I’ve wrapped up my year of racing and have started my base training and have been using my road bike to mix it up a bit. I ride a 2004 Felt F60 and get some discomfort in my hands if I ride in the hoods for over an hour. I mix up my hand positions during the ride so I can go longer but about 2 hours is about all my hands can take. After looking at the way my shifters and handlebars align, it looks as though there is not a smooth/flat transition from the bars to the hoods (best seen from a side view). It leaves the middle of my hands suspended and all the pressure is on the crease near my thumb and the bottom of my hand. I’ve seen pics of other Felt models in the same year and many of them have the same thing. However, I have noticed that almost all that I have seen in the past few years have a smooth transition from handlebar-to-hood.
My question is how can i resolve the issue to make that a “flatter” platform to rest my hands- replace bars, shifters, etc… or is it something that is adjustable that I don’t know about? Here’s a “borrowed” photo to give you a visual. Thanks in advance!
unscrew the 4 bolts at the end of the stem, rotate handle bars, retighten bolts. You can also undo the bar tape and adjust the mounting position up or down of the hoods to create the smooth transition you desire.
Thanks for the response. I tried both and neither really worked. When I adjust the bars I still have that “V” between the bars and the hoods. I removed the tape and slid them down to where it was relatively flat from the bar to the hoods but that made my shifters literally almost at the upper mid-point of the drops (wayy to far down the handlebars). Looking at your setup, it seems you’re able to have yours mounted properly at the top of your bars but yet your hoods are relatively flat (or parallel to the ground). Any other suggestions?
I also prefer a smooth transition to the hoods and have found that some bars work better for this than others. You may simply need to try a different handlebar. What shifters do you have?
I’ll add that if you own that bar shown in the picture you posted, than you’ll never get a smooth transition to the hoods and keep it so your drops are actually usable.
Many of the newer compact style bars seem to work well for this type of positioning and are becomming very popular because they work for so many people. 3T ergonova, Deda Zero 100, FSA, etc. The easton EC90 SLX3 is a good eample that Easton claims allows a flat transition with shimano, campy and sram hoods; there’s a diagram floating around somewhere that shows this but here’s the bar I’m talking about: http://www.realcyclist.com/easton-ec90-slx3-handlebar
If you do change bars you’ll have to figure out what reach & drop is appropriate for you as well as what style bend you want. Nowadays I think you’ll find that many people are moving to the compact style bars mentioned above with shorter reach, less drop and smooth bends. More and more bike manufacturers see this and are specing their bikes with these types of bars (see cervelo).
That is not my bike but i have a similar handlebar setup
Like the other poster said to get a perfect transition you may have to use a different bar. You can also see that the Sram Red shifters are better at creating the smooth transition. I think the new dura ace 7900 are like this as well. The older version like in your picture above may be a little more difficult but because the shifters stick out so much higher a lot of people use it more as a joystick while on the hoods with their forearms flat across the top of the bar. You can’t do that as well with the new shifters.
Yes, I do have the bars pictured and it has 105 shifters. I figured I’d end up buying a new bar, which is fine with me. From the list you gave, most seem to have a carbon option and an alloy option. I can’t seem to justify going carbon on the bars for a less than 100g difference in weight but $200 in price. Is there a HUGE difference in comfort on a carbon bar? Is it worth the $? Also, as far as comfort goes on the handlebar width, is it a pretty common thing for the bars to be wider than your shoulders or should I look for a bar that is a bit more narrow? Not coming from a road background, I don’t really know what is “right”. I know fit is based on preference but I’m sure there are always commonly accepted elements.
Thanks for the bar recommendations. Hopefully I can pick up a pair for a reasonable amount of $.
If you ever use the drops you also need to decide if you are a ‘round’ bar or a ‘ergo’ bar type of guy (flat where your hands go). I can’t last more than a few miles on round bars and some people can only ride round bars. As far as the width it should be around the width of your shoulders, some sprinters like wider bars for more leverage and some crit racers like narrower bars. The carbon is definitely more comfortable for long rides, I also have a flat top which is awesome. There have been some good deals on bonktown.com. I wouldn’t rush into a bar wait and see what deals you can get.
Honestly, despite what many folks alway say, I don’t think there is a major comfort difference between carbon and alloy bars. In fact, the stiffest most bone jarring bars I’ve ever owned were carbon. Currently, I own the ergonova carbon bars and the Deda Zero 100 alloy bars and although both are very nice in different ways, I don’t think one is more comfortable than the other.
Lots of folks say to use shoulder width to determine bar width. Of course, everyone has a different way to measure it which makes that tough. I think a lot of it comes to personal preference. I’d use shoulders as a general guideline but you’ll probably find that you have a preference for slightly wider or slightly narrower bars.
As far as bar for the money, I think it’s hard to top the Ergonova alloy bar -assuming the drop and reach work for you. I haven’t heard of too many people that don’t like that particular bar.
