Looking to spec out a new road bike. Any advantage to the OS road bars and stems over the standard 25.8-26 or is it just a personal preference thing and I just need to check that any clip-ons I might throw on are avialable in the bar size?
Thanks
Keith
OK Keith - you and I are thinking the same thing! We posted very similar questions (at least about clip-on’s) at the same time!
I have 31.8 bars on my road bike and can’t tell a difference. Only thing I notice is that stems cost more and are hard to find, and it’s more difficult to mount computers and aerobars. If I were bulding a new bike, I’d defintely go with the 26.0 standard.
I think like 1 1/8 forks/HS that the OS stems and bars are the new trend. I don’t think there is any advantage (they will say stiffer) what so ever, but that is where the market is going.
If you are buying new, probably not a bad idea. I would not replace any old ones as an"upgrade" however. That said ,the new Thompson stem sure is purdy. G
The OS bars are supposed to be stiffer. I can’t say whether they are or not, but that’s what came on my bike. I’m running an ITM drop bar, a Ritchey WCS OS stem and VisionTech shorties. The ITM drop bars seem to have broader shoulders than some of the other OS drop bars, so I haven’t had the issue of trying to clamp where the bars start to taper back down.
One needs to be very careful copying roadies. They aren’t very smart. They just copy the pro’s and that aint a smart thing. (sorry, I couldn’t help myself, I love to wind up roadies)
Anyway,it is my understanding (and I could be wrong) but large diameter bars are mainly an advantage for sprinting, when you’re putting very large amounts of torque through the bars. They are a BIT stiffer generally.
Since we are trigeeks, and virtually never sprint per se, I would say they are of no real advantage. Add in the difficulties with cost, aero bar installation, computer installation etc, I would say give them a miss and stay with a normal diameter bar.
If 31 went away, life would be better. They are supposed to be stiffer, but that just means more energy is being tranfered to the stem or stearer tube. The energy just doesn’t go away, and that may not be good in the long run.
31 bars and stems are stiffer at the juncture of bar and stem. With carbon bars and stems you want (ie need) this so you don’t have a catastrophic failure. I have had a bar break (pre-31.8 on a road bike) and it ain’t pretty, but then neither am I.
IMHO, 31.8 is here to stay for the road market, here to stay for the carbon market and only matters in the tri market if you want a carbon base bar - like my Profile Design CBX.