I am first and foremost a mtber but i do have a roadie and i am starting to ride it once a week for a 35 to 50 mile ride.

The bike is a 2009 carbon Boardman, fits pretty good i think.

The Sora drivetrain works so happy with that for the time being.

Has Tektro brake calipers which seem somewhat under powered, would better quality pads help?

Ok, to the original point.

At the moment it has alloy bars and stem, would a carbon bar and stem increase the comfort or is the improvement not worth the cost? it is my hands that feel it.

I currently feel the bars are a bit narrow, they measure 44cm outside to outside, so would like wider, is 46cm as wide as I can go?

Nob questions I know but any help much appreciated.

Thanks

I find carbon bars help with some of the road buzz but i think my cinelli gel bar tape helps more.

Yep… forgot to mention it has a carbon fork, not the original, it is a bladed planex X aero type thing.

If it’s your hands it could be an issue with fit.

I’ve just replaced Tektro pads with Koolstop Salmon and the performance is miles better.

Stay away from a carbon stem. Alu is stiffer and much cheaper.
Carbon bars are nice .. but not much difference to be fair … espec over such small miles as you intend to do.

If you want comfort for low outlay start by buying 25c tyres,then add latex inner tubes then go for ‘open tubular’ construction tyres from either Veloflex, Challenge or Vittoria. The Open Paves by Vittoria are particularly good as an all round tyre. After that replace the wheels with so,etching that has a wider internal diameter like a H Plus Son Archetype or HB14. That will also help a lot.

I love by carbon bars and stem mind and they do help to damp things a teensy bit.

if you want to waste a vast amount of money on a Sora equipped bike for weekly 50 mile rides then getting a carbon bar and stem is about the best way to go about it

as mentioned above, wider, or better tyres will be of more, and cheaper benefit, as will better and slightly more padded bar-tape if you don’t have that already

if you feel it just in your hands it could be an issue with bike fit, and small tweaks to your position could help with your comfort, and those can be done for free

Try the tyres and grip tape first, it’s worth a try.

I eventually got some FSA k-wing bars which are wonderful as the carbon construction allows a weird shape that fits my knackered neck and arms really well. There is some damping of vibrations which is nice but I wouldn’t say they are worth the £250 they cost just because of that, they just happened to solve my particular problem at the same time.

You could try some of the specialized body geometry stuff, gloves and bar tape. Carbon road bars are awfully expensive.

OP unless you do 300miles a day dont bother with carbon bars. Most hardman stw roadies do 50miles just to buy a newspaper.

What is it with the mileage willy wavers on here saying ‘its not enough’?

Pretty much what I expected.

I shall go for some gel tape with maybe some pads underneath.

I am a bit of a lump at 88kg in my socks, does that effect tyre choice?

Would a 25c tyre mean i’d be more or less likely to puncture, I believe you run them at around 95psi rather than the 110psi of the 23c I have on.

As for fit, i am making the odd change here and there to see what effect it has but overall i am quite comfortable.

As for the mileage thing, i find 50 miles a fair way on the roadie but I do enjoy it. But my true love is mtb and i do a 50 genuine off road miles a week which ain’t bad for an old boy.

Thanks again guys.

25mm tyres are brilliant. Much better puncture resistance from the volume and I think you can lean then over better too.

Get kool stop salmon pads. I used to have same bike. They will feel like discs by comparison to stock pads!

Carbon bars do a good job for me, but get the right shape and shop around as some prices are just silly.

110psi of the 23c I have on.

There’s the issue probably, at 88kg that’s not excessive pressure but I’d be feeling it after a few hours on those pressures / tyres on my local roads. 25 or 28Cs at ~85 PSI will feel quite different. tbh half of the ‘comfort’ features of current bikes I see as admission that high PSI 23Cs are hopelessly uncomfortable for most of us. That and some good quality tape, I like Bontrager or Cinelli but have tried the cheaper foam/cork tapes and they can be just as comfy, just doesn’t last as long before getting compressed.

I had my first ride on an ultegra wheel/schwalbe 23c tubeless setup today.I’m 95kg and ran them at 90psi. They were noticeably more comfy than the lugano r500 23 setup.

Ok… tape and tyres it is… with continued research regarding fit.

