end shifters.   I'm not sure how something like a Midge would work, where the grip is too short without the shifter, but people seem to adapt.

[iamkeith]

Responding to my own response:  Hard to keep up, with so many options available these days.  

Just did a google image search of Midge bars.  While they flare outward at the hook part of the bar, the lower drop portion itself is actually aligned more parallel to the bike frame.  So my comment about shifters sticking out too far doesn't apply to them after all.  You can see, in almost all images, that people have aligned them with the bar though - not vertical.

Also just saw a newish bar called the Genetic Digest, which seems to be a copy of the Woodchipper, in which the drop section is similarly flared outward, EXCEPT that the very end is bent back toward parallel with the bike frame, to solve the problem I mentioned.

[Tim Gavin]

Personally, I like the Salsa Cowchipper.  They are Cowbells but with more flare (~20 vs ~10 degrees).  Their drops are parallel to the top tube, unlike the wide-flare Woodchipper bars.

But they only come in 31.8 and black, so that rules them out for some folks.  

I use Nitto B135 Randonneur bars on my Riv.  They have about ~10 of flare, and they hump "up" a little bit across the tops.  I find them very comfortable.

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[Mark in Beacon]

What an awesome name for a bicycle handlebar.

[Jim S.]

Thanks for the responses. By the way, the internet is really neat. How would a person find an answer to a relatively obscure, perhaps trivial question like mine before the internet? I guess you'd go to the bike shop, and the guy there would either tell you the right thing, or the wrong thing, and that was all the information you'd ever get.

[Tony McG]

I am riding 46 cm Salsa Cowchippers on my new Ti Fargo. I do most of my riding in the drops, so I set the bars where I want them and stick the shifters in the ends. The flare out just like the bars, and I always know where they are.