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I've just added a set of Ritchey Beacon Comp bars to my Fugio in a bid to make the tops and hoods a bit lower and the drops a bit higher and wider.
Cruising along they feel exactly like I think I want them (bar they're very short reach and I think I need a longer stem). Everything falls naturally to hand and the drops position seems spot on for single finger braking.
Except they're horrible as soon as the going gets bumpy.
They're like hanging on to an iron bar - there's zero give in them - guessing its due to the tops being big and fat (~31.8 but a bit squished) all the way to the bend? I had been impressed with how compliant the front end of the Fugio was compared to my old bike, but it's very much not any more. Quite surprised how much of a difference there is. (literally the only change is the bars - tyre pressure is identical)
Then - when descending on the drops - rather than pushing forwards into the curve of the old bars, I'm pushing more down and I'm finding unless I proper deathgrip the bars, my hands get bounced backwards along the drop until I'm pulling the end plug out (unless I'm pulling the brakes hard). I had proper armpump after a lap of Lady Cannings, which is just ridiculous! I'm also taking all my weight on the side/heel of my palm exactly where Spesh used to put the ulnar nerve padding, (which doesn't feel right), rather than the web between thumb and forefinger
Lastly - with the shifters being angled out a lot more to the horizontal - every bump makes the shift levers rattle against each other which is driving me bonkers. Maybe princess and the pea, but it's proper irritating!
Am I missing anything here? They feel so right when bimbling, but horrible as soon as I start to push it. I want to check I'm not doing anything daft.
Thanks!
Stick some flat bars on it. Curly bars really only work if you want aero on the road.
Not familiar with the bars so looked them up. They’re very flared. What bars have you come from? And what change of width did you make between them?
I went from Kona road bars to Salsa Cowchippers but also went wider. I found it took some tweaking brake and shifter position relative to the curve of the drop to get it feeling right before taping. In the end the tops of the hoods were angled back slightly more than I thought I needed but with the bottom of the drops almost horizontal (with a slight downward rear) for it to feel comfortable when in the drops. So many more variables to play with unfortunately.
I’ve got a spare 50mm short stem too if you want to try one. Think I’m local.
36 degrees is a noticeable flare - probably too much for me. I’m riding 25 and that works for me. As you flare more it will rotate your forearm/wrist and change how you absorb the bumps in your elbows or elsewhere in your arms. I don’t know what right for you though.
Also width will change that bump adsorbing mechanics.
Finally, you do have enough bar tape on there? Possibly a daft question, but…
I use Woodchoppers so about as flared as they come. They are about more rigid than I'd maybe like but the carbon ones are hellish expensive. Angles are all great though and I certainly never feel my hands are sliding back off them.
I do use Lizard Skins DSP tape though. I find it has a tacky feel so I never have to grip the bars very tightly.
I tried to like the beacons but went back to venturemax as they are much better on the tops, hoods and drops with kitchen sinks a close second. Not sure about your hands moving backwards on the drops though, have you got them angled correctly?
The Kitchensink, Woodchipper and Farr Aerogravel all have 25 degree vertical flare - albeit with different horizontal out turn on the drops.
That Ritchey is 36 vertical. That’s going to load your arm differently in the drops.
Stick some flat bars on it. Curly bars really only work if you want aero on the road.
I really disagree with this. I had some flat bars on my gravel bike for a bit and as soon as you pointed the bike down it felt so unstable. I felt i couldn't get low enough its not a mountain bike with really slack lines the drops help you sit deeper in the bike giving more control.
I also have some Salsa Cowchippers which going by reviews seem to be the defacto standard in wide gravel bars.
I had On One Brians on my old gravel bike and my Free Ranger came with the standard basic Planet X Selcof flared bar. I couldn't get on with the Selcof's and couldn't buy a new Brian so bought the Ritchey's as a 'trial' - I didn't want to spend more than I had to so bought the basic version like you.
I think they're brilliant for position etc and have done numerous rides including lots of offroad (and rocky stuff as I live in Scotland). There is a but though, they're a basic bar and aren't compliant at all - consequently I'm looking at getting the WCS version. If they made a carbon one, I'd buy that instead.
Your shifters 'rattling', surely that's nothing to do with the bars - or am I missing something in your setup?
Sounds like you've got them at the wrong angle. It isn't a flare that will shift your hands back on the drops. Rotate them down (drops come back towards you) and bring your levers up.
Secondly, flare increases effective cockpit length. If you're now more on your hands, your weight has shifted. This will obviously increase fatigue.
Finally, grip them more like mountain bike bars. Allow your wrists to drop.
The very last thing you should be considering is handlebar 'compliance'. It's a lump of bloody aluminium with no pivots or built in flex points bolted to another lump of metal. It's designed to be stiff. No handlebar magically changes compliance (unless it has rlastomers in it) - that's just sales guff. Compliance comes from tyres and suspension and flex in long springs like seatposts.
Personally I think it's a bit of a hipster gimmick and I ride the identical one piece carbon bar stem as my road bike, just a bit wider.