Butterfly bars vs high drops (or narrow butterflys)

[SA_SA_SA]

I noticed the technical queries page mentioned Butterfly bars:

However, what about simply mounting drop bars higher?

Also straight-wit-bar-ends / butterfly bars are usually wider (than drops) hence any wrists parallel to travel position is wider than is ideal:

so if high drops still no good, why not narrow butterfly bars, with brakes on that "wrists parallel to travel position":

(in past this would have had advantage of allowing mtn bike V brake levers, but now good drop bar V levers are made by Tektro).

[hubgearfreak]

and then there's moustache bars. i've got them on two of my three working bikes, and i know i'm not their only fan

[horizon]

However, what about simply mounting drop bars higher?

Join the club SA_SA_SA! And obtain a stem raiser if necessary - all the bike shops sell them because the demand is unlimited - every touring bike sold in fact. A nice little earner for Delta and the rest. Don't forget that butterfly bars require you to brake at the centre where you lose all the steering advantage of wider bars at a critical moment. Barmy.

[531colin]

Theres more handlebars than you can shake a stick at here.....http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=32793&hilit=drops

EDIT...theres this too.....http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=39777&p=318538&hilit=baritono#p318538

[Freddie]

It's a shame the majority of non-racing frames cannot be fitted with the handlebars at a decent height without purchasing add-ons. Still, I suppose it's yet another thing to make money on.

[531colin]

It's a shame the majority of non-racing frames cannot be fitted with the handlebars at a decent height without purchasing add-ons. Still, I suppose it's yet another thing to make money on.

Show a customer 2 bikes.
One has low gears, mudguards, carrier, comfortable riding position.
Other is shiny, looks like the sexy bikes he sees the pros riding on the telly, and is CHEAPER.
Guess which he buys?
2 months later he is on here ........gears too high, backache, toe overlap, you know the rest

[hartleymartin]

"Nitto Technomic Stem" - They are very long. In fact you can get 16cm above the minimum insertion mark. They also come in a variety of reach lengths from about 5 to 12cm.

[CREPELLO]

Butterfly's are good, but the choice in the UK is poor. I also suspect they may be more vulnerable to fatigue unless the alloy is hardened. Because they are pretty wide, the leverage effect of hauling a loaded tourer up a steep hill has more of an effect around the stem clamp. I've rejected 3 pairs because of distortion and abrasion (brinelling?) around the bar clamp and ultimately changed to drops because of this.

[Freddie]

My feeling is that butterfly bars are too wide and perhaps the wrong shape. The sides are where you'd want your hands most of the time, but many bars angle out too much and this is rarely where the brake levers are positioned. If they could be made about 46cm, rather than 56cm wide and perhaps have the forward section removed at least made less pronounced, it'd be a significant improvement.

Show a customer 2 bikes.
One has low gears, mudguards, carrier, comfortable riding position.
Other is shiny, looks like the sexy bikes he sees the pros riding on the telly, and is CHEAPER.
Guess which he buys?
2 months later he is on here ........gears too high, backache, toe overlap, you know the rest

It's perhaps endemic of cycling as a sport, rather than mode of transportation in this country. It's a shame pretty much all media (magazines,TdF) outlets represent cycling as some sort out clique in which if you don't know the special handshakes (Campagnolo, Audax etc), you aren't welcome to join.

I think it's this attitude towards cycling, at least amongst cyclists, that is holding back cycling as a whole in this country.

"Nitto Technomic Stem" - They are very long. In fact you can get 16cm above the minimum insertion mark. They also come in a variety of reach lengths from about 5 to 12cm.

Yes, but they're ugly, normal length quill stems flex enough as it is and seeing as it propels the "ride any size frame, you can always fit one of these" mentalities, ultimately it's part of the problem rather than the cure.

[hubgearfreak]

My feeling is that butterfly bars are too wide and perhaps the wrong shape.

I think it's this attitude towards cycling, at least amongst cyclists, that is holding back cycling as a whole in this country.

normal length quill stems flex enough as it is

your ideal butterfly sounds quite a bit like moustache mars

you're dead right, and anyone who cycles in anything but normal everday clothes, especially h*lm*ts, clicky shoes and lycra is reinforcing this problem

i've got a nitto stem and don't find it at all flexy. if you've got a bike that you're otherwise delighted with but want to raise the bars/pull them back an inch or two i'd fully recommend one

[531colin]

you're dead right, and anyone who cycles in anything but normal everday clothes, especially h*lm*ts, clicky shoes and lycra is reinforcing this problem

Wait a minute,....I started saying how difficult it is to sell a useable bike, Freddie says its to do with the portrayal of cycling on the telly, now suddenly its all my fault because somebody might have seen me ride to work in SPD shoes.....WHAT?????
What sort of logic is that?
I repeat....People dont want to buy practical bikes, any more than practical cars. The trouble is, you can use a chelsea tractor as a regular everyday car. You cant use a race bike, or a full suspension bike, as a regular, everyday ride to work.

[hubgearfreak]

suddenly its all my fault

it's only an opinion. as for the car analogy, people can be (and are) as uncomfy or as inefficient as they want on both bikes and cars.

[531colin]

I think its a kind of transport snobbery. You are obliged to use a bicycle as a means of transport if you are really poor, or you are banned from driving. So people who decide to buy a bike decide (either consciously or otherwise) to buy a bike which lets them pretend they are likely to take part in a sporting event, ie racing or mountain biking. A small proportion of such people then discover they actually quite enjoy cycling, then the quest to modify their bike into something more practical begins.

You see a similar thing on the roads. People on horseback may be well off or upper class, and are treated with respect by the average driver. But somebody who rides a bike is seen as a nobody, who cares if I cut him up, he doesn't pay road tax, he has no right to be on the road at all, he should get out of my way.

[Freddie]

I agree wholeheartedly with the snobbery thing. This is compounded further by institutional snobbery, "be careful round horses" adverts regularly appear on TV, same for motorbikes (though they are sometimes even worse aggressors and often successful in bringing a lot of danger to themselves), but have you once seen an advert for being safe round bicycles?. They just don't have the same frequency, even though there are probably far more cyclists than horse riders in this country.

It is also known by drivers that a horse could put it's foot through the windscreen if scared, not so with a cyclist, hence we are fair game as the danger is not reciprocated.

There is also a culture for speeding in this country, this is especially prevalent when you move out into the countryside. I know that come nightfall, especially so of a weekend, certain people turn this island into their own private (public?) race course. This, of course, is allowed as who would be out in the lanes at night, not horses, perhaps the odd cyclist or even lower in drivers estimations, the pedestrian that dare use the public highway (I've had drivers pass me at 40mph with literally four inches to spare, when there has been no option but to walk down a country lane).

[wrangler_rover]

I've revently bought a new fixie, Carrera Subway Zero, great bike but the only thing that lets it down in my opinion is the wide handlebars.
It has black riser bars which are 65cm wide, in my opinion much too wide.
I've thought about either buying a set of Bullhorns or hacksawing a few cms off each end of the bars & fitting some stubby bar ends