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Hi all,
Due to some nerve issues I switched to a set fo Midge bars on my cross bike, and I really get on with the flared set-up and find it much more comfortable. However I find teh drops too short/angled to be comfortable/practicable, so was looking for an alternative with a flatter/straighter drop section. To that end I found the Ritchey Beacon bar, but I was just wonderign if anyone has any experience of using similar on a road bike for non-racy purposes? IE commuting/touring.
Having had the midges, it seems that flared drops feel narrower than stadard once due to the way they angle in the hoods, but thE 46cm version has the drops 61CM apart, that's wider than the bar-ends were on many of my early mountin bikes!!! The midges are 54cm at the ends, so I don't think they'd feel much wider than that, but does anyone have and feedback for how sich bars feel for mainly road use?
Thanks all!
Noooo
Then again, if it's a modern road bike, it's fugly, so why worry. Go for it. (Owns two classic steel bikes)
i have fitted Ritchey Venturemax on my road bike, i'm not a serious road rider, much prefer off road, but i struggle to stay in drops for any length of time with normal road bars, but the flare and very tight bend, and short drop of the Venturemax means i can sustain longer periods in drops, which is handy where i live with lots of headwinds.
I wouldn’t go too wide, and I think you’ll lose the real comfort of riding on the hoods, but I think you’ll get on with them if you like midge bars. Wider than current bars means you may need a shorter stem for same reach on the drops.
Btw narrow track bars have been going this way for a while. Think 32-36 cm with a flare and shallow drop.
have a look a Zipp service course bars, they flare out at the drops with the hoods in a normal position
anyone has any experience of using similar on a road bike for non-racy purposes? IE commuting/touring.
I have some very flared drops on a gravel / all-road project bike that I enjoy riding for unloaded brisk 100 milers or road touring. They're very different to the trad bend 42cm drops on my audax and classic road bikes but I like the flare, they're comfy (matched to a slightly shorter stem) and I can get my elbows in still - I don't feel they turn me into a big air dam or anything. The real reason for the flare is the off-road handling but I also like the leverage when the bike's loaded. They felt 100% wrong at first but that's often the sign of it being different enough to what you're used to to be worth sticking with, in the end I prefer the advantages over any disadvantages.
If I built a new 'all road' bike tomorrow the bars would have a 20-25 degree flare with a normal 42-44cm at the hoods. Like the old Nitto rando bars really - seems like a good yet old idea.
I ride Ritchey Butanos on my grav bike which I use a lot on road; 12 degree flare. Feels like a road bike on the hoods, largely feels like a road bike in the drops. Mainly jealous of colleagues Cowchippers and so forth; the balance between comfy hoods and drops is hard, but it turns out I rather like the slight flare in all circumstances...
I have found the beacons to be the best balance of all aspects for me. I like the slight back sweep, the flare is about right for me and I like the shallow drop and long section from the drops back. I tried the venturemax too but didn’t like the round top.