Short Reach Road bars based on actual lever mount?

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

User avatar
SolidSnake03
Posts: 556
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:09 pm

by SolidSnake03

Hi everyone!

I just built up a new bike and there seems to be a good bit too much reach for me. I can feel my arms/shoulders stretch/pull a bit across the back. For me, drop has never been a problem, I'm very flexible and comfortable riding low but too much reach always causes problems. I am currently current Zipp short and shallow with Campy Chorus 2013 levers, the Zipps have ~85mm reach.

What I'm wondering about is what bars I should look at that have less reach. The reason I'm asking here however, is that I have noticed a significant difference in how much reach there is based on where the levers mount on a given bar vs. what the manufacturer has listed as the reach.

A couple I'm looking at the seem to have a smaller amount of reach based on level position are:
Easton EA70
3T Rotundo *position dependent*
Ritchey WCS Classic

Here are a few pictures to illustrate what I'm trying to describe
Ritchey WCS Classic
http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&biw=1 ... =116&ty=95" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&biw=1 ... =186&ty=59" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&biw=1 ... =125&ty=80" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
3T Rotundo
http://biketart.cc/2012/04/bike-crit-iq ... s-marcelo/
http://www.google.com/imgres?biw=1366&b ... =124&ty=46
http://www.google.com/imgres?biw=1366&b ... =138&ty=74
Looks like I made a new 90 Proof friend

maxxevv
Posts: 2012
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 4:51 am

by maxxevv

Can't help if 'traditional' bend is your preferred bar profile.

But if shorter reach is the primary concern, the Profile Design Canta SS is worth checking out. Its possibly the shortest reach bar I can find. Reach is only 70mm compared to the 80+mm on most other bars out there.

Hopefully its of help.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



CarpetFibre
Posts: 556
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:24 am

by CarpetFibre

Okay so this may be a bit extreme but I was in the same position as you, looking for some short reach bars with a classic round drop - only I was also hoping to find some in 36cm width. A hopeless mission, but I found a good compromise for me - Salsa Pro Road 2 Small handlebars. Now these are bars for very small people like myself and the reach is absolutely tiny - they don't have a true classic looking drop but it is not at all ergo. Only thing is that the drop is very shallow too. But if you really need a short reach then I don't think there is much out there shorter than these without an ergo drop. These bars are stiff, light and cheap as well - very well made.

User avatar
fletch62
Posts: 492
Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:44 am
Location: Oztralien

by fletch62

Zipp CSL with SSR. 70mm reach/128mm drop.
http://www.zipp.com/bars/service-course-csl-bar/
Cinelli Vai Palm XL if you can find them, i think they are discontinued. I have these. 70/128. Flat top, traditional style drop.
They are heavy tho @ 310g in a 42cm. I think the Cinelli Ram 2 VRC is the same shape in carbon.

sigismond0
Posts: 235
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:29 pm

by sigismond0

If you like the Zipps (aside from the reach, of course), you might consider getting a stem a cm shorter. It'll be less expensive than another set of bars. You also might have a hard time finding comfortable bars that fit your reach on your current stem.

dmp
Posts: 422
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: Seattle

by dmp

The Easton EC90 SLX3 also has a short reach (72mm, if i remember correctly), and they are pretty light.

weekapaugin
Posts: 86
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 4:18 pm
Location: phoenix, az

by weekapaugin

I've been pretty pleased with the specialized shallow bend. 123 drop x 75 reach. My set of 40cm came in at 220g, which isn't very ww, but they feel plenty stiff and were only around $40. They do offer the same bend in carbon, but I believe those were around 200g.

fio
in the industry
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:34 pm
Location: Madison, WI

by fio

I have experience with both the Zipp SSR bars and the 3T Rotundos. Currently I'm on the Rotundos, with these bars not only is the lever position important, but the angle of the bars is important as well. the more you tilt the bars up, the less reach you have to the levers, but the more reach you have to the drops/hooks, which makes shifting from the drops more difficult (especially with Campy). I tend to run mine with a very slight tilt, and having the tops ramp down to the hoods so that the top of the hoods are almost flat. This makes shifting from the drops much easier.

