Handlebar breakthrough for gravel riders

[MORNE]

2 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I really want to buy this;

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/kids-bikes/487035/momsen-jsl-20-full-carbon-hardtail-mtb

Slap some BMX bars on it and a longer seatpost and I will have the coolest most versatile BMX ever!

It's a bit out of my 'bike fund' allowance currently, which sucks. That thing would rock. Gravel, MTB, road..... 1 bike to rule them all!

Well let me know…as mentioned, i have a pair of these lying around now. Maybe a sixpack or a bottle of wine in a brown paper bag secures them????…

They are trimmed to 760mm if i recall.

 

[MORNE]

7 minutes ago, SwissVan said:

Bar ends reversed on a an early nineties style mtb……you gravel guys are sure pushing the envelope 

Right back at you????

Edited July 22, 2021 by MORNE

[MORNE]

[TNT1]

4 minutes ago, MORNE said:

[Wayne pudding Mol]

3 hours ago, SwissVan said:

Bar ends reversed on a an early nineties style mtb……you gravel guys are sure pushing the envelope 

Early 90s mtb - 2020 gravel bike

not the same thing, very distant cousins

evolution is a real thing 

[Furbz]

this makes more sense for gravel

https://coefficientcycling.com/products/rr-road-race-handlebar?variant=38154130292907

[MORNE]

3 hours ago, Furbz said:

this makes more sense for gravel

https://coefficientcycling.com/products/rr-road-race-handlebar?variant=38154130292907

Or a 737..

[ChrisF]

On 7/22/2021 at 8:18 AM, RABUBI said:

I Just built a gravel bike. Used normal "narrow-ish" road bars. 

It has been 7 years since I was last on a road bike, and this felt twitchy as F****, to the point it felt dangerous to me. Cant Imagine I used to race on these handlebars.

Will now look for wider bars, and then decide if this is going back to mtb bars

 

 

I went to test ride a Hubbers gravel bike (same as in this pic)

 

DAMN !!!  "Twitchy" does not begin the explain the feeling after spending decades on 700+mm flat bars ... 

 

 

Sure it is be a very nice bike .... once you get used to the praying mantis position .... 

[ChrisF]

On 7/22/2021 at 1:42 PM, Wayne pudding Mol said:

Early 90s mtb - 2020 gravel bike

not the same thing, very distant cousins

evolution is a real thing 

LOTS of progress since the 90's 

 

Even nice WIDE flat bars ..... 

[100Tours]

On 7/22/2021 at 8:18 AM, RABUBI said:

I Just built a gravel bike. Used normal "narrow-ish" road bars. 

It has been 7 years since I was last on a road bike, and this felt twitchy as F****, to the point it felt dangerous to me. Cant Imagine I used to race on these handlebars.

Will now look for wider bars, and then decide if this is going back to mtb bars

 

 

Twitchyness is more about your fork/stem geometry than the width of your handlebars. I can't tell if it looks wrong from the pics, but if you want to make it work you might have to make further changes. 

Basically if you put 700c tyres on a 29er you get a smaller diameter wheel and a shorter fork trail - which is twitchy. I'm not sure what else changes when you swap out the handlebar. 

Edited July 24, 2021 by 100Tours

[Patchelicious]

Gravel bikes are slowly evolving into 90s mountain bikes. Those who can’t let go of the past are going to be getting worked up about this ????

[RocknRolla]

 

The more things change... the more they stay the same...

[MORNE]

 

[Mountain Bru]

On 7/24/2021 at 7:45 AM, 100Tours said:

Twitchyness is more about your fork/stem geometry than the width of your handlebars. I can't tell if it looks wrong from the pics, but if you want to make it work you might have to make further changes. 

Basically if you put 700c tyres on a 29er you get a smaller diameter wheel and a shorter fork trail - which is twitchy. I'm not sure what else changes when you swap out the handlebar. 

100% true about the fork trail and head tube angle etc. But I think narrow handlebars do also contribute to the bike feeling twitchy, or maybe sensitive is a better word. Like it's just a basic geometry/trigonometry thing. If you make a 5cm forward or back input on 800mm wide bars, you create a small angular change in the wheel direction relative to the frame. If you make a 5cm forward or backward input on narrow 420mm road bars, you make a much larger angular change to the wheel direction relative to the frame. Not gonna do the sums, but I'm guessing to make the same steering input on narrow bars, you need like half of the hand movement. 

Not disagreeing that steep head tube angles and short fork trails make handling twitchy too though. Just that wide bars can make the steering less sensitive, and therefore feel less twitchy 

[MudLark]

It's a compromise. A proper gravel drop bar is an altogether a better arrangement.

[JanisAnderson]

On 7/23/2021 at 10:45 PM, 100Tours said:

Twitchyness is more about your fork/stem geometry than the width of your handlebars. I can't tell if it looks wrong from the pics, but if you want to make it work you might have to make further changes. 

Basically if you put 700c tyres on a 29er you get a smaller diameter wheel and a shorter fork trail - which is twitchy. I'm not sure what else changes when you swap out the handlebar(this). 

Hi, I've heard a lot that width finally matters a lot, especially with gravel bikes. Got 28er atm and after changing base handlebar to Ritchey's(not advertising) the bike has become more stable