has anyone tried bars like this?

[ReklinedRider]

Hello Hoyden,
The funny alignment of the brifters is why I don't use the stock bars and I apologize for not mentioning that. The stock bars have an extreme flare even for off-road drop bars; that's what makes the levers so far out, and I understand exactly what you're saying about wanting the levers closer to your finger tips, as in your last photo. Even with the stock bars 'upside right' you'll notice the brifters wind up canted way out. 'Nonintuitive' is a perfect description for the way the stock bars force the brifters outward.

What I used on the 1.5 are Origin 8 Gary 2 bars, but they won't work on the newer Silvio unless you shim them since those bars have a stem clamp diameter of 25.4 mm. The ones I used on the Vendetta would work very well on the S30--they are Soma Junebug bars with a stem clamp diameter of 31.8mm. Another bar that may work very well, maybe even better, and one I may try at some point, is the Salsa Cowchipper bar, but I haven't tested it yet. The Salsa Woodchipper would probably be good also, and the Midge on One. But the Junebug is the only one I have tried and can unreservedly recommend. Beware using road drops; use only some form of off road drops. If you use road drops, there is no flare at all, and you'll find your inner forearms constantly pressed against the bar. Been there, done that

The issue of having to relax my grip to shift using brifters is why I wanted to try bar end shifters and plain brake levers. Relaxing the grip was only an issue when accelerating hard and trying to upshift in quick succession; it's not a problem with the bar ends since i never take my grip off the bar, just use a tilt of the wrist to shift in one direction, or a push of the thumb in the other.
castlerobber uses the brifters (on Gary 8 bars, on the Silvio 1.5) with no problems.

btw you've done a great job with the new set up. if you like the ergonomics of it for comfort and stability (it's also a very strong configuration for climbing and accelerating) but, as you say, not the brifter position, I'd encourage you to try the Soma Junebug. I think you'll really like that one.

 

[ratz]

The new bars (saw them this week) should help most riders they are basically optimized woodchippers

 

[hoyden]

The funny alignment of the brifters is why I don't use the stock bars and I apologize for not mentioning that.

No need, ReclinedRider. I was already down the rabbit hole, having unwrapped the left brifter in search of a better position. Your suggestion to upend the bars was brilliant. That the new bar orientation provided a superior grip at the expense of brifter placement was secondary. Yesterday I tinkered some more with the position and moved them lower. This morning I went out for a dry run and give the new position a thumbs up. I lowered them so that I can reach the levers by sweeping my smaller 3 fingers over the tops of the levers while maintaining a grip with my thumb and index finger. My fingers are long enough and strong enough to manipulate the levers. I estimate brifter usability increased from 0.5 to 0.9 on a 0..1 scale. Here is my new position

I might be open to changing bars but for now I am happy with the placement. I am also getting practice taping the bars. This is my third wrap with the original wrap. I also discovered that with the bars upsidedown the wrap is done from bar end to center.

I don't mind slinging wenches and I have enough skill to be dangerous, but before I invest in different bars I would need to know exactly what I was getting for my buck. Buying the bent slider was an example of a n0-brainer purchase. After someone installs stock brifters on a new bar I may consider the option.

For now I am very happy with the configuration.

(it's also a very strong configuration for climbing and accelerating

This is absolutely true for me. I can also hold the bars in a myriad of ways: death grip, open fingers, hands or thumb over the top, hands high or low on the grip.

I look forward to reaching that comfortable place where I will wrap the bars for real and cut all the excess length out of the cables.

As castlerobber mentioned, shifting the big ring with the strong hand is win-win. Although I write and shoot trap left handed, I throw things and pistol shoot with my right. It's a weird combination I call being ambioklutzious. I can carefully put all the bolts, nuts and washers from a disassembly project into a small cup and then send that small cup flying across the floor scattering its contents when I try to pick it up.

 

[RAR]

The new bars (saw them this week) should help most riders they are basically optimized woodchippers

Pictures?

 

[super slim]

Pictures + dimensions???

 

[castlerobber]

I lowered them so that I can reach the levers by sweeping my smaller 3 fingers over the tops of the levers while maintaining a grip with my thumb and index finger.

That's pretty much what I do.

It's a weird combination I call being ambioklutzious.

 

[ReklinedRider]

@hoyden, nice writeup. Glad you're liking the bar like that. And I applaud your 'ambioklutzious-ness'; I seem to be similarly afflicted having spent far too much time crawling around the garage looking for tiny bike bits.
Great practice taping and recabling.....that's what I kept telling myself when redoing things time after time trying to get this upside down bar approach to work.
We (castlerobber and I live in the same tri-county area) ride with a lot of DF people around here and oddly, no one has ever commented on the bars being flipped. I guess the whole FWD-MBB is enough to take in, or maybe they think all 'bents come that way
Anyway, good work, sistah!

 

[Bill K]

That handlebar is begging for bar-end mirrors!