Cheers

I love carbon bars, but a carbon stem is overkill. Carbon steerer also helps. But as above, tyres help more. Schwalbe 25c Ones and Im not going back to 23c.

My bars flex about 0.25cm vertically. They soak up vibration such that I run 2mm Fizik micro tape and no padding in my gloves. This is comfortable over 100 miles. I like the flex because I have small hands and don’t like the feeling of loss of control with fat gloves and tape. Fit is probably more significant, however. I have little weight on my hands.

Carbon on road bikes doesn’t always mean comfort – I ride with a zipp sprint SL carbon stem which is dramatically more stiff than anything else I’ve tried, which means when I’m cranking down the whole bike feels more planted. The beauty of all this carbon rubbish is you can buy the carbon designed for what you want – so if you want a comfort bar/stem combo then cool, get something designed for it, but be aware thin alu will flex marginally more than a lot of carbon and could be more comfortable (and potentially lighter – look at extralite stems for example)

There is more flex/shock absorbtion in your tyres, wheels and bar tape than in carbon over aluminium bars. Blind tested, hardly anyone would actually notice the difference. 😉

I tried some Speciaized Bar Phat tape and gel pads to dampen out the harsh ‘buzz’ from rough roads, and it’s been great. Combined with soem Body Geometry gloves, it’s a lot more comfy than it used to be, even with 23c tyres. And unless you’re racing/time-tialling, comfort is more important than speed. Enjoyment over performane.

I have 2 road bikes – the commuter is a Trek OCLV, carbon forks with an alloy steerer, alloy bars and stem, 28mm tyres @ ~80psi

The nice bike is a cheap Dogma copy, carbon forks, steerer and integrated carbon bar/stem combo. With 23mm tyres @120psi it is dramatically more comfortable than the Trek.

The bars are similar to this so didn’t cost the earth. Clearly they are unbranded so ultimately strength and longevity are a bit of an unknown, but I really like them.

They also look totally pimping 🙂

Cheers, Rich

I used Cinelli pads on the tops under normal tape, and Vittoria 25c’s for 400km road rides and my hands were fine. Also the little pads don’t get in the way and are reusable.
Some ‘puncture proof’ tyres ride hard. A 25c Rubino Pro is very comfy.

Wider tyres & double wrap the bars with tape on the tops & drop.

Hora – Nobody is saying 50 miles a week is not enough. Merely pointing out its not exactly a long day in the saddle on a road bike.
Advising not to be wasting money on things that will not really make a difference is being helpful to people new to riding.
Much the same as the advise you recently received to not buy a bigger frame because you had you seat etc set ridiculously wrong.

Carbon steerer also helps.

Hahahaha, good one!

My bars flex about 0.25cm vertically.

Are they also laterally stiff?! Unless it’s cold I don’t wear gloves on the road at all. On the bike with alu bars, or carbon. The bikes feel different, but there’s not a particular difference in hand fatigue.

I’d echo everyone else with tyres being a far more worthwhile change.

Don’t forget to change those brake pads. It will be the best upgrade you have ever made, I promise.

Will carbon bar and stem make a difference?

after you’ve spent £300, you’ll swear you can feel a massive difference.

I currently feel the bars are a bit narrow, they measure 44cm outside to outside, so would like wider, is 46cm as wide as I can go?

unless your name is Martin Johnson, you’ll be fine with 44’s.

(edit: of course you can change your bars, you might even find that they’re more comfortable, but don’t buy carbon bars till you know what shape/size/width you’re after)

but this:

chakaping – Member

Don’t forget to change those brake pads. It will be the best upgrade you have ever made, I promise.

is true, you can ‘upgrade’ your wheels, your frame, your groupset. You can spend thousands on new shiny ‘better’ parts, but you’ll never beat the improvement/£ offered by swissstop greens over standard pads.

then: buy a trackpump, one with gauge, and try different pressures, this’ll make a big difference to comfort.

then: buy some nice tyres.

Isnt it all just marginal though, tape, tyres, bars yes theres a noticable difference between versions but even 23cc, skinny tape and a hard saddle isnt uncomfortable when your fresh and when your knackered a Dutch bike with a sprung Brooks and cruiser bars will be agony.

The boardman bars may well be a little basic, but half decent aluminium ones will be an improvement if that’s the way you want to go.

