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I like to sit ether on my hoods, or just behind them (on the throw section of the bar) on the road, and the current ergo bars have a slight bend (i.e. the bar has already started dropping) by the time the hoods meet the bar. I find this uncomfortable on my palms. I have been looking around and many bars seem to have this problem. I used to have a pair of ritchey bars which i liked as well as a set of specialized compact drop bars which suited me for years; the problem is that its very difficult without coupling the bar to the STI to understand what the bar is going to feel like.
Any reccomendations... I suppose I am for something shaped exactly like no3 in this diagram!! Shifters are Shimano r785 hydros, and current bars are deda superleggera.
Zipp or 3t. Also fsa
I'm quite picky about this too. I've got some PRO PLT Compact II bars with R685 levers which works very nicely.
Just tilt the bars up a couple of degrees, that'll flatten out the transition. Position your shifters post tilt so they're in the right place and the effect on the geometry of the drops is not so important as most spend hardly any time down there.
Have you tried a slightly shorter stem?
Just tilt the bars up a couple of degrees
You do need bars with the right radius on the first bit of the drop. If it's not tight enough you end up with a choice between the hoods pointing up relative to the tops of the bars, or with a drop between the tops and the hoods.
When you wrap the bars you can put a strip of tape on the top of the plastic part of the hoods (under the rubber cover) and along the bar top then wrap over it. It adds a bit of padding in this area and can smooth out the transition of lever to bar.
FTR I use Deda RHM bars with 105 levers.
Ive got some FSA k wing carbon bars that I love - i think I had the same issue as you and hunted high and low until I found the K wings which are just amazing.
Stealth ad too - might be selling them!
Yep, very nice bars.
Good info chaps. Might try a slightly shorter stem. It’s a custom road bike though and feels good otherwise. Tilting the bars up isnt going to work. Might have a look at some 3T options.
I'd pop into a shop with a good selection of road bikes, so you can see a few different bars set up with STIs.
Older Shimano STIs are oddly designed to point slightly upwards, whereas newer models plus SRAM and Campagnolo are designed to be mounted level with the top of the bar i.e. the extended flat area supports both the hand and the wrist. I find most of the 'compact' shallow drop bars OK, worst are traditional bend style
I find Zipp and Fizik the best I have tried for the set up you require.
Zipp service course they do a 70 and 80 model which is the reach measurement, I use them as they do the flat transition into hood and for me the tops are not too close, effectively they shorten the distance between top and hood.
As above, I loosen the clamp, rotate the bars with my eyes closed and hands on the drops, tighten the clamps. The position for me is always about 20-30 degrees from level. That makes the flat spot you want.
Then loosen the shifters and wiggle them down half a cm. you won’t need to retape the bars.
3T aeronova are flat on top too
Zipp Service Course 80 +1.
Actually +3 as I have exactly the same on all three drop barred bikes.