 

[1happyreader]

@hoyden,
Great practice taping and recabling.....that's what I kept telling myself when redoing things time after time trying to get this upside down bar approach to work.

When 10 speeds came out lots of the kids flipped the bars or bought a set that allowed a more uprite stance. Of course this was PRE-brifters and they only dealt the brake lever.

 

[ReklinedRider]

When 10 speeds came out lots of the kids flipped the bars or bought a set that allowed a more uprite stance. Of course this was PRE-brifters and they only dealt the brake lever.

Yep. This is a whole different flip though, and for a different purpose

 

[ReklinedRider]

That handlebar is begging for bar-end mirrors!

Yes indeed:

 

[castlerobber]

When 10 speeds came out lots of the kids flipped the bars

I went looking for an image of those old flipped bars, and found this post full of permutations and aberrations. IMO, Sheldon Brown's double-handlebar bike takes the cake. The photo at the bottom of the page even has upside-down brifters, on a little different bar configuration.

http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/24960/reversing-drop-bars

 

[hoyden]

That handlebar is begging for bar-end mirrors!

Yes indeed:

I'm spiraling the drain of bar-end mirrors. I suspect I won't last long without at least one. My visor mounted mirror does an admirable job for its size but sometimes bigger is better.

found this post full of permutations and aberrations.

There but for the grace of God...I am so happy to not have to go to such lengths to find my comfort zone. I will continue to follow the Sivio bar story when the new bars come out. For now I will enjoy the comfort gold standard. And do it on the cheap. Some of those bars get quite spendy.

 

[super slim]

I went looking for an image of those old flipped bars, and found this post full of permutations and aberrations. IMO, Sheldon Brown's double-handlebar bike takes the cake. The photo at the bottom of the page even has upside-down brifters, on a little different bar configuration.

http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/24960/reversing-drop-bars

That's a HUGE range of very creative bars and shifters!!!

 

[Mathew Fy]

Here's my handlebar set-up. An "Origin8 Space Carbon UL8 Off Road" with "Ergon GP5 Grips," SRAMs trigger shifters and Guide brakes. So far I'm happy with the comfort and functionality. I can confirm the grips withstand falls (usually when struggling up a steep hill.)

 

[ReklinedRider]

Nice! Are your bars 31.8 clamp size?
Are your levers and shifters sized for MTB bars or road bars?

 

[Mathew Fy]

Are your bars 31.8 clamp size?
Are your levers and shifters sized for MTB bars or road bars?

Yes, this bar's 31.8 mm. works with the Cruzebike boom. I attached the standard Garmin mount to the bar before bolting it to the boom. The shifter and brakes are 22.2 mm and will not fit on the Cruzebike's drop bar.
While the ergonomics of this set-up works quite well, I think there may be a bit more aerodynamic drag.

 

[ccf]

I think it will move your feet approx 50 mm forward

Slim, I don't see how the chainstay extension will move my feet forward. When the pedal is farthest away my heel just touches it with a straight knee. The position of the bottom bracket is constrained by the length of my leg. Since the bottom bracket is a couple inches above the seat, it seems to me that lengthening the chainstay would mainly just raise the bottom bracket. If anything, I think the bottom bracket would move slightly back since raising my leg causes my foot to move back slightly as it sweeps up.

Am I missing something?

 

[super slim]

CCF you are correct as I was thinking about the movement of the BB.

From the attached pdf of my Silvio V1.0 below, with a 153 mm crank, the feet only moved forward 6 mm, with the 100mm chainstay extension, but up 146 mm, so the BB is now 744 mm above ground , compared to 709 mm for the hip centre, ie 35 mm above the hip centre , compared to 111 mm BELOW my hip centre before the extension, which was very uncomfortable, as my thigh would press on the seat front with every downstroke, due to the seat angle and my long legged 46.3" X seam.

I originally had 175 mm cranks with no extension so the BB was 626 mm AG, ie 83 mm below my hip centre, so was just comfortable for the thighs.
From a 175 mm crank, no extension, to 153 mm crank + 100 mm extension, the BB moves up 118 mm and forward 25 mm, as seen in brown.

If your X seam is 40", then the 100 mm will move the BB, backwards 11 mm, and upwards 116 mm, as seen in red.

 

[ccf]

I replaced the straight slider with the curved slider, and replaced the stock S30 bars with Zipp Service Course 80 bars (42 mm). I've also added little barlets by cutting off the ends of TT aero bars and attaching them next to the bars as close to the slider as possible. Here's how it looks from the cockpit.



The barlets give me a grip that helps me focus on not pulling on the bars while keeping my wrists straight. Tendonitis has now healed in my left arm; right arm is still sore, but this configuration will hopefully help it heal. The barlets have also helped me learn how to ride hands-free. I haven't cut the bars because I like the low hand position of the longer drops. I haven't taped them because I'm sure I'll make another change soon. I may want to try the new S30 bars once they are available.

-Cliff