On May 15, 7:36 pm, Zaelia <caddic...@gmail.com> wrote: > Discussing bicycles in particular; it has been my experience that > there are a lot of strong opinions out there about what is right or > optimum. Personally, I think that it is whatever works for the > individual. There are so many styles and purposes of riding, it's not > hard to see that a one-fits-all formula isn't possible, even though I > sometimes wish someone could just give me a magic number and > everything would click into place. > > Next, I guess I have to admit that a lot of this stuff is Greek to me. > I'm learning, but it's slow going. > > So with that in mind... > > I've been to my LBS for a bike fitting (a multi-visit process) and we > first took care of the basics, pedals and saddle. Things have > improved. I have almost no hand or foot tingles any more, and knee > pain is gone, for example, but I'm still experiencing shoulder and > neck pain. I definitely feel as though I'm bunched up up top, like my > shoulders are too close to my ears. In a recent visit, we determined > that to start I should get a longer stem. Currently, my Hilsen has an > 8 cm (80 mm) Nitto Technomic stem. It was suggested that, without > changing my handlebars, I get a 10 cm (100 mm) stem. > > It was also suggested I get a handlebar that has a medium to shallow > drop since I admitted to almost never riding in the drops because it > feels too uncomfortable. I've got a 42 cm (420 mm) Nitto 115. The > fitter, very keen for me to get an anatomic bar that he thought was > perfect for me, pulled out a black aluminum bar and repeatedly told me > that I would not find anything like this in the "retro style". I > suppose he meant the angular or shaped-curve drops of the anatomic > bars, but I also had the feeling he was saying I wouldn't find > anything with a medium to shallow drop. > > At home on my computer, I looked at various Nitto handlebars on a > couple of websites (Riv, Peter White, and Harris Cyclery) and I saw, > for example, that the Nitto 135 Randonneur has a shallower drop at 120 > mm compared to my 115 at 140 mm. It has a slightly longer reach at 105 > mm compared to my 100 mm, but has basically a "similar construction > and finish to model 115" (Harris Cyclery). I'm assuming this "similar > construction" means it has a 25.4 mm center as well, though the > website does not specify. > > So, I'm thinking about getting the Randonneur bars and trying them out > with the new, longer stem. I'll get the improved reach with the longer > stem and a shallower drop for better shifting and increased options > for hand positions. > > The last thing is handlebar width. I've read quite a bit about going > for a wider handlebar width. Again, the fitter had different ideas. > Ironically, he could see how maybe my working at a computer for many > hours a day could cause some back problems but did not see that having > a narrow (shoulder width) bar could do the same. The Nitto 135 > Randonneur only comes in 2 sizes on the Harris Cyclery website (42 and > 45 cm), so that helps a little. So maybe I'll just throw all my chips > in and get the 45 cm... ? > > Well. I'm not sure why I wrote all this. I guess I'm hoping someone > will read it and offer their thoughts and/or experiences. I'd be > interested to read what others have to say. > > Thanks, > Zaelia
I tried a Nitto Randonneur and liked it. I got the wider version; the narrow version seemed -too- narrow at the hoods. But the drop was still more than I wanted. I have switched to the On One Midge, which has a shallower drop than the Nitto. http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/HBOOMI/on-one-midge-handlebar It's an odd bar. The drops are not vertical, they flare out quite a bit, so the brake levers are not parallel to the stem at all. Do an images search for it to see what I mean. But I like its shallow drop and width. I have seen pictures of the Salsa Moto Ace Woodchipper, and it looks very wide and shallow, wider than the Midge: http://salsacycles.com/components/moto_ace_woodchipper/ A disadvantage to the Midge is that shipping from the UK about doubles its cost. BC barred -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
