stump ss
10-07-2007, 03:01 PM
hey folks, i'm in search of 'cross perfection and I don't think it exists. tell me if I'm wrong:
I don't believe in drop bars. Why would we be doing most of our technical control of a bike on rough road/trail by holding on to brake hoods, which are held on by hose clamps essentially, and which you can slip off the front? But, if you need a bike for touring and 'cross, the whole randonneur thing, you need good positioning for technical stuff, for climbing, for comfort but you can't have bar-ends or protrusions (UCI 'cross regs). Given my attempts at using bars on this bike and others, here's my current list of complaints:
(1) straight bars (mountain bike), maybe with a little bend like my 12° Salsas that I love on my mountain bike but really not enough for this purpose
(2) swept bar like the Somas that I call Joan of Arcs but they call them something else, constant radius bend, they weren't that comfortable on my townie so I know it won't do the trick for what I'm asking
(3) riser bars might help some overall postural positioning but don't give the hand space
(4) now we move a bit more toward swoopy road stuff: Mary bars by On-One, very cool and I love them on my townie, but rode them a while on my 29er and felt like on technical stuff I would get my hands crushed up toward the front and so a lot of pressure on my thumb-web (whatever that is), and really no additional hand positions
(5) The Belleri Porteur bar that I got from Velo Orange, basically not too different from the dude I've seen here in Athens with old Scott bars (with the built-in bar-end sweeps) put on backwards....you get the flat bar space, a curve for the braking, and then some backward extensions for climbing. But these bad boys are "only" 49cm wide, which is wider than most road bars, but somehow even with a fairly long stem it means that you are grabbing at a weird angle/too narrow for climbing. Still figuring these out, but they may be my faves of this group in some ways
(6) the mustache bar - whether the Rivendell version or the On-One Mungos or whatever. A good idea on paper but they kinda suck in reality. Again there is basically only one place to put your hands, there is no 'cruise' position on the upright area because of the wack-ass angle away from the stem toward the forward hooks. They feel great for climbing (54cm wide I think) and in general for racing on my Surly they may be the best, but not as good for every day riding. The Porteurs and the Mustache bars take bar-end shifters, a plus
(7) WTB Dirt Drops: I just got these on my bike yesterday in between sips of beer. Good idea, I guess - they get the upright flat part, then you can still ride on the hoods, but unless your stem is an impressive erection you will be mashing yourself into a weird contortion to use the hooks, just like my sense of most drop bars (and I also tried Nitto Soba bars, by the way), and on a gnarly downhill I was really uncomfortable in the hooks because your neck has to take on too much head-shock to see the trail.
I know a 'cross bike isn't supposed to be a mountain bike, but if I can't get a little advantage of my technical skills on those skinny roadie dudes by hitting the dirt sections hard, I'm screwed in a cross race. So I want real comfort in the technical sections even if my tires are only 32-38c.
(8) what next? I've looked at other Nitto bars, including the Nitto North Roads (basically these are just the Albatross I think) for sale at Speedgoat, and the more innocuously-named Nitto "Swept Back Alloy Bar" but these don't appear to be significantly different from the Porteurs. The North Road/Albatross option is for MTB levers, not so hot for bar-end shifters, and intended for a more fore-aft lever (townie) position. Note that at this point by my guesstimate I've put about $260 of 'research' into this whole ridiculous personal quest. Damned OCD perfectionist cyclocross/rando weenie.
Any other ideas?
Peace, Stump
ps north Georgia off-road scene at volkscycle.net
I don't believe in drop bars. Why would we be doing most of our technical control of a bike on rough road/trail by holding on to brake hoods, which are held on by hose clamps essentially, and which you can slip off the front? But, if you need a bike for touring and 'cross, the whole randonneur thing, you need good positioning for technical stuff, for climbing, for comfort but you can't have bar-ends or protrusions (UCI 'cross regs). Given my attempts at using bars on this bike and others, here's my current list of complaints:
(1) straight bars (mountain bike), maybe with a little bend like my 12° Salsas that I love on my mountain bike but really not enough for this purpose
(2) swept bar like the Somas that I call Joan of Arcs but they call them something else, constant radius bend, they weren't that comfortable on my townie so I know it won't do the trick for what I'm asking
(3) riser bars might help some overall postural positioning but don't give the hand space
(4) now we move a bit more toward swoopy road stuff: Mary bars by On-One, very cool and I love them on my townie, but rode them a while on my 29er and felt like on technical stuff I would get my hands crushed up toward the front and so a lot of pressure on my thumb-web (whatever that is), and really no additional hand positions
(5) The Belleri Porteur bar that I got from Velo Orange, basically not too different from the dude I've seen here in Athens with old Scott bars (with the built-in bar-end sweeps) put on backwards....you get the flat bar space, a curve for the braking, and then some backward extensions for climbing. But these bad boys are "only" 49cm wide, which is wider than most road bars, but somehow even with a fairly long stem it means that you are grabbing at a weird angle/too narrow for climbing. Still figuring these out, but they may be my faves of this group in some ways
(6) the mustache bar - whether the Rivendell version or the On-One Mungos or whatever. A good idea on paper but they kinda suck in reality. Again there is basically only one place to put your hands, there is no 'cruise' position on the upright area because of the wack-ass angle away from the stem toward the forward hooks. They feel great for climbing (54cm wide I think) and in general for racing on my Surly they may be the best, but not as good for every day riding. The Porteurs and the Mustache bars take bar-end shifters, a plus
(7) WTB Dirt Drops: I just got these on my bike yesterday in between sips of beer. Good idea, I guess - they get the upright flat part, then you can still ride on the hoods, but unless your stem is an impressive erection you will be mashing yourself into a weird contortion to use the hooks, just like my sense of most drop bars (and I also tried Nitto Soba bars, by the way), and on a gnarly downhill I was really uncomfortable in the hooks because your neck has to take on too much head-shock to see the trail.
I know a 'cross bike isn't supposed to be a mountain bike, but if I can't get a little advantage of my technical skills on those skinny roadie dudes by hitting the dirt sections hard, I'm screwed in a cross race. So I want real comfort in the technical sections even if my tires are only 32-38c.
(8) what next? I've looked at other Nitto bars, including the Nitto North Roads (basically these are just the Albatross I think) for sale at Speedgoat, and the more innocuously-named Nitto "Swept Back Alloy Bar" but these don't appear to be significantly different from the Porteurs. The North Road/Albatross option is for MTB levers, not so hot for bar-end shifters, and intended for a more fore-aft lever (townie) position. Note that at this point by my guesstimate I've put about $260 of 'research' into this whole ridiculous personal quest. Damned OCD perfectionist cyclocross/rando weenie.
Any other ideas?
Peace, Stump
ps north Georgia off-road scene at volkscycle.net