Handlebar Choice
Moderator: robbosmans
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Hi,
I'm currently riding my bike with an old bontrager xxx handlebar which has 85mm reach and 125mm drop. I'm embarking on a new built and planning on replacing my handlebar because the carbon has been chipped. I planned on replacing it with a new bontrager xxx but the new version of bontrager seems to have longer reach at 100mm! so I'm currently looking at several other options:
1.) Deda superleggera 75mm/130mm
2.) Zipp SLC2 84.5mm/ 128mm
3.) Fizik Cryone 00 Chameleon 85mm/135mm
4.) 3T Ergonova 77mm/123mm
All of the options is at 85mm or shorter which I can compensate with a longer stem (currently using 90mm) and I won't mind the few mm increase in drop. Anyone have ridden these handlebar before and what are your thoughts?
I'm currently riding my bike with an old bontrager xxx handlebar which has 85mm reach and 125mm drop. I'm embarking on a new built and planning on replacing my handlebar because the carbon has been chipped. I planned on replacing it with a new bontrager xxx but the new version of bontrager seems to have longer reach at 100mm! so I'm currently looking at several other options:
1.) Deda superleggera 75mm/130mm
2.) Zipp SLC2 84.5mm/ 128mm
3.) Fizik Cryone 00 Chameleon 85mm/135mm
4.) 3T Ergonova 77mm/123mm
All of the options is at 85mm or shorter which I can compensate with a longer stem (currently using 90mm) and I won't mind the few mm increase in drop. Anyone have ridden these handlebar before and what are your thoughts?
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I have the Fizik. It is as light as advertised, stiffness so-so. I can visibly bend and twist the drops but I guess that is no surpise for the weight. For a bit more money you might get better stiffness from the Easton E100, 80 reach.
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I did not like the Ergonova too much, but I'm not sure exactly why, maybe the shape of the tops? My current fave is ENVE compact, 79mm reach 127 drop. I like the cable routing options and how I can get a nice smooth transition to the brake hood with Shimano levers. They work well with hydraulic setups and mechanical brake setups.
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For me, the part of the bar that makes the most difference is the bend from the tops to the ramps. It's the one thing I hate about my Bontrager XXX bar/stem that I choose to live with. The bend is way too "square," and I find myself resting my palms there less often than with my ENVE SES Road or Ritchey Evocurve bars. The bend on the Bontrager VR-C is so acute that some less elastic bar tapes are difficult to wrap cleanly at the transition.
Maybe that bend is what you don't like as well? I think the bend on the Ergonova is pretty gradual though.
Maybe that bend is what you don't like as well? I think the bend on the Ergonova is pretty gradual though.
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I agree with you on the bend from top to ramp. The more square it is, the more I hate it.TobinHatesYou wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 8:12 amFor me, the part of the bar that makes the most difference is the bend from the tops to the ramps. It's the one thing I hate about my Bontrager XXX bar/stem that I choose to live with. The bend is way too "square," and I find myself resting my palms there less often than with my ENVE SES Road or Ritchey Evocurve bars. The bend on the Bontrager VR-C is so acute that some less elastic bar tapes are difficult to wrap cleanly at the transition.
Maybe that bend is what you don't like as well? I think the bend on the Ergonova is pretty gradual though.
I think on the Ergonova I did not like ramp transition from the tops to the hoods. Over time, with the evolution of Shimano brake hoods, I have started to prefer almost no downward slope from the top to the hood. I'm sure part of that is aging, and not being able to ride as low as I once did. This is why I like the ENVE bend, I can get a nice flat transistion without having to rotate the drop into a ridiculous position. I often see people who want the brake hoods higher and end up rotating the bars up to get this flat transition and it looks awful and IMO renders the drops useless. For an alloy bar that mimics the ENVE compact bend I like the Zipp Service Course SL80.
This is stupid. Reach is more than just reach to the hoods. By putting a shorter stem on the reach to the tops is significantly affected which may be less optimal for climbing in the saddle. And reduce clearance to the knees when climbing steep grades out of the saddle. And the shorter stem will affect the bike handling, both by making the steering "slower" and changing the weight distribution over the front wheel.
Agreed with everything you said Bigger Gear.......the Superergo addresses the concerns you had with the Ergonova, the bend from tops to ramps has been made much less acute and fatter ath the same time, also the ramp to hoods angle has been reduced so it’s easier to get a flatter transition to the hood.
Schmolke oversized evo- higher quality and lighter than the options you listed and 126/ 78. My favourite of the ergo shaped bars.
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Thanks for the feedback, I'm might give the superergro a try
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Thanks for the feedback, I might give the superergro a try
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Shorter stem = faster steering. Other than that, totally with you. The combo of short reach bars and a longer stem is great for those of us who like to climb out of the saddle.Bigger Gear wrote: ↑Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:23 pmThis is stupid. Reach is more than just reach to the hoods. By putting a shorter stem on the reach to the tops is significantly affected which may be less optimal for climbing in the saddle. And reduce clearance to the knees when climbing steep grades out of the saddle. And the shorter stem will affect the bike handling, both by making the steering "slower" and changing the weight distribution over the front wheel.
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joejack951 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 29, 2018 3:36 pm
Shorter stem = faster steering. Other than that, totally with you. The combo of short reach bars and a longer stem is great for those of us who like to climb out of the saddle.
LOL, yes I had that one backwards. I was thinking about how the shorter stem requires less input at the handlebar to initiate movement and somehow my brain spit out "slower" when indeed it is a quicker feeling. But for me and the terrain I ride, the clearance for out of saddle steep climbing is very important. That's why I generally have used stem lengths of 120 and 130. With Shimano hood reach changing to longer over the years I have to be careful with bar reach, so as to not end up too stretched out on the hoods for my preferred reach to the tops.
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