Compact bars why

[samsbike]

I am just musing - what brought on compact bars - is it because we ride on the hoods more or have longer tt?

[Vantage]

AKAIK, they are supposed to make switching to the drops easier as the ends of the drops stick out further.
Personally I hate the things as I like having a bit more bar space behind the hoods so I can wiggle my hands around a little. I only swapped to these things because I wanted a wider bar (48cm) over the 44cm that came as stock on the bike. I'd go back to standard bars if I could find one in that size and not stupidly priced.

[andrewjoseph]

Good for small hands, makes reach to levers easier on drops.

[hamster]

Because most bars otherwise are for racers - fine for an under-35 who rides 50,000km pa and is paid to be in pain. However compact bars are much more useful for the rest of us who may be older, less flexible and less motivated...and who has to bash for 15 miles into a headwind without a teammate.

[Drifter]

I recently switched to a really shallow drop / short reach bar set. It's made a world of difference on my tourer as I just never got on to the drops on my previous bars as I found it uncomfortable. With the shallow drop it's perfectly comfortable for long periods ducking a headwind or just for a change of position. Happy

[fast but dim]

Just swapped to compacts, it's definitely easier to ride on the drops!

[tatanab]

Because modern fashion is for a greater drop from the saddle to the top of the bars than in previous decades, and also people seem to routinely ride the drops more these days albeit with straight arms whereas previous generations would bend their arms. So I might say, it is a fashion to overcome shortcomings in another current fashion.

[fast but dim]

Because modern fashion is for a greater drop from the saddle to the top of the bars than in previous decades, and also people seem to routinely ride the drops more these days albeit with straight arms whereas previous generations would bend their arms. So I might say, it is a fashion to overcome shortcomings in another current fashion.

Sounds about right!

Personally I have my bars high, without compacts the drops would be out of reach!

[freiston]

Years ago, I used to ride on the ramps, the flats and the hoods much more than on the drops. I tended to position the bars so that the ramps were near-horizontal rather than the drops. After buying a new bike and getting back in to cycling after a long absence, I find that I'm often trying to squeeze my hands on to the ramps of my compact bars but can't because they are too short (the ramps not my hands ). I'm thinking that I am going to have to experiment a bit with position of bars and my position on the bars. If I'm still not happy - maybe one day I'll get round to looking for a different handlebar.

[MikeF]

I can reach the hoods with compact bars. Modern hoods seem to extend far out front compared with old type brake levers.

[sreten]

Hi,

Compact bars are due to brifters. Just looking at modern bikes its obvious.



How not to do it.



More how to do it.

rgds, sreten.

[Vantage]

Bar position is a personal choice, like saddles. There is no right or wrong way.

[reohn2]

Bar position is a personal choice, like saddles. There is no right or wrong way.

And similarly so brake hoods position.
There's a lot of folklore to do with bikes,some of which does not add up because all people aren't the same proportionally even for the same height.
Here's three to do with h/bars:-
''When on the hoods and looking down, the front wheel spindle/axle should be inline with the h/bars''
''Bottom of the brake levers should be level with the bottom of the drops''
''With the back of the elbow against the nose of the saddle the fingertips should just reach the handlebars''
Which may have applied in the dim and distant but with the different reaches and drop dimensions of a vast array drop bars available today can be right.
Here's another:-
''The drops part of the h/bars should be level ie; parallel with the road''
Which means the ramps(just behind the hoods)will ramp away/down from the rider,which is ok if you like that position but what if you don't?
And what if you're not comfortable on the drops with them parallel to the road.

Non of my bikes conform to any of the above,I've even flared out the drops (woodchipperish but only slightly ie;20mm from parallel to each other).I'm perfectly comfortable on the drops on road or off.

[Dave W]

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBFRKFAT/t ... inary-bike




I use these bars on all my road bikes - very comfy.

I rather like the bike above too (unusual).