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@@@New Decade day 2 GMT@@@

  • Come enter the Ridemonkey Secret Santa!

    We're kicking off the 2024 Secret Santa! Exchange gifts with other monkeys - from beer and snacks, to bike gear, to custom machined holiday decorations and tools by our more talented members, there's something for everyone.

    Click here for details and to learn how to participate.

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,705
3,169
But y tho
I find the ergonomics great with the compact drop and the flat section in the drops. If you are riding in the drops your hands naturally fall into place there. Decent balance of stiffness and flex too and come in up to 500 mm width. Ritchey and Pro do similar style bars, less sizes though. Syntace, however, does stringent testing, so unlikely the bar breaks although it is pretty light for aluminum. Their carbon offerings should be awesome but are too spendy me thinks.

Also promising looking in regards to shape and bang for your buck are the Newmen Advances SL 318. I have, however, not ridden them yet.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,835
7,095
borcester rhymes
I find the ergonomics great with the compact drop and the flat section in the drops. If you are riding in the drops your hands naturally fall into place there. Decent balance of stiffness and flex too and come in up to 500 mm width. Ritchey and Pro do similar style bars, less sizes though. Syntace, however, does stringent testing, so unlikely the bar breaks although it is pretty light for aluminum. Their carbon offerings should be awesome but are too spendy me thinks.

Also promising looking in regards to shape and bang for your buck are the Newmen Advances SL 318. I have, however, not ridden them yet.
Those look pretty cool. The bars I have my eye on are fsa agx, which are just like the vision metron 4d but with 12* of flare. They have some other weird gadgetry going on- raised tops for moar upright, slightly flattened tops for aero and comfort, and the flare is something I really liked on my gravel ebike. Made me want to ride in the drops all the time, which would be nice on this proper road bike I'm building
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
Bought a trials bike today. My wife is pissed and worried about the used trials bike from Craig's List but not so worried about the stupid expensive Santa Cruz bikes we bought last month. I keep telling her the full suspension on local singletrack is WAYYY more risky, as it is definitely making me go faster than I should be going. The little Echo trials bike is for toddling around at the park.
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
gah, I wish coconut milk was not bad for you

I love coconut milk chicken curry
Yellow curry w/ chicken is my test item at any new Thai place I try. If they don't get that dish right, the place might as well shut down.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,705
3,169
Those look pretty cool. The bars I have my eye on are fsa agx, which are just like the vision metron 4d but with 12* of flare.
What I don't get with these bars is the shape of the top part of them. They are angled the wrong way, so if you have your hands there your elbows are bend out, creating more drag.

They have some other weird gadgetry going on- raised tops for moar upright, slightly flattened tops for aero and comfort, and the flare is something I really liked on my gravel ebike.
This is a thing??? WTF? :confused: :crazy:

Made me want to ride in the drops all the time, which would be nice on this proper road bike I'm building.
Why would you want to be on the drops all the time? Especially if you want to be aero, riding the hoods with your arms lowered on the bar is faster. See pic.

 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,827
27,043
media blackout
Bought a trials bike today. My wife is pissed and worried about the used trials bike from Craig's List but not so worried about the stupid expensive Santa Cruz bikes we bought last month. I keep telling her the full suspension on local singletrack is WAYYY more risky, as it is definitely making me go faster than I should be going. The little Echo trials bike is for toddling around at the park.
stock or mod
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,835
7,095
borcester rhymes
What I don't get with these bars is the shape of the top part of them. They are angled the wrong way, so if you have your hands there your elbows are bend out, creating more drag.



This is a thing??? WTF? :confused: :crazy:



Why would you want to be on the drops all the time? Especially if you want to be aero, riding the hoods with your arms lowered on the bar is faster. See pic.
The ebike was a Raleigh Tamland IE. I didn't buy it because it was a gravel bike, I bought it because I though it better than an upright hybrid and not as expensive as a true road e-bike. I wanted an ebike for commuting. didn't work out.

The FSA bars are angled that way for ergonomics, AFAIK. If you keep your elbows pinned to your sides and rotate your hands from wide to narrow, your wrists angle inwards at the center. I don't think your elbows would poke out unless you're riding on the very edges, at which point you might be better off rotating your hands around the curve of the corners (whatever they are called). Everybody seems to have a different take, Zipp does the opposite- emulating a MTB bar, but the more I think about it, the more painful it seems to ride with your wrists bent out and your elbows tucked. I would think that you'll only be in the tops during climbing and "rest" periods, when you want your chest open and don't care about aerodynamics anyways.

As for drops vs. hoods, I guess there's a lot I have to learn. I thought being in the drops was more aero as your back is flatter, but that also might depend on the aggressiveness of your setup.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,705
3,169
I would think that you'll only be in the tops during climbing and "rest" periods, when you want your chest open and don't care about aerodynamics anyways.

As for drops vs. hoods, I guess there's a lot I have to learn. I thought being in the drops was more aero as your back is flatter, but that also might depend on the aggressiveness of your setup.
I have my hands loosely on the tops when the road gets rough so my hands/arms do not fatigue as quickly. Well known trick for riding e.g. cobbles.
The drop position is pretty aero if you push hard and need a strong grip on the bar or as a sustainable areo position. If you are fully upright on the hoods with your forearm angled approx. 45° then this is aerodynamically bad. However, if you are on the hoods and lower your upper body so that your forearms are horizontal, this is usually more areo then being in the drops as your arms are more in front of your body. This position needs some getting used to and is not that easy to sustain, but you see the pros often using it during escapes. There is also some wind tunnel data to support this.
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
20,050
8,770
Nowhere Man!
Shea gave me $100 to take her Mom "To fucking goddamn Applebees". It wasn't all that bad. I had a Burger. Her Mom had 5 whiskey sours in like 20 minutes. I had a tall Beer. She paid the bill. I kept the hundo and all the food she ordered but didn't eat. They put it in a Grocery Bag. All the staff knew her name. It was weird. I may go back tomorrow if the opportunity presents itself.
 

mantispf2000

Turbo Monkey
Aug 9, 2001
1,795
246
Nevada, 2 hours from Mammoth
Day 4 of 2020...... insomnia for some stupid reason..... over/under was 3 on how many I'd throw out of casino on Day 1 (2 left on own volition, does that count?)..... registered for Epic Rides' Carson City event in June.... wife may have strep (and it sounds really bad).... older granddaughter turns 6 tomorrow, and I may be able to take her to Hell's Kitchen at work for free (if wife can't go and I get home/back in time)....

Yeah, I'd say it's a good year so far!!!!!