Looking to put a cow/bull/ tt handle bar on my bike . I have aerobars on drops now. Is it proper to put stis on the new bars with out putting on bar end shifters. most of the tri bikes i see have them. but lately i have seen some folks with sti type levers on the tt bar . What is the opinion of the day on this.
Looking to put a cow/bull/ tt handle bar on my bike . I have aerobars on drops now. Is it proper to put stis on the new bars with out putting on bar end shifters. most of the tri bikes i see have them. but lately i have seen some folks with sti type levers on the tt bar . What is the opinion of the day on this.
IMHO, whatever you’re most comfortable with.
Cheers!
Trevor
“most of the tri bikes i see have them”
That’s the last reason to do anything. You have to think out options logically.
If you’re on a road bike, keep the drop bars. The flat base bars are on tri bikes only because with a steeper seat angle it puts you lower in the front and to compensate tri bikes use the flat cow bars. Drop bars are too low for tri bikes but not for road bikes because of this geometry difference.
Go on the tech portion on this site and Dan has an excellent article explaining the rational between cow/road bars and tri/road geometry.
Visiotech base bars…
I’m really impressive with this bar… The only downside from it is that the paint is easy to scratch…
Remember that an integrated shifter such as Shimano STI or Campagnolo Ergopwer is specifically designed to accomodate the significantly curved section of a drop handlebar.
That means more lever travel required and minimal clearance from lower tip of brake lever to the inward radius of the drops as they curve away from the brake lever/shifter toward the back of the bike.
In general, bullhorn style base bars do not have the same radius curve. That means the STI or Ergopower lever does not have enough room to travel through an arc to correctly actuate the brakes. You may not have enough leverage depending on the proximity of the brake pads to the rim.
Mounting STI or Ergopower on Bullhorn style base bars is not at all what either is designed for. The few exceptions are certain Dedaciai and Cinelli models with very curved grip sections.
In general, you should use levers such as Dia-Compe 188 (or other similar specific mini brake levers) in combination with the appropriate bar-end shifter as opposed to STI or Ergopower on bullhorn base bars.
I also fully agree with the previous recommendation to keep your drops on your road bike. That is what it was designed around.
ITM Duals would be a good choice for you. The base bars have a curved section (just like drop bars), and they are VERY adjustable.
Nitto base bars have a lot of curved sections, they are bullet-proof (so to speak), a bit heavy, but their price and excellent construction would be a great choice to use STI levers on. Also, the ITM Moscow, albeit more expensive and harder to find fit this bill, as well.