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Roadie question. I have built a bike using an Enigma Echelon titanium frame, their C-Six road disc fork, 3T Superergo carbon handlebars, Zipp 303 Firecrest disc wheels and 30mm tyres run at about 55psi. Everything would suggest a nice smooth ride, and on reasonable surfaces it's great, but the moment I hit anything rough the shock through the front end is really bad. I'm happy with frame (have had this before), wheels and tyres, so can only think it might be either the fork or the bars. Does anyone have experience I could use? Are the Superergos known to be super stiff? I'm considering a swap to Giant D-Fuse bars which seem to have some inbuilt vertical flex, but would also consider any mild gravel bar. Thanks to anyone who can help.
A possible suggestion is changing the bar position. While I was adjusting the position on my gravel bike the ride felt a bit harsh in the front end when I had my bars a bit too low. In the end a single spacer under the stem cured it for me. I presume I had a bit too much weight on the bars in the lower position.
Worth a try if you have enough steerer.
I finally fitted my 38mm Prime Primavera carbon bars last weekend, even without tape, they are so comfy comapred to the alloys that came on my Cube Attain.
What about one of those stems with a bit of suspension (Redshift?)
I have two pairs of the 3T carbon superergo bars. They feel ok; I’ve done a 200k ride on them on 28s and was fine. I use slightly thicker tape though; zipp service course cx.
Have you got much experience with different road bikes?
IME they're all stiff to a greater or lesser extent. The difference between the alloy fork on my "cheap" Charge Plug SSCX and the carbon one on my Cannondale is at best a subtle nuance.
Bar position on the other hand makes a massive difference. I raised my saddle ~10mm yesterday to account for some new shoes (and I think it had probably slipped over time, I doubt the new disco slippers are thicker than the SPD trainers they're replacing). That was enough to give me numb thumbs on my 25mile round trip commute. Partially because it's slightly more weight on my hands due to greater drop to the bars, and partially because it's obviously just past the threshold of the drops being comfortable for extended periods so I don't move around as much.
And in the spirit of recommending what you own: Ritchey WCS bars (in aluminium Ergo Curve flavour in my case) always seem to get good reviews for being nicely stiff in the drops but with some compliance on the hoods (i.e. they're bending in the middle, not just getting noodlier towards the ends). They're not flared like a gravel bar, but the compact drop and nice bend
on the flats mean there's plenty of space for your wrists.
Something like Bontrager Double Gel tape as a first try to relieve the shocks first? I'm not massively convinced a new set of bars will change the comfort that much.
Thanks to all. I will experiment with bar position first I think before committing to ripping out the bars, they have internal brake cable routing, so that's a bit of a job in its own right. Also, don't really want to consider a suspension stem, I've heard they're pretty disconcerting when trying to power through corners etc. and of course they brake the first rule of bikes, they're fugly.
Maybe try double-wrapping the bar?
Position is everything on a road bike as you're in a relatively fixed position for potentially hours. I have three bikes running drops bars, with three different shapes, two different widths and two different materials and I find them all comfortable.
Personally I don't like double wrapped bars I find them uncomfortably thick, so I lay an extra strip of bar tape along the top of the bar and wrap over that. Having said that I spend the bulk of my time on the hoods.
Yeah if you have too much weight on your bars it'll feel a lot worse. This could be because they're too far away or too low.
Bear in mind that any of the comfort features you can add - gel, extra tape, carbon bars etc - only add a very tiny bit of reduction in buzz. They aren't transformative, they are not suspension. The sort of thing that might result in slightly more comfortable hands after 4 hours; they won't have you gliding over broken roads going 'ooh how plush'.
You're already running 30mm tyres at a reasonable PSI - I'm afraid that's as good as it gets on a road bike. Nothing else is going to make much of a diffence to ride comfort compared to tyres/pressures.
As above, I'm using the Prime Primavera Carbon pairs, for comfort not aero. Added to that I'm running 32mm tyres at 70psi (90kg rider)
https://road.cc/content/review/256066-prime-primavera-carbon-handlebar
You could also try gel pads under the tape.
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/pro-shock-absorbing-gel-pads
Agreed with most of the above. Gel/double wrap etc are fine tuning really.
The more frequently I ride the less this is an issue. There maybe a number of reasons for this I guess. You might get numb to it, you might improve your bike position with time in the saddle or you might get more bike fit.
For me road cycling flexibility and core strength are a bit key on a road bike. The older I get the more I can't take that for granted and I actually have to work on it, adapt my position or a bit of both. A strong core, a bit of better flexibility and you are not sat like a sack of spuds with dead weight on your hands ready to take a hit on the next bit of rough road.
Bear in mind that any of the comfort features you can add – gel, extra tape, carbon bars etc – only add a very tiny bit of reduction in buzz. They aren’t transformative, they are not suspension. The sort of thing that might result in slightly more comfortable hands after 4 hours; they won’t have you gliding over broken roads going ‘ooh how plush’.
Double wrapping isn't really about the extra padding for me, it's more about making the bar fatter so I can have a more-relaxed grip.
But the extra padding is a bonus.
I do agree with sorting the bike fit out in the first instance, but was kind-of assuming the OP knew what suited him.
Sounds like I need to work on my core and not get any older 🙁
Sounds to me like you've got too much weight on your hands, you should be able to ride along on the hoods and barely even hold the bars to the point where you can lift your hands off and not smash your face on your stem.
Sounds like I need to work on my core and not get any older 🙁
My 2p, as someone who regularly picks up RSI's and injuries that stem from flexibility/strength imbalances. Just find another sport you like and do that as well. I always get more injuries when I'm not regularly sailing*, and just bought a paddleboard which really is the exact opposite of cycling, all arms, shoulders and core muscles. Few weeks of that and my back already feels better after long rides.
*although they don't work so well together, a day spent sailing leaves my legs more knackered than a century on the road!
Also, don’t really want to consider a suspension stem, I’ve heard they’re pretty disconcerting when trying to power through corners etc. and of course they brake the first rule of bikes, they’re fugly.
A mate of mine has a redshift stem on his gravel bike. I didn't even realise it wasn't a normal stem until he told me it was a suspension stem - so they can't look that ugly!
He reckons it makes a massive difference to the comfort on his bike.