With the Zipps, I found that they were very angle sensitive as well, but not in the same way as the Rotundos. Since they have a slight "kink" in their bend, angling them will really change the way they feel. If you are looking for shorter reach by using handlebars and not stem, these would fit the bill IMO.

Rotundo
Image

Zipp SSR
Image

Notice how on the Zipps the levers are mounted higher because the ramps on the Zipps are essentially flat and drop off immediately, whereas on the Rotundos the levers are mounted lower as the ramps extended downward with the increased reach. You definitely won't be able to get that short of reach with the Rotundos, even with the levers mounted higher. If you're looking for shorter reach, I would advise either avoiding traditionally shaped bars or going to a shorter stem.

User avatar
SolidSnake03
Posts: 556
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:09 pm

by SolidSnake03

Thank you for all the suggestions everyone, the Zipp SSR and the Easton look to be really good options in my mind. My issue is that i already shortened my stem to 110 from 120 and really dont want to go shorter due to changes in handling. I have the odd body build of long legs but short short arms and torso meaning im always struggling to have a short enough reach, top tubes are normally too long. In terms of feel i prefer the handling of long stems so want to shorten the reach by bars as much as possible.

Its funny in that drop has never been the problem, reach always has
Looks like I made a new 90 Proof friend

em3
Posts: 883
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2008 2:57 pm
Location: NYC

by em3

...keep in mind that actual reach to your levers/hoods will depend on what type of levers you are using...not all levers (across multiple manufacturers) will provide you the same angle once fixed to the bar. The question to be asking is where do you want your hoods and then find the best bar for the specific lever design. What matters most when comparing bars with similar reach is not reach but the steepness of the the drop off at the RAMPS. See road bar geometry here for additional info: http://ruedatropical.com/2009/03/road-d ... -geometry/

EM3
______________

User avatar
SolidSnake03
Posts: 556
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:09 pm

by SolidSnake03

This is part of what I was trying to get at with my comment originally on the placement of the levers on the bars. I feel like something like the Rotundo or Ritchey WCS Classic especially have very steep ramps and therefore, if you mount the levels higher like some of the photo's of the Ritchey WCS you could decrease the reach quite a bit less than the ~80mm that the bars state.

Granted that is all theory and something I was hoping someone would have some insight into.
Looks like I made a new 90 Proof friend

shimmeD
Posts: 544
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:52 pm
Location: eNZed

by shimmeD

I got a bit confused as to what type of bend you're looking at aside from wanting short reach. from my experience, the Pro Vibe 7S compact round will give you short reach and flat transition to hoods plus round drops <130mm. There is a long thread right here.
Less is more.

User avatar
SolidSnake03
Posts: 556
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:09 pm

by SolidSnake03

To be honest, the shape of the drop isn't overly important to me, the important thing is short reach to the hoods which always seems to be my problem *too long*. I was looking for a set of bars that you can mount the levels relatively *high* on meaning there is a minimal amount of space from the flats to where the hoods start up.

I have recently switched back to my old Easton EA70's and these seem to be notably better than the Zipp Short and Shallow in this regard. Still think the SSR or the Easton SLX3 might be better but I already had the EA70's so figured it was worth a shot
Looks like I made a new 90 Proof friend

sigismond0
Posts: 235
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:29 pm

by sigismond0

I have the 3T Ergonova, and they do a pretty darn quick transition to hoods right after the curve. Here's a side shot to give you an idea:

Image

The tops are nice and oval with a cutout along the bottom, and they have a very comfortable shallow curve.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



savechief
Posts: 354
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2011 2:36 am

by savechief

Based on a couple threads that I've come across, it seems as if the Easton EC90 SLX3 has one of the shortest effective reaches of any bar out there, regardless of published reach numbers. Also, have you checked out this site?

http://ruedatropical.com/2009/03/road-d ... -geometry/

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=79049&start=0
Time VXRS Ulteam (7.16 kg)
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=120268

Post Reply