I just installed the Nitto Touring Bar aka Butterfly or Trekking bar on my Atlantis and rode it for the first time today on my Bike/Caltrain commute to work. I'm trying to find a bar that will allow me to ride comfortably with no neck pain and after having used the 48cm Noodles, Albatross and the Moustache Bars with mixed success, I decided to explore the concept of the Trekking bars.
I mounted the bars on a Nitto Dirt Drop 25.4/10cm stem to avoid using shims. After checking out several configuration options online, I opted to go for a variation of the standard setup to get started. Brake levers on the ends of the bars (section closest to the rider and to keep it clean, mounted my bar-end shifters on Paul's Thumbies that I mounted on the vertical section of the stem. I debated on mounting the brake levers on the front like you do on M-bars, but since the fronts are flatter, I wasn't sure I would like pulling on the lever on that position. I might still try it, but for now decided to try the default brake lever position on the bars. I haven't taped them and won't until I'm sure that is the way I want to keep them. First impressions are: - Surprisingly comfortable after fine tuning the height of the bars and rotating them so the are almost parallel to the ground. May still tweak that a little bit, but I've almost got it close to perfect by the time I came home in the evening. Bar height for me is similar to the recommended M-bar setup, front of the bar higher than the saddle and ends are basically level with the top of the saddle. - Extremely well handling of the bike, particularly on turns. While it always felt as if I had to somehow "work" the turns being careful not to over/under do it with the Noodle bars, with the Touring bars the turns were effortless and very cool. No matter if I had my hands on the front or on the rear, making the bike turn was incredibly smooth and felt amazing. Perhaps it's due to their increased width over the Noodles, perhaps it's just the overall fit that improves the handling so much, at least for me. - Standing on the pedals to climb makes it very easy to hit the bar with the legs, but it's easy to get around it by slightly turning the body when "dancing" on the pedals instead of pushing the bike sideways. I only do it for short stretches so it's not a big deal for me, but it's definitely not a bar you would choose if you stood on your pedals often. - There is just a hint of flexibility on the bar that makes it extremely comfortable on rough stuff, especially when riding it upright with your hands on the closest sections of the bars where the brakes are. After I had rotated the bar forward, the position was very comfortable and much to my surprise, I realized that I didn't develop any shoulder/neck pain at all. Later in the evening I could feel some tightness on my neck, but I had had no discomfort at all during the ride, even though I pushed it hard for a bit. When riding hard, the hands fall naturally on the angle between the front and side sections and it's quite comfortable. I'm wondering if I'll prefer the brake levers there, but so far I think I'm going to leave them where they are. It seems you want the hands on the brakes when riding at slow speeds in traffic when you're upright, rather than when you're stretched in the forward position for faster riding. Still, I'm not so sure so I'll probably try some levers on the front section at some point. The brake levers I put are the Tektro FL750 City Brake Levers and I got them from VO. They seem a perfect fit for these bars in the current position, as if designed purposely for it. More feedback to come, but in the meantime you can check some pictures here: http://tinyurl.com/3ur7e7m René -- 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.
