[Mike B.]

Saw this letter on cyclingnews.com about Oval pushing 26.0 bars instead of 31.8 and was curious what the monkey contingent thought. I have 26.0 bars on my road bike and still run 25.4 on all my mountain bikes. I'm not concerned with frontal area or any of that but I've never felt the smaller diameter was a problem for me and I've never broken a bar. Seems if Oval really wanted to stick by their guns they wouldn't even produce a 31.8 but I guess you have to stay in business and follow the market a bit.


Oval bars

No, your eyes are not deceiving you; all Oval Concepts sponsored teams ARE riding 26.0mm "standard" sized bars and stems.

My personal (and therefore our company) philosophy is that "Oversized = Fatter, Heavier, Slower". There is no reason to add more weight or frontal area to your road bike and the Pros know it.

The Oversized 31.8mm "standard" is a bad Italian fashion developed when the Italians did not have the efficient butting and swedging technology to offer a safe, reasonably priced, 220 gram road bar. Now that everyone has high quality, reasonably price, triple butted alloy bars made in Asia, and good companies make good carbon fibre road bars in 26.0, O/S 31.8 should die - at least for road bikes.

The strange thing is that all our sponsored teams since the company was founded, including Silence-Lotto, Slipstream and even the old Liberty Seguros squad asked for 26.0. We make both sizes as the market right now demands both sizes but I did not ask nor demand that our teams use either size.

Big Magnus Backstedt is not afraid of breaking his Oval 26.0 bars and stems on his TT bike for the Tour or his road bike for Paris-Roubaix. Robbie McEwen demands bars that are super stiff for his incredible power sprints and he loves our R701 classic bend bars in 26.0. I repeat - there is no reason to add more weight or frontal area to your road bike and the Pros know it.

Thanks for the eagle eye.

Morgan Nicol
Oval Concepts, Switzerland

 

[JRogers]

It is interesting that the most cutting edge bars now would be 31.8 carbon anatomic bars and there are lots of pros running traditional bend alloy bars, some in 26.0. I think this guy has a good point. There's been discussion on the MTB side to of whether 31.8 makes any sense. It's stiffer...but it isn't lighter and probably isn't more prone to breakage. I use a 26 on my road bike a 25.4 on my SS HT and 31.8 on DH and AM bikes. I only use 31.8 because of the bar and stem options.

 

[SuspectDevice]

26.0 and 25.4 bars, for life. I have very, very few 31.8 bars here that I actually like....

 

[OGRipper]

For mtb, I can definitely feel the extra stiffness - the front end just feels more solid - and because of suspension, it's not a comfort issue. So for the same weight I think it's a good thing for mtb. For the road, I'm still using 26.0 on a pretty stiff steel bike, and a little bar flex from the smaller diameter is ok with me.

Honestly though I don't really have a strong preference and will ride pretty much whatever as long they are wide enough and have a reasonably comfortable bend.

 

[sanjuro]

For mtb, I can definitely feel the extra stiffness - the front end just feels more solid - and because of suspension, it's not a comfort issue. So for the same weight I think it's a good thing for mtb. For the road, I'm still using 26.0 on a pretty stiff steel bike, and a little bar flex from the smaller diameter is ok with me.

Honestly though I don't really have a strong preference and will ride pretty much whatever as long they are wide enough and have a reasonably comfortable bend.

I'm the opposite. I mostly use 25.4 bars on mtn and I have a 31.8 on the road.

I am not cranking out of the saddle as much off road, so I just hope 25.4 is strong enough!

 

[James]

I personally think that 26mm bars look tiny and weird on many carbon bikes, with their big tubesets...

 

[SuspectDevice]

I personally think that 26mm bars look tiny and weird on many carbon bikes, with their silly oversized tubesets that exist solely for marketing...

fixed

 

[James]

fixed

Yes. Every bike should be built like, and as stiff as, a Vitus 979.

 

[James]

fixed

I'm not talking ludicrously-oversized tubes.
Even this bike is "oversized" compared to the bikes a couple of years back.

In *my* opinion a 26mm bar would look too small on there. But to each their own.
I did spec a 26mm bar/stem on the Master X Light I sent to Bicycling Magazine a few months back. 31.8mm looks way too out of place on a steel bike.

http://www.bicycling.com/gear/detail/0,7989,s1-16-154-860-0,00.html

 

[loco-gringo]

I find my Deda Newton bars stiffer in 31.8 than they ever did in a 26.0.

I guess since pros want 26.0s we should also all run 1400 gr wheels and SRMs.

Variety is the spice of life.

 

[James]

I find my Deda Newton bars stiffer in 31.8 than they ever did in a 26.0.

I guess since pros want 26.0s we should also all run 1400 gr wheels and SRMs.

Variety is the spice of life.

1400g is too heavy.

 

[SuspectDevice]

31.8 bars are too damn big. They make my hands hurt, as I can barely even hold onto them with my size XS hands. And the damned "anatomic" bends on all these new-fangled cheese-bars are HORRENDOUS.

For christ-sake world, please, listen to the Guido. 26.0 Classic Bend bars. NOW, or the kitten get's it

Aesthetics be damned, I want to be able to hold onto my bike.

 

[James]

31.8 bars are too damn big. They make my hands hurt, as I can barely even hold onto them with my size XS hands. And the damned "anatomic" bends on all these new-fangled cheese-bars are HORRENDOUS.

For christ-sake world, please, listen to the Guido. 26.0 Classic Bend bars. NOW, or the kitten get's it

Aesthetics be damned, I want to be able to hold onto my bike.

Completely and utterly valid point! People with smaller hands have issues with the bigger diameter.
Same with the wing bars.

I have one of the new Easton SLX bars, and I have to say that I really like it, bend and all. My size-L hands enjoy hanging on to them.