Gravel Setup Shifter Position

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eeney
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2017 10:09 am

by eeney

Hey, I've just built my first gravel bike with Sram Rival. I've only ever ridden/setup Shimano road groupsets in the past.

My questions are regarding positioning the shifters on the handlebars:

  • Do you setup shifters for gravel in the same position/height as you would for a road bike?
  • Going from Shimano to Sram the shifter shape is different, Sram seems to have a dip in them when resting on top of the hoods. For this reason would you position Sram slightly higher than Shimano?

I ask because I have mine setup as per my Shimano road bike. They measure exactly the same, but feel slightly more forward/lower, especially when riding off-road.

MisterNoChain
Posts: 275
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:29 pm

by MisterNoChain

I have Ultegra di2 on my road bike and recently got a gravelbike with Sram Rival AXS.

I just played around with the height of my handlebar during the first ten rides. 1cm lower, 5mm higher, i tried every possible position and did a longer ride. I ended up 1cm higher then my roadbike. My levers are tilted inwards quite a bit, same as on my roadbike. I know a lot of people dont like it that way but for me it feels best. Yes they are bulkiers as the Ultegra's but i'm perfectly fine with them.
It also depends on how your gravel riding looks like. Is it all hard gravel and fast rolling, or more offroad with descents with some stones and roots? Is it the latter it's quite normal to put your handlebar a little bit higher.

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eeney
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2017 10:09 am

by eeney

I've been playing around, and had some advice from Ritchey (using their 36 degree flared Beacon handlebars). I also probably settled on ~1cm higher than the roadie. I think for two reasons, firstly it feels more stable off road, and also because the flared bars tilt the arms inwards which makes it feel lower, or perhaps the bend makes the arms slightly shorter.

When offroad, having the hoods slightly higher/further back helps for when you need to get your weight back. Which is required more often than I realised it would be.

One other observation with the very flared bars is that the inward angled shifters probably mean that I should have gotten 2cm wider bars.

MisterNoChain
Posts: 275
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:29 pm

by MisterNoChain

eeney wrote:
Fri Dec 23, 2022 5:31 am
One other observation with the very flared bars is that the inward angled shifters probably mean that I should have gotten 2cm wider bars.
My bike came with a 2cm wider bar. Also helps for the stability offroad.

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