Humpert boomerang handlebars

[onrbikes]

Am looking at trying a set of these handlebars out.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/humpert-boomerang-handlebars-254mm-clamp-black-prod32098/?geoc=th

After touring this trip, need to make some changes due to becoming too uncomfortable, and never being able to find a sweet spot.
Another rider we met had a similar, saying its a much more natural position.

It also looks like I could fit more gadgets on board. Mine has a Rohloff too.
Any thoughts

Thanks

[Andre Jute]

The Humpert Boomerang bars were a free option when I bought my last bike, so I looked into them but in the end decided they didn't offer anything over my standard fave, North Road bars. In particular, North Road bars, besides offering good long grips at the optimum ergonomic angle in the horizontal plane, which is what the Boomerang also does, offers adjustment to your preferred ergonomic angle in the vertical plane by rotating the bars, which the Boomerang does only theoretically and minimally at that. The difference is that the North Road bars rise up from the junction with the stem before sweeping back and thus you either gain the extra height, which is welcome if you're having back and comfort troubles, or at least don't lose any valuable height when you rotate the North Road bars to gave your wrists a more natural downward angle on the grips.

In my much informed (by my psysio, very expensively, up yours XXX, and the same to your new BMW that I paid for) opinion, there is nothing more comfortable and suitable to gracious riding than North Road bars.

I used to use North Road bars that a grasping bike shop owner persuaded non-cycling office workers drawn in by the government scheme to throw off their new bikes in favour of "sporty" (read expensive) drop bars or flat bars; I bought them for a tenner each. Now I use the North Road bars that come (or used to come) in the n'lock set, because they have a cable fixed inside which is useful for a quick lockup, so  I can't say which of the current crop is best.

North Road bars
(MOD -- by all means sub an SJS piccie if you can find out under which name they list their North Road bars)

By the way, if you ever want your bike to look especially sporty, you don't chuck off the North Road bars and buy new ones, you just fit the North Road upside down and voila! there's your classic sporting moustache bars. And you don't even need to do that much work:  I set my ton-up personal bicycle record (truck assisted, downhill, of course) with North Road bars simply swivelled in a toollessly adjustable stem proprietary to Gazelle until the grips were only a couple of degrees off perfectly vertical, which got my back perfectly flat and aerodynamic for my record run.

Choosing the