I agree with Bill - this is likely an individual journey to some extent. I do think that we've all developed our own favorite ergonomic preferences.
For climbing - oddly - I've noticed with swept back bars I tend to hold the grips and "articulate" my elbows and hinge at the hip bending forward to leverage power. I find because my core is quite engaged during a climb I don't really need a lot of upper body support - I am mostly steering the bike. I don't find much utility in the "stand and mash" position. I find with the long wheelbase seated climbing feels quite efficient to me. Think Graeme Obree on his early bikes pre aero bikes. For spinning however I have a tendency to stretch out over the front of the bike and hold the "forward" positions. The wonder of swept back bars is just the sheer quantity of gripping surface area - though it's more fore and aft vs up and down via drops. This can take some getting used to. On Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 11:27:05 AM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > I might be able to help. I got myself a Clem with a 135 FacePlater stem > and Bosco bar. I loved it from first pedal stroke & eventually rode it on > singletrack. I did not consider it to be my mountain bike as I had an Ibis > Mojo 3, but it was capable enough that I wondered if a Gus/Susie could be > my MTB. The Ibis was great but hand/wrist issues made riding a relatively > strait bar painful. I tried a few different bars but it was not working > out. I was just so comfortable on the Clem that I figured why fight it and > got a Gus. I decided to set it up similarly to the Clem. I put a Bosco on > it with a Nitto “V” stem which replicated my position on the Clem exactly. > It worked - the Gus was just as comfy as the Clem but better suited to the > trails I ride for a variety of reasons. But, I did not feel I could be very > aggressive on trail with the Bosco. The Gus felt like it could be capable > of anything I’d want to ride, just not with the Bosco. > I changed to a Hope Cyclery /Leker Leks “Albacore” handlebar. It is 785 > wide with a 50 degree backsweep. With not as much backsweep as the Bosco I > needed a much shorter stem. I got a stubby 35mm Paul Boxcar. The > combination put me about as upright as on the Clem but more aggressive. It > instantly felt great - much more mountain “bikey”. The key to this I think > is that I knew I wanted my hands in a similar position to the Clem as far > as distance from the saddle (reach) and height @ the hands relative to the > saddle. I sold the Ibis and have not looked back. Gus is my MTB & I am > quite upright. No neck or hand issues & I did have a back surgery. My back > feels better every time I ride either of my upright bikes. And yes, I can > stand & climb. But I don’t. I prefer to stay seated & spin if at all > possible. > So yeah, maybe a bit of trial & error but upright can work great. > Sent from my iPhone > > On Mar 19, 2025, at 12:57 PM, Jay <[email protected]> wrote: > > I tried some swept-back bars last year and didn't like them. I've > decided to give them another chance. The bike they're going on is used > mainly off-road, with a lot of short, steep climbs and descents. The > surface is crushed limestone (not MTB trails). > > > I'm wondering when I grip the bars where my hands should be in relation to > the front hub, head tube / stem? > > If I'm too upright I think it will be difficult to climb out of the saddle > (I remember it felt hard to get the leverage, but that was a different > handlebar than I'll be trying). If the bars are too far forward, well I > may as well use the drop bars I'll be swapping out. I love drop bars, and > would ride them on this bike in the winter when it's mainly a road bike, > but on the trails (April to November) I want something so when I'm riding > around my body (back, arms, head) are in a better position, in particular > with the descents (when I'm riding the drop bars down a steep hill, I'm > tilting forward of course and when I raise my head it puts stress on my > cervical spine, which is a pre-existing issue). > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6ca6c24f-89ce-4ad2-b0a9-63ad72fb52e7n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6ca6c24f-89ce-4ad2-b0a9-63ad72fb52e7n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d7123466-b3ef-4368-9e8a-87184839d059n%40googlegroups.com.
