Changing to Superman Bars

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belgiangoth
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Joined: 29 Mar 2007, 4:10pm

Changing to Superman Bars

Post by belgiangoth »

i'm considering changing my bike setup from tiller to superman bars - this would allow me to sit forward to look into intersections and would mean I might rider the bike more.
Where would I source parts for this from? Its for an Velotechnik SPM.
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
hercule
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by hercule »

I fitted superman (or Aerosteer in Nazca-speak) to my Fuego. They’ve done a lot for my confidence in general riding and you can sit up and look round more easily: something I found almost impossible even with the folding tiller.

I got mine from David at Laid Back Bikes. I think they came from Nazca but really anything should work. Consider how far back the bars sweep and the angle of the stem. Those can make a difference to ergonomics… with my arm reach I can’t have the seat at anything other than it’s minimum recline. A more steeply angled stem might work for me, I’ve used a handlebar raiser instead.

For a cheaper option you might find a suitable tandem stoker stem and I got another pair of superman bars for another bike from a German eBayer. You do need to check the stem angle though.
UpWrong
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by UpWrong »

'Tweener bars rule! Take a look at Bent-Up cycles for Bacchetta bar options. Bizarrely AZUB have stopped making aerobars.
belgiangoth
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by belgiangoth »

Not just stem angle, I'm not sure the headset size is standard on the SPM. Easy to check though and I should be able to engineer this in reverse if I got the bars first ...
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
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n0ct0
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by n0ct0 »

The stem in the two pictures is the same one turned 180 degrees.
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n0ct0
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by n0ct0 »

P.S. as far as I am aware the only official HP parts importer left is Ben at Kinetics.
AM7
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by AM7 »

I ordered a set of superman bars and a stem direct from Performer in Taiwan - only took about a week to arrive. Unfortunately, even though it was length adjustable, the stem was way too long for what I needed so instead I used a 175-230mm tandem stoker stem from SJS. That worked perfectly. I really wanted to like tiller bars, but I’m just far more comfortable riding a bike with Superman bars :D
AM7
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by AM7 »

belgiangoth wrote: 14 Nov 2021, 6:43pm Not just stem angle, I'm not sure the headset size is standard on the SPM. Easy to check though and I should be able to engineer this in reverse if I got the bars first ...
As long as the steerer tube on your forks is standard 1” or 1 1/8” inch, I can’t see how you’d have a problem.
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pjclinch
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by pjclinch »

You could source them via Kinetics... or just order directly from HP Velotechnik. I found them responsive and helpful when I was in touch with them a couple of years ago.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
belgiangoth
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by belgiangoth »

n0ct0 wrote: 14 Nov 2021, 8:21pm The stem in the two pictures is the same one turned 180 degrees.
That is extremely helpful, suggests I just need the bars. Which ones did you use?
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
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n0ct0
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by n0ct0 »

They’re the HP ones. I ordered direct from HP. But since Br*xit, who knows? :D
seldomseen
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by seldomseen »

I recently changed my metabikes to superman bars and i really like them. inspire so much more confidence when riding! I got my bars and stem from Performer.
belgiangoth
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by belgiangoth »

I shall ask both kinetics and performer for a quote I think.
n0ct0 it’s always hard seeing your bike as it is so much better looking than mine!

Edit - what are the tiller bars you are using, they seem not flat but not angled as much as mine (so as to not hit my knees). Also, do you know how far from the stem to handlebars on the aero bars by any chance?
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
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n0ct0
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Re: Changing to Superman Bars

Post by n0ct0 »

Thanks. The bike has had an easy life. It was an ex-demo before I got it, don’t think it had too many demos!

The stem is set at 360mm centre of the steerer to centre of the bars are the moment. When it was the other way around I had it set about 320mm. Length really depends on how much knee clearance you need.

The bars are some cut down Gazelle Medeo ones fitted the wrong way around. So pretty much just standard upright bike bars.
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