Handlebars Commuting NOT Drops

[MacB]

Seeking yet more advice from you knowledgeable folks, some of you may have noticed my previous thread on butterfly bars. So I have these but the clamp diameter is 25.4mm and my new bike has an 'oversized' stem with a clamp diameter of 31.8mm. I know I can get a new stem, and will, but, now that I have the butterfly bars, I have been mulling over fitting and hand positions. With my current levers and shifters then I can only see a fit on the open part of the bars in the closer position. This effectively means that there's only one position at which I can brake and change gears and it would be practically the same as my current flat bar set up. I've also found a big improvement with the flat bars on the new bike as they have 'ergon' style grips which give somewhere to rest the heel of the hand. I've been researching even further and have narrowed down some further contenders, so we have:-

original butterfly bars - offer good variety of hand position but concerned at the limited choice for levers etc. Paul on this site kindly provided me with photos of how he had his set up to help me.

H-Bars - these are based on the, far more expensive titanium bars, designed by Jeff Jones
http://cyclesense.co.uk/products.ph..._660_mm_HANDLEBARS_AND_STEMS_Handlebars_-_MTB

http://www.jonesbikes.com/
idea being that the levers and shifters go on the shorter of the 'bar end' areas and are thus accessible from 3 hand positions(the most I've been able to find for any type of bar). As originally designed for MTBing I was wondering if these would be more robust than touring bars, I've read some claims of overt flexiness re the latter.

Touring style bars in general, most noteably the Nitto Moustache bar(I note that Chris on here has these fitted to his Dawes) - these seem pretty similar in hand positions to the H-Bar but I have only seem images of them with drop style levers/shifters so not sure how suitable they'd be for a straight conversion from a flat bar.

Flat bars - keep existing but upgrade the grips to the Ergon ones with the built in bar ends and adjustable angles - again these really only offer the one position for shifting and braking.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Ergon_GC3_Grips/5360037503/

I understand that I would need to change stems to match clamping diameter but would I have any problems with tubing diameter re moving shifters and levers? I'm happy with using packing/shims to make up diameter for these but would be unhappy to find mine were too small. The current bars are the Giant A5 Aluminium Riser that came with the bike.

Appreciate any input, suggestions and advice....thanks.....Al

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

How about bar ends

I use longish bar ends with the brakes mounted as they are in the photos (link at bottom) The problem I do have is as the brake levers are so short I have had to mount them fairly close to the bar ends which means to some degree I have lost the normal flat bar position If they were a little longer I could still use the brakes in both positions but also use both positions on the bars. The stem can be got round by using a bit of rubber as a shim ( or you could by these that do the same thing)
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebw...9&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003154c003227c003228 I had to do this when going from a 22mm bars to a 31.8 mm stem on an old scrapper I built for someone, it did provide some isolation from vibration but I'm not sure that would be the case with only 25.4 to 31.8 ! The bar ends are the same (22mm) on all bars I have come across. with just the stem mounting point being 31.8 or 25.4mm. Gives you another cheapish option anyway !

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=25895

 

[MacB]

Brad I mentioned using a home made shim to my bike mechanic and he looked at me with horror. Couldn't see any issue myself but didn't want to risk it.

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

Another option

you could always get round the brakes by using these http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebw...8&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003154c003130c003176
to give you two braking positions on the bars not sure what they are called (brake repeaters I think) but the idea is that the cables travel through these and onto the next set of brakes ( normally used to give two braking positions on drop bars) You end up with only one cable which you would have to cut some outers to suit to fit between the two sets of brakes. I'm hoping here that some one else on here can tell you exactly what they are called ! The names I have so far are in line brake levers, secondary brake levers and brake lever extensions.

 

[MacB]

interesting, so it's effectively an 'inline' situation, theoretically you could string a number of levers together in a line? Certainly my last drop bar bike, 28 years ago, had secondary levers on the top linked to the main ones on the drops, but don't seem to see them around anymore. I'm assuming there could be performance issues surrounding the secondary extensions.

My ultimate choice would be the butterfly bars set up with Ergon grips along the open/bottom end and the levers and shifters there. Then secondary brake levers at the sides and the top. Maybe one fitting with a an angled joint with a lever coming out each side? That would allow me to grip and brake in 4 positions and use the heel pad on the Ergon grip from 2 positions. I can dream

 

[Bollo]

I've seen these brakes on some fixies and the odd cross bike, although they're more common than I realised. There's a bit about them in this thread.

