Dammit: Post your bike

[arlew]

@anon24974279

soma hwy 1

Im considering putting a matching set of these on my old tandem in (26mm/46cm/silver). Any opinions on the shape and geo? They seem lovely.

The DQ is: will older-style diacompe aero levers make a nice hood shape or do these bars need a modern lever like cane creek or tektro?

[spaghetti]

I used hwy 1 for 5 or 6 years. Def needs a modern lever for the flat transition

[Dickason_Daniel]

Highway 1s are perfectly fine compact bars. I’ve had a pair, and a pair on wife bike.

[EndpointBraden]

Highway1s are probably the worst compact bars. That probably makes them better than just about any bar that isn’t a compact bar though.

[daedelus]

@EndpointBraden

Highway1s are probably the worst compact bars

Why? Those and cowbells are probably my favorite bars.

[Face]

Cowbells are sooooooo good.

[anon24974279]

@arlew

Im considering putting a matching set of these on my old tandem in (26mm/46cm/silver). Any opinions on the shape and geo? They seem lovely.

The DQ is: will older-style diacompe aero levers make a nice hood shape or do these bars need a modern lever like cane creek or tektro?

I like them. They don’t work great with old levers. You can kinda make it work but yeah, like it was pointed out, they are for modern levers. They have a real short reach, which i like.
Cowbells are great too if flare is okay. I don’t really like flare on a road bike sometimes.
@EndpointBraden whats the best compact bar you would recommend? Not too expensive though…

[arlew]

Seems like cowbells only come in 31.8. Stoker stem is 26.0 and captain stem is 26.0 frozen in place, so I think it’ll have to be the highway1 with some modern levers. Thanks!

[Rusty_Piton]

Cowbells are the best. All my drop bar bikes have cowbells. Yes they only come in 31.8.

[adem]

@anon3547885

What are those bars with the long extension on the hook, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. Note I am not referring to the shifter

@Elliott

Nowhere near the shape/length of the hwy 1. I’m guessing some nitto jawn I’m too lazy to remember or look up.

@crowding

Ragley Luxy is kinda like that side profile but very flared. Maybe we’re being tricked by camera angle?

Igor hasn’t answered yet so I will: they’re the latest Crust Towel racks

[Crustradamus]

@halbritt

Relax guys, I’m faux shaming you.

It’s not about that. I’m just saying you’re objectively wrong. Saddle to bar drop is a completely arbitrary thing to fixate on when it comes to setting up a bike–especially a bike that isn’t a road bike.

[jimmythefly]

@yonderboy

…I would argue that if better braking [Edit:]in the steeps[/Edit] is the goal, the rider would be better suited with flat bars. The only reason MTBs had drop bars in the first place were for aaro gainz.Even the Drop Bar all the Things! crew around here is finally figuring out that a MTB is better suited for trails.

No. I dispute that it was for aero gains.
Typically vintage mtb drop bar setup is that the #1 position is in the drops. That means the stem is LD to keep the hands at an equivalent height to flatbars, while the brake levers should be set up lower than Belopsky has for perfect braking action from the drops and a hand position that is super secure and almost impossible to get bounced out of ('cause rigid forks). These bars were typically flared for width and control but also wrist clearance.

Braking from the hoods is (was) not a consideration. The flats and ramps hand positions are for climbing, you shouldn’t be braking then anyways.

[jimmythefly]

Why do all modern mtbs have flatbars then? I’m not sure about that. Probably because they descend from American cruisers, needed more brake power so went to 4finger moped levers with old cantis, then v-brakes came along and required new lever cable pull so flatbars levers went that way while road levers went another. Maybe something to do with frame design, market differentiation from road or cx, perception of flat bars as more like dirt bikes?

I’m totally speculating on reasons drop bar mtb died out. Not saying it was better, but it certainly wasn’t bad. I had a hydraulic setup on my old disc brake Rawland dSogn and it was awesome.

[dotMR]

@anon24974279

whats the best compact bar you would recommend? Not too expensive though

I’ve been happy with the Ritchey Comp EvoMax. Short reach (73mm ?), just a little flare, and a little backsweep on top too.

I also tried the Comp EvoCurve, and it was basically the same with ~1cm more reach iirc.

Both were around 35-40€

[blackholelectron]

YES this

In this house we stan the EvoMax, the perfect short/shallow drop handlebar. Such a great shape

Round hooks to get you close to the levers from the drops, a smidgen of backsweep on the tops, some flare (but not too much), and a lovely flat transition to the levers

Strongly recommend these, the sizing is c-c at the hoods too so you can get a pair that are well and truly wide in the drops

Edit: the evocurve is actually quite a bit different- zero flare in the drops, regular compact shape to the hooks, and more drop/reach

[halbritt]

@Crustradamus

It’s not about that. I’m just saying you’re objectively wrong. Saddle to bar drop is a completely arbitrary thing to fixate on when it comes to setting up a bike–especially a bike that isn’t a road bike.

…and I’m saying you’re objectively wrong suggesting that saddle-to-bar drop is something I’m fixated about beyond using it as a topic to tease others.

[iwillbe]

Zipp SL88 run out pretty far back towards you on the bottom of the drops. It’s not something I particularly look for, but if I’m riding really far, having one more place to stick my hands for a while isn’t bad.

[wickedwagon]

I bought the Ritchey evomax and kyote bars because of reccs on here. Highly recommend both.

[Rusty_Piton]

Hey heath, I just thought you should know that I rode a bike with a little saddle to bar drop today. It was fun.

[spaghetti]

Masochist