for touring.....what do you use.
suffering from very painfull wrists and need to try some differant set ups.
My flat bar tourer is set up with bar ends wrapped with a double layer of bar tape. I find I spend 90% of my time there rather than the actual bars. Bars more or less level with saddle. Bars much below saddle height will obviously place more weight on hands/wrists and make problems more likely.
Ergon grips worked wonders for me. Took a few rides to getter set up and yes they do look odd, but I'm pain free and enjoying the long rides again.
I use flat bars with specialized bg grips and bar ends on my hardtail. It'd make a good touring setup imo.
Couldn't get on with a fIat bar, but find a low-rise non-oversize carbon monkey bar with Lizardskinz North Shore slip on grips works well. It's an odd set up, but getting weight off the wrists helped.
Like glen said. Ergon are the beez neez
Get some Roubaix bar tape and double wrap.. Then wrap around the bar ends too.
Don't go thinking a slammed position, sit up sunshine, head up, look around you, see what others fail to notice.
Ergon grips and swept back bars.
i did not get on with ergon grips but cane creek bar ends brilliant
tried variety of flats and risers with bar ends settled on
45 mm 10 degree stem with flat bars cane creek bar ends and double wrapped tape
have you thought of a trekking bar?
A whole heap more hand positions than any flat bar
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Titec version of Jones bars or Mary bars off road as all the moving around keeps weight off hands. Longer non technical rides I quickly suffer if there's much weight on hands so i have a couple of combinations;
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8216/8437336323_920aef8506.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/24734759@N07/8437336323/ ]Inbred 29er and bars 004[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/24734759@N07/ ]andyh22[/url], on Flickr
On an old Galaxy and on a 26" Inbred;
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8096/8437337403_cc3b9c6fde.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/24734759@N07/8437337403/ ]Inbred 29er and bars 003[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/24734759@N07/ ]andyh22[/url], on Flickr
Both give plenty of hand positions including upright and comfy or forward (and with the cruiser bars down too) for a change or head wind.
Arguably both give up aesthetic beauty for functional excellence!
H-bars with cork grips and tape for dirt/road touring here. I like drops but H-bars feel better for all-round riding. Used to get sore wrists with flat/risers after a while but not with these.
I have a spare set if you wanted to try them, but I would want them back sorry )
(ps love those inbred bars!)
They're great for dawdling along looking around at the world. Always feel peaceful riding them 🙂
andyh2, the bars on the galaxy, what are they?
and i had a look on your flickr, that is some collection of bikes on there mate..... 8)
IMHO the uglier the bars the more comfortable they are.
I've settled with the Salsa bend 2 bars with 23deg sweep. But I also like the niner flat tops on my SS MTB.
As for grips, its hard to fault ergon.
The advice on non-slamming your stem is great advice also.
I use ergons or if you want something not quite as big a platform, the spesh grips are good (don't say anything but I use the girlie ones, which fit me better...)
BBB carbon fibrelight bar ends are comfy, if you can find them.
It's a Humpert Moon Cruiser bar Ton. Practical Cycles have a good range of bars (though I don't think they have the Moon Cruiser);
http://www.practicalcycles.com/userimages/procart76.htm
I must admit to a chequered bike history 🙂 Each one intended to be the ONE at the time. Settled down now to a Yuba Cargo, old Galaxy and a couple of 26" Inbreds, one for commute, one for off road. Though I couldn't quite resist a 29er Inbred as my current project. I had one of the first sliding dropout ones, not sure why, but I'd forgotten just how much I like them.
andy, i had a original one, then 2 sand coloured ones, now got a teal latest edition.
trying to morph it into a comfy canal/offroad/touring type thing.
I'm tempted to try my Galaxy bar set up on mine.
A note on cork grips. Very comfy, but I ruined mine on my first ride when front wheel washed out on ice, slomo comedy off snapped of the end off the grip. Now running Ergons, v comfy and more durable.
Forgot to say .... on that Galaxy set up you can put forearm / elbow on grips and hands at front of bar ends for a sort of Tri bar set up.
I use the Salsa Bend 2 on both my bikes now. It's basically flat; 5 degree up or down but I think feels like a flat bar, with 26 degree back sweep that takes a lot of pressure off your wrists without make thing the handling all twitchy like the Mary Bar. I had been running the Mary upside on my ridgid commuter for a good while but I just didn't like it off road. Going to experiment with maybe the cane creek rubber bar ends for an alternative position for long bike packing trips.