most comfy design of drop bars?

drjones · Post by **drjones** » 27 Nov 2007, 12:16pm

i will shortly be entering a world i have always dismissed as being the domain of the elderly and unfashionable; but the penny is, i think, starting to drop*: they really are the most enlightened way to go up-front.
i have tried all sorts of bars, but the drops i tried briefly last weekend felt great.

*sorry

now for particulars. i have measured my shoulder width, and done a quick trial sliding bar-ends along a flat bar to get the right width: 44cm feels about right. but it's the actual design of the bars that is troubling me; there seem to be a few too many options for the shape of the drop bits.

different angles, bends, cruves and flicks - all too confusing for me..

where do i start? i want something that i can use for6 hours a day without any problems, so it's comfort over speed. 'anatomic'? the ones with a slight kink, or the ones with a kink and a inverse curve?

also, are there any particular materials or brands that are imfamous for breaking prematurely; i want these to be really robust as i want to use them for '3rd world' touring.

i realise this is a daft question, and that it will probably be trial and error, but thanks in advance for any tips you can give to get me started...

PW · Post by PW » 27 Nov 2007, 12:27pm

Bars are like saddles - personal. Width wise the usual fit is to measure across the socket bulges at the fronts of your shoulders. Shape - I used to like the randonneur bend but more recently I've come to prefer the 3TTT Morphe. I know Mick F's a Cinelli man, there will be others.
Edit, for long distance touring a shallower drop may be more advisable than the road racing deep drop types & something with a flat top behind the brake hoods will give more hand positions than a racing type which falls away immediately from the bend.

Post by **Mick F** » 27 Nov 2007, 12:45pm

As PW says, I have Cinelli's.

I bought them 21 years ago, when I built up my Mercian. I chose the size as described re my shoulder-width, but I chose Cinelli because they were very popular back then.

All the pro riders seemed to have the Cinelli 1R stems and the "64" bars, so I thought if it's alright for them, it must be alright for me. I've had them ever since, and have no REAL experience of anything else. They work for me. Maybe it's luck ......

pigman · Post by **pigman** » 27 Nov 2007, 2:50pm

I'm with mick on this one. I've tried all sorts and the cinelli 64s seem to do the biz. I tried anatomic ones, but couldn't get on with them for 2 reasons
1. The "diagonal" bit of the anatomics (the bit you rest your hands on - hope you get what I mean) places my fingers further away from the brake levers than I'm comfortable with, so when I'm on the drops and braking hard (usually down a 1 in 8 or steeper), my fingers/hands/wrists just aren't comfortable. The all-curved shape lets me put my hands into the "corner " of the curve and my fingers are closer to the brake levers.
2. Again its the diagonal bit - I feel more comfortable with a flat bottom of the curve (ie horizontal) to rest my hands on, rather than sloping.

I have however wondered about trying the 3TTT morphe because of the v. shallow drop and the small reach, but am undecided because they're anatomic.

drjones · Post by **drjones** » 27 Nov 2007, 3:03pm

...and then there is this sort of thing, with an extra curve in there somewhere: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=12631

what d'u reckon?

pigman · Post by **pigman** » 27 Nov 2007, 3:28pm

most anatomic ones are like the ones in the picture - with a small bumpy bit. These are like what I tried.

ransos · Post by **ransos** » 27 Nov 2007, 4:20pm

I have ITM Marathon bars - I find them extremely comfortable as they provide several hand positions, and they flex a bit more than normal drops which reduces road buzz. I had no problems on my LEJOG - the only modification was to use a second roll of bar tape for extra padding.

CJ · Post by CJ » 27 Nov 2007, 5:00pm

Another vote for 3T Morphe here. The aspects that make them preferable for touring, like the shallow drop and the slight back-set (equivalent to a stem 1cm shorter) are also likely to ease the transition from straight bars.

david grimshaw · Post by **david grimshaw** » 27 Nov 2007, 5:51pm

My vote would be Randonneur handlebars. Got them now on most of my bikes and been using them for a long while. I prefer the vintage bars - they seem not to be too deep.
{If anyone has some to sell...........}
David

fatboy · Post by **fatboy** » 28 Nov 2007, 8:41am

After reading this post I now understand why I'd want those flat bits as per the 3T morphe bars, that's where my hands naturally go and having it flat rather than curved would work well. Another thing for the wish list

glueman · Post by **glueman** » 28 Nov 2007, 2:13pm

Just looked up the Morphe bars and they're better but not what I'm looking for. Modern bars generally have too great a position change up/down, fore/aft for comfort. While drops are ideal for movement into headwinds, downhill descents, etc, few tourists require (or are made comfortable by) such big lunges.
There used to a bar pattern that was parallel drop to top, with a short forward even radius curve and was no more than a small hand span in any direction. All positions were completely usable and brakes were never far away. Unfortunately they're rarely to be seen now.

hamster · Post by **hamster** » 28 Nov 2007, 4:05pm

The big difference with the 3T Morphes is that they have a much shallower drop. Personally I love them.

PW · Post by PW » 28 Nov 2007, 9:03pm

3TTT Morphe with Ergolevers are good for small hands too. My wife & daughter both used to complain they couldn't reach the brakes but they love this set up.

georgew · Post by **georgew** » 29 Nov 2007, 10:48pm

Another vote for 3TTT Morphe.

CJ · Post by CJ » 30 Nov 2007, 1:41pm

Just checked "the new 3T" website. Can't find any mention of Morphe!

Buy now while stocks last!

Its like I always say: If you see something that really works for cycle-touring: buy a lifetime supply there and then, because you'll probably never see its like again!