Viewing 19 posts - 1 through 19 (of 19 total)
  • Comfiest handlebars?
  • ton
    Full Member

    need try some new handlebars, cos i cant get on with my present flat bars.
    i have a fused left wrist, which is getting worse with arthritis.

    been using flats with ergon grips, now causing problems.
    tried mary’s which were ok to start, but over a year or so seemed to become too narrow.
    wide risers seem to put me too upright and do not offer a alternatie position.
    tried carnegies once, the riser ones, hated them, thought about trying the flat version.

    any other idea’s anyone.

    tazzymtb
    Full Member

    Ton- I’ve found the jones loop bars to be flippin ace Email Biff to see if he still has some

    druidh
    Free Member

    I’m wondering if someone would make/alter some to suit?? Wouldn’t be cheap as a one-off but might be cheaper than buying and trying lots of alternatives.

    Have you considered those “butterfly” touring bars? Lots of positions, so you’d not be stuck in the one grip all day.

    ton
    Full Member

    tazzy, tried the h and j bars too.
    no joy from either.
    the loop ones look very similar.

    br
    Free Member

    whatever shape you go for, get them in carbon as this may help ‘flatter’ the vibes

    Rorschach
    Free Member

    Salsa do 17 degree sweep bars,good half way house between normal and ‘alt’ bars.

    Clobber
    Free Member

    Have you tried cane creek or giant bar ends? They span the ends i.e. they don’t just go forward from the end of the bar. Very comfy when combined with lizard skin northshore lock-ons…

    Clobber
    Free Member
    mightymarmite
    Free Member

    Have a look at the on-one fleegle bars. I’ve struggled with wrist pain for a while, then stumbled on these in their showroom. The have quite a lot of backsweep, so u sacrifice some leverage but i find it a more natural wrist position.

    Fleegle

    monkeyboyjc
    Full Member

    I love my flat Carnagies – so much so i went from the alloy to the carbon version recently. However a mate tried my bike on Friday, he’d previously broken his wrist some time ago, and after an hour or so had wrist pain, something i’ve never had with them.

    ton
    Full Member

    clobber, the cane creek grips are too small for my hands.

    gonna hae a look at the butterfly bars druidh. a mate has some on his koga miyata.
    reckon i will have thick enough skin for them………. 😉

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    Liking my Sunline 745 v1 bars here Ton.

    It took a bit of time to get used to the wider bars (changed part way through an Alp holiday) and sort of took a good couple of hours to get into them but now I’m sold.

    wide, low ride thing BTW.

    ski
    Free Member

    Ton – have you tried On-One Fleegle Handlebars?

    Found they work well with a 29er too, if you want to keep the front end low.

    Helped me back onto a bike after smashing my wrist, tried the Mary’s first, but the fleegle are still on 😉

    Clobber
    Free Member

    Try the giants… I have big hands and they suit me

    epicyclo
    Full Member

    Try this.

    Grasp 2 pencils, one in each hand. Shut your eyes. Let your arms hang loose by your side. Lean forward until you are roughly at the angle you ride at. Raise your arms to approximately handlebar height.

    Open eyes and note the angle of the pencils. Take that as a rough guide to how much sweep you want on your bars.

    (Straight bars were a solution to inadequate clamp strength on early mtbs, they were never ergonomic)

    Or consider using drop bars mounted high for mtb use.

    This guy explains it best Why I use Dropbars by Shiggy

    hoojum
    Free Member

    Ton. I’ve been using these Ritchey Bars which I find work well. They Have a drastic sweep without any of the knee knocking you get with the Carnagies.

    I’m still mmming and ahhing over those forks of your too.

    swamp_boy
    Full Member

    I have the same problem only the right wrist. Surly open bars work well for me tilted slightly back, which keeps the wrist angle pretty near natural, as per epicyclo’s post above. They feel a bit odd at first after flats, but much more comfortable on long rides They are similar in shape to mary bars but wider so might work for you.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    +1 carbon for damping the kind of vibration which must aggravate yr arthritis

    duntstick
    Free Member

    ………’other ideas’

    Better forks?
    Fatter tyres with a bit less air?

Viewing 19 posts - 1 through 19 (of 19 total)

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