[Closed] Anybody use "odd" bars like Mary's, Mungo's or Midge's? Recommend me some

I have a set of Mary bars on my commuter - its mainly for conmfort. I like them

I've got Midge's on my fixed Pompino, it gets used for commuting, towpaths etc. I've found them great to use, the extra width of them isn't a problem even when I'm squeezing through the traffic in Birmingham rush hour.
I do really like the different sets of positions you can use your hands on these, it feels a bit more relaxed than normal drop bars.

I put Jones bars on it Ken. Went well. Tites do some coke can ones for less money :O)

Tried Midge's for a bit on a Pomp and that was OK. Had Marys on a Tinbred but didn't get on so well with them.

mary's on my new commuter.
used to use mary's all the time.
they are comfy, just need to be a bit wider (for me).

Using Fleegle's on the Ute with a longer stem. Enough backsweep for comfort but zero rise to avoid the sit up and beg windcatcher pose of the original Ute bars. Works for me.

Marys are well comfy, and brilliant for getting a bit more power on steeper climbs on undergeared/single speed bikes ...

Marys on the single speed....

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Marys on the tourer....

[img] [/img]

And Marys on the Airnimal...

[img] [/img]

In fact Marys on just about any bike that's not going to ridden down rough, technical trails 'cos then I tend to end up going over them as I find them a little harder to control in those type of circumstances.

I've got some Ragley Carnegie’s on my everyday bike and love them.

I found Marys comfortable, but it's a very personal thing. If it's SS and there are any decent hills you'll want something wide and perhaps not drops.

Marys are well comfy, and brilliant for getting a bit more power on steeper climbs

I don't buy the latter at all - width is all.

i have drop carnegies on my rohloffed "fast touring mtb" - rides stable as owt and is excellent off road though despite weird bars !

I switched to Marys just to give them a try cos they looked like they actually made very good sense ergonomically..

They do make [i]very[/i] good sense... unfortunately to the extent that when I tried to change back to a more conventional bar last Autumn it felt all wrong.. badly designed and faintly ridiculous..

As above it would be really good to be able to try a wider version.. or perhaps versions with different amounts of sweep and rise.. but such things are hard to come by..

they also seem to help a good deal with climbing as your shoulders and wrists are in a much more naturally powerful position.. a wider version would highlight this effect.. (IMO of course)

I've got Mary's on my 456, they're great for climbing as slugwash said, can't explain why, but I do find them a bit more difficult to use on really gnar radcore stuff than the riser bars I had previously.

I would like to try some Ragley Carnegie's though as they are wider and the angles seem to be a bit more relaxed.

I was going to give these a try Ken,

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[url] http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=54259 [/url]

i have midges on my cross bike and really like them. they took a while to adjust to after being used to normal drops, but the extra width and shallow drop is great. the only problem with them is the bottom of the drops is a bit short, but those ragley drops seem to have addressed this. I also have a set of mary bars that i have never quite been brave enough to try on my singlespeed. my wife likes hers on her 'normal' hybrid bike though.

Found the Mary bars great after smashing my wrist up, only bars I could use for a while.

Using Fleegle's on my SS 29er which is a great combo, sorry no pics.

I've had Marys, Mungos, Midges and Fleegles. The only ones i really didn't get on with were the Mungos. They felt like neither one thing or the other. I have the Fleegles on my 29er and wouldn't have anything else, The Marys are very comfy, but don't know how good they'd be on very rough or technical stuff, they feel a bit more sit-up-and-beg. The midges are on my crosser and I'm about to put another pair on my trek district single. Nicest road bars i've ever ridden, thought that may be an age / fitness thing. It means you can get on the drops without bending that bit too far, and the flare gives you a bit of leeway with your wrists.

Salsa bell laps for me, boring, almost normal, but great.

boring, almost normal, but great.

you or the bars?

paulo, were you selling a frame a while back?

Ragley Carnegies here. They feel slightly odd for the first few minutes, then completely natural. Makes a big difference when climbing - somehow seems easier. There is absolutely no loss of control

Normal bars now feel a bit 'wrong'

CharlieMungus - Member

boring, almost normal, but great.

you or the bars?

Both.

CharlieMungus - Member

paulo, were you selling a frame a while back?

Possibly, what you after? Have many frames and feel a cull coming on

Possibly, what you after? Have many frames and feel a cull coming on

Oooh A menu! How exciting? What you got? Was thinking singlespeed, but nothing hard core, simplicity for riding with the kids. but allow me some opportunity to potter off. So, not even necessarily disc specific.

I have a beautiful planet x 120 spaced road frame BUT, it's for 26" wheels.

that sounds interesting... Track ends? Is there a picture of it or similar somewhere?

How come it is a 26" road frame???

Another vote for Mary bars - I have them on the singlespeed and the commuter, and Mrs F has them on her bikes too. I tried Mungos, and liked them but wanted a shorter stem, which I haven't got round to. Also bought a pair of Midges off here, but not tried those yet.

downshep - Member
Using Fleegle's on the Ute with a longer stem. Enough backsweep for comfort but zero rise to avoid the sit up and beg windcatcher pose of the original Ute bars. Works for me.

You got any pics? Have thought about lowering the front end of my Ute, particularly for any mini-touring, so would be interested to see your set-up.

i had marys on a 29er for a while, and now on my never used ancient orange p7, i like them. bit wide on the 29er maybe for offroad, but on the p7 great.

also had on one mungo for a while on a geared up pompino, they were great. i ten bought some nitto ones but for some reason did'nt like them as much. in-fact they'll be appearing on the classifieds any day now.

that sounds interesting... Track ends? Is there a picture of it or similar somewhere?

How come it is a 26" road frame???

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Like that

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/news/testing-times/q/date/2009/06/01/superstar-sexton-to-take-on-the-world-maybe

Hmmm... very tempting, but would go in my attic collection rather than useable. What else you got??

an old Inbred, 20"
a 456 summer season 18"
a Voodoo Bokor 20"
a Giant Anthem XL
a Commencal Meta 5.5 XL
an Uncle John, XL
a Pompino XL
a Half Carbon Road frame XL
a Carrera Gryphon road frame with chain tensioner which you can have FOC

Not all/any for sale as such, but I need a cull

orena45 - No pics yet. Using an old Ritchey 100mm x 6 degree stem with the fleegle bar, instead of the Ute bar with Kona 75mm x 10 degree stem. I ran the Ritchey stem inverted for a while but that was a bit too low for a cargo bike. Given that the Ute is only available in 2 sizes, there should be plenty of scope to mix n match bars and stems.

Only downside so far is a wee shimmy from the front when pedalling hard. This may be down to the huge and slightly flexy frame rather than stem length but it isn't a bike for going no hands anyway. Curiously, the bike is more stable with both kids on the back than when empty.

I got Mary bars on the winter fully rigid hack bike.
They do take some getting used to do steep technical trails. They tend to keep your elbows in rather than out on normal type bars.

Most people comment on the bars - along the lines of - wheres the shopping basket?

wow that's a lot! Is the inbred the geared or slot or sliding??

geared. Bought it last week for £28

bargain!!! You really need to stop buying!

and how does some one of your erm... stature get on with the 18" 456?

Cheers chaps

that's given me some food for thought

Should Mary's be tilted up or down?

slightly down, for me

I'm always reminded of this photo when asked about mary bars

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Quick Q, rather than starting a new thread and cluttering the place up.

where do you point fleegle bars?

ive just put a pair on my townie, as my risers were pinched to go on SOs bike (she found the fleegles made the bike to long and low)

seems to me they are best with the text pointing sliiiiightly downwards.

how do you lot run them?