MacB - I'd be interested in your final choice. I've ummed and ahhed about butterfly bars on my commuter but decided against because my full commute generally requires lots of gear changing and braking - there aren't many sections where I can just get on the bars and pedal.

 

[Piemaster]

I've recently swapped from ergon bar ends on a flat bar to a butterfly bar. The ergon did allow me to swap hand positions a bit (hands flat to on barends) and does make a difference.
However I wanted to be able to stretch out a bit more in order to change the arm/torso angle at my shoulders to help ease a shoulder problem. The open end the controls is now closer to me so a bit more upright when in traffic when actually likely to be using them, closed end being further away gives more of a tucked position when on clearer stretches.

Can't see any gain from using ergons and a butterfly bar. Where would the mini bar ends go? Sides and bends of the butterflys do much better job and as they are longer/bigger diameter are comfier.
Incidentally I did look at the H-bar but would have been an expensive conversion for me as I have hydraulic disks and the hoses would have need swapping for longer ones to fit it.
I've not found the open end position for controls ever to have been a problem. Some anticipation of a possibility of needing them, and if its a regular commuting route I'd guess you are likely to know it well.

Why not fit the butterflys as you have them already and give it a go for a week to see how it goes? Mine were a straight swap and if you change the stem to correct clamping dia suspect all will change over easily.

 

[MacB]

Read that Bollo, interesting, seems that secondary levers just went out of fashion and that the 'unreliability' rumours only relate to the early versions. My memories of my last racing bike were that I rode on the tops and the secondary levers were used a lot and never let me down. I'll certainly keep you all informed and will put up pictures of my finished product.

Piemaster - great info thanks, only reason the butteflies aren't already installed is the clamp size and that led to my doubts/ruminations. The Ergon grips I was looking at, for the butterflies only, were the ones without the bar ends, but I would probably try using the ones I currently have. So they would fit on the straight open bit at the bottom. This would bring the heel pad into play from the normal braking/shifting position and the side on grip. The rest of the bar would be gel tape which I have ready and waiting. I'm happy with the idea of having only one shifting point but am keen to explore the possibility of a secondary braking point:-

Would it be feasible to run 2 brake cables, from a splitting point at the stem, and install secondary levers for the side hands position?

Is a shim feasible or should I get a new stem?

If a new stem should I match dimensions/rise on existing or consider one that is adjustable for angle to give more options?

Did you find the length of your existing stem ok with the butterflies or do you think a longer/shorter stem should be a consideration?


Appreciate your help on this, following my 2 commutes last week I had severe pain in my right shoulder, on a diagonal halfway between shoulder blade and base of neck. My setup does need some tweaking as I am aware of slightly too much weight on my hands. However I have no pain anywhere else so looked this up. Sheldon Brown indicates that, when localised on one side, posture is a possibility but you should also consider if your arms are equal lengths. I've broken my left arm 3 times with the last being an impact fracture of the radius at the elbow, 3 years ago. I had surgery in Sep08 to remove the end of this bone and now have what they term a 'floating' bone. I cannot fully extend or bend this arm and it is unlikely that this will ever change. Sheldons suggestion was to actually have your bars set up offsquare to accomodate soemthing like this. Hopefully the new bars will allow me to accomodate without doing this. I can only imagine crashing if I set my bars up skewy...thanks.....Al

 

[BentMikey]

Get a recumbent innit. End of comfort problems I think.

 

[Bollo]

Get a recumbent innit. End of comfort problems I think.

But your credibility problems would only just be beginning!

 

[BentMikey]

I don't care how credible you are on your ass hatchet. I'm uber comfortable, and I'll give you a cheery wave as you disappear in my mirror.

 

[MacB]

Mikey, you should include a 'threadjack' alert in your signature

I don't doubt the your claims re a recumbent but I'm looking at an additional outlay of £50-60 here. The recumbent would be a few more sheckles than that

Anyway have ordered my new adjustable stem so will post up piccies of the butterfly bars once fitted. I'll also give honest feedback on how they perform, I wouldn't hesitate to scrap them if they don't work.

 

[BentMikey]

That's OK mate, you carry on being uncomfortable if you want to.

 

[Bollo]

I don't care how credible you are on your ass hatchet. I'm uber comfortable, and I'll give you a cheery wave as you disappear in my mirror.

Mirror! Good God man, it gets worse! 'Ass hatchet' sounds like a credit-crunch style offal recipe.

MacB - deffo post your feedback.