Best bars for touring bike?

[Slowroad]

I've a nearly 20 year-old Raleigh Touriste which is lovely but I've never totally got on with drop handlebars. What other options for bars do I have nowadays? Would welcome a more upright position and being able to reach both brakes at the same time!
Cheers for any suggestions - I searched for existing posts on this subject but couldn't find any.

[Si]

the most popular alternatie is probably a flat (MTB style) bar with bar ends. This would bring the grips/brakes nearer to you by would stll be at the ame height as the tops of your drops. You might need a new stem depending upo the diameter of your current one (but with a new sten you' be able to get a taller on to raise the bars if you want). You'd also need near brake levers (make sure that you go for road type flat bar ones rather than V-brake type ones - they pull diferent amounts of cable). andif you currently have handle bar mounted gear shifters you may have to change these too.

There are other alternatives: try searching for the On-Onewebsite andlooking at things like the Mary, Mungo and Midge bars if they still do them.

[syklist]

I've a nearly 20 year-old Raleigh Touriste which is lovely but I've never totally got on with drop handlebars. What other options for bars do I have nowadays? Would welcome a more upright position and being able to reach both brakes at the same time!
Cheers for any suggestions - I searched for existing posts on this subject but couldn't find any.

The best bars are the ones you find comfortable. I've not had dropped handlebars in more than 20 years. Our compromise is to have flat and/or swept back bars coupled with a cheap set of triathalon bars.

See http://mistymornings.net/travel/2007/eq ... moose.html

This gives us three comfortable seating positions.
1) Low on the triathalon bars, but not as uncomfortably low as dropped handlebars. Saves at least gear into the wind and is comfortable for long periods.
2) on the handlebar's grips, something a bit like a mountain bike but more upright.
3) by grabbing the pads on the triathalon bars I can sit bolt upright and still steer comfortably.

We have something similar on our new VSF bikes, Damae has gone for straighter bars but with large L-shaped bar ends to complement the triathalon bars.

"Butterfly" handlebars are quite popular here in the Netherlands on touring bikes. Some people swear by them but I'd miss the triathalon bar position.

HTH
Stan

[Slowroad]

Cheers for both comments - the Moose looks a formidable ensemble! I've had a set of flat bars fitted to see how I get on with them - so far braking feels better though it's bit weird still having to reach down to change gear - my brain thinks 'flat bars=handlebar gear change'!

[bodylin]

Hi I cycled across the states last year and I couldn't get used to drop handlebars either and I'd tried a couple of different flat bars too. Eventually came up with butterfly handlebars, which I found to be great as it gave me a couple of different places for gripping the bars and they can be shifted to give a higher or lower position.

They're used all over Europe.

[syklist]

Cheers for both comments - the Moose looks a formidable ensemble! I've had a set of flat bars fitted to see how I get on with them - so far braking feels better though it's bit weird still having to reach down to change gear - my brain thinks 'flat bars=handlebar gear change'!

Thanks for the comments about the Moose. We cut our cycle touring teeth on the Moose and the Troll, and learnt a lot in the process.

When I put flat bars on an old Dawes racer to turn it into a commuting bike, I moved the gear levers up onto the handlebar stem. I had to make up a bracket on the handlebar stem so I could run a section of outer cable down to where the levers used to be mounted on the down tube.

This worked fine, and made changing gears a lot simpler. The only problem was if you wanted to move the handlebars up or down. Then all the cable lengths had to be adjusted. If you are interested I can try to get a picture of my (bodgers) handywork and post it here or email it.

Cheers
Stan