Cycling plus do bar grouptests every so often which might give an idea of which manufacturers make bars with stiff tops, hoods, drops etc depending on where they butt the tubes. Compare that with where you spend your time with your hands on the bars and take your pick. There’s also pelnty of different shapes but you’ll have to acutlay try them in a shop to figure out what you like. FWIW I ended up with Ritchey WCS EvoCurves for about £45 form germany and like them. Had some bontranger race-x-lite carbons before and hated them with a passion, flexy and noodley and the bends were horribly missplaced/sized.

Tyres and wheels will make more difference, 25mm tyres at ~90psi are great and lower spoke count wheels are more forgiving than the 32/36spoked boat anchors some <£1000 bikes come with.

Isnt it all just marginal though

Everything is marginal because everything is relative to the person. I think what you want to say is there’s no point changing anythng because there isn’t a big enoug difference to justify it. That might be correct for you but it isn’t for other people.

I would much prefer to ride a bike with 25c tyres, latext tubes, wider rims and comfy bar tape. I can feel the difference the sum of the parts makes and while still marginal, it’s marginal enough to justify.

So the more expensive bike “feels” more comfortable using your carefully calibrated human body?

What pressure do you have in your tyres? A few psi can make a big difference and you don’t need as high psi as people seem to say (I often hear about people running 120psi thinking it’s quicker – it’s not).
What are the tyres? Good tyres have a big effect on ride quality. I think the tyres make the biggest difference to the bike than anything else.
After tyres, try bar tape. 44 bars are probably right, road bike bars do feel a bit narrow after riding a mountain bike. I personally wouldn’t spend the money on carbon bars.

. I think what you want to say is there’s no point changing anythng because there isn’t a big enoug difference to justify it.

Do you have any other random points you want to make up on my behalf then argue against ?

What pressure do you have in your tyres? A few psi can make a big difference and you don’t need as high psi as people seem to say

I’m 90ish KG’s- what should I run? At 80psi it feels great but I don’t want a pinch flat etc.

What’s actually making if uncomfortable? Too much weight on your hands? the vibration?

How are you riding it, mostly on the drops or the hoods? (hoods is where most people spend their time).

Do you have any other random points you want to make up on my behalf then argue against ?

When you suggest that a penguin on the top tube may help damp out road vibrations, have you considered that an otter may actually be better suited to our climate? And despite popular belief they’re actually the better conversationalists of the two.

I’m 90ish KG’s- what should I run? At 80psi it feels great but I don’t want a pinch flat etc.

Are you pinch flatting much? If it feels great then run that. If you pinch flat (and I doubt you are) then put a bit more in.

I’m 90ish KG’s- what should I run? At 80psi it feels great but I don’t want a pinch flat etc.

I found 80 a bit soft, I’d probably have nearer 100-105psi in 23mm tyres, maybe 90-95 in 25mm.

Are you pinch flatting much? If it feels great then run that. If you pinch flat (and I doubt you are) then put a bit more in.

+1

Trial and error.

Would a 25c tyre mean i’d be more or less likely to puncture, I believe you run them at around 95psi rather than the 110psi of the 23c I have on.

25mm tyres will help a bit woth comfort, they should be no more likely to puncture, but before that simply try lowering the pressure you currently use a bit, say maybe 95Psi, you’ll be amazed how much more comfortable that can make the ride, by all means change the tyre, but don’t assume you have to run really high pressures all the time…

The other thing I’ve found is that MTB gloves (Thin Clarino palmed type ones) make me less comfy on the bars, they make it harder to keep your hands in place as the fabric just twists out of the way, and then you end up gripping harder just to hold on, a decent mitt with a tighter fit and some padding at the hell of your thumb and outside of the palm works, or even just bare hands are much more comfortable, I didn’t get on with double wrapped tape as well as I did with gel pads under the tape, but you have to think about whaere you place them to suit your typical hand positions on the bars… All IME/IMO of course…

If you do decide to go for carbon parts to improve comfort just change the bars, changing both the bars and stem is just unnecessary expenditure IMO…

So in this order:

1- Try lower pressures
2- Try wider front tyre
3- Try Gel pads under Grip tape
4- Consider Gel mitts
5- Carbon Bling Bars

As for the braking, clean up the rims (with IPA and lots of clean cloths), fit fresh brake pads and make sure the cable isn’t all slack and stretched out…