• This topic has 20 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by Nick.
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  • Alternatives to Salsa Woodchippers for a Fargo?
  • mcmoonter
    Free Member

    I’ve been using a pair of Salsa Bell Lap bars on my Fargo. Perfect for the road, double track and short even techy bits of single track. But for extended downhills I find them a compromise. I should say, I rarely red on the drops, I’m almost always on the brake hoods.

    If I’m pushed to use the Fargo for a big bike packing trip, I’m torn between fitting an unknown set of Wodchippers or a tried and tested set of flat bars. The latter will mean a change of brakes too.

    Are there any other types of bars that I could still use my Ultegra stis on that have a very shallow drop that will offer somewhere between the two?

    ton
    Full Member

    some nice wide bullbars, like the ones nitto sell

    GregMay
    Free Member

    Woodchippers here…. you can run them with Jones bars as well 🙂

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    Mary bars ?

    Nipper99
    Free Member

    Luxy bars if you can find a pair.

    captain_bastard
    Free Member

    On one midge? I”ve also got the bell laps and like the for all the same reasons as you, recently tried midges and love the shallow flared drop

    somafunk
    Full Member

    I’ve got the Woodchippers on my Tripster, i previously had Bell Laps, for off road descending in the drops i honestly felt that the bell laps were a better bar as the brake levers were positioned in such a way as they were easier to grab/feather. With the Woodchippers fitted i love the way i have the brake/gear hoods slightly angled inwards to match the profile of the bars and they are extremely comfortable but when descending in the drops the flared drop position and angle of the brake lever is not the most natural postion to brake from so i’m in a quandry – should i keep the Woodchippers?, swap back to Bell laps?…..or buy the carbon Enve’s that are sitting in the shop just begging to be fitted to my Tripster, The Enve’s are very nice, i’ve used them on an Ibis Hakkalugi and they just seemed to fit various positions with ease.

    I dunno if you can make it out in the pics below but the radius of the Woodchippers is rather sharp and not all that comfortable for a braking position whilst in the drops, fantastic on the hoods though and i rarely find myself braking in the drops on the road due to the disc brakes being plenty strong enough from the hoods….ofroad?…..i’d prefer to brake from the drops so i’m undecided if they’ll stay.

    asterix
    Free Member

    I saw Fargo and chipper and thought this was going to be a really different read 😆

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    I find the Woodchippers excellent for touring and for off-roading. I have them set up quite a bit different to those on Somafunks lovely Tripster though.


    Amazon by ScotRoutes, on Flickr

    As you can see, the top of the bars is almost parallel to the ground and they “blend” into the hoods without a dip (I find the dip uncomfortable to ride in). That, in turn, means that the lowest part of the drop is at a steeper angle. In fact, it’s roughly parallel to the down tube. I only have wee hands but, with one adjustment shim installed in the STIs, I don’t experience any difficulty in braking when in the drops.

    For longer road rides. I tend to have the stem flipped to lower the bars a bit but they are otherwise at the same angle.

    mcmoonter
    Free Member

    When I googled it before my OP this is what I found first. Cohen Bros at their finest.

    Thanks for the suggestions so far. It looks like there is always going to have to be a compromise. I can see how the Woodchippers would be the perfect bar for the great divide with miles of gravel roads, but for three thousand feet of single track I may have to look elsewhere.

    somafunk
    Full Member

    Yeah, i may need to play about with the bar position/lever position as i see scotroutes has his woodchipper bar tops rather level whereas i have mine slightly angled downwards…it means re-wrapping bar tape and retaping the cables to the bars which is a faff……compared to roadbikes mtb’s are so simple to set-up a suitable riding position on.

    Finding a Cohen Bros reference by chance on google? = top class searching!.

    Nipper99
    Free Member

    Ragly Luxy bars on my gryphon.


    james may 2013 029 by jamesanderson2010, on Flickr

    birdage
    Full Member

    Went from midges to salsa bell laps and a big improvement for me. Haven’t found too much difference on the downhills but for twisty tree stuff and loaded tours found the bell laps much more capable. Always got sore shoulders after extended road rides with the midges. Never tried the Woodchippers but they look kind of similar. Those Tripsters just look nicer every time!

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    I was looking for a decent photo of what mine looked like from the front


    ton druidh2 by TandemJeremy, on Flickr

    but I also found this in the same photostream 🙂


    summer wine trio by TandemJeremy, on Flickr

    singlecrack
    Free Member

    I bought my Fargo with Woodchippers …second hand bike

    I thought Id change them for flats …but I love em

    thinking of putting a set on another bike now

    mcmoonter
    Free Member

    Top daffodilage Scotroutes.

    shandcycles
    Free Member

    MC, I think we have some Woodchippers at HQ that you could borrow. They’ve been on a demo bike.

    mcmoonter
    Free Member

    MC, I think we have some Woodchippers at HQ that you could borrow. They’ve been on a demo bike.

    I might just do that, I’ll give Gaz a shout and see if he fancies a spin over.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    IIRC, Woodchippers come in two widths. Pretty sure mine are the narrower fitting.

    shandcycles
    Free Member

    I might just do that, I’ll give Gaz a shout and see if he fancies a spin over.

    He’s out at ours tomorrow. We’re doing a wheelbuilding course with Wheelsmith and he’s signed up.

    Nick
    Full Member

    I find my Woodchippers great for descending, even the odd jump, wouldn’t mind trying wider ones.

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E90ymFsBj3c[/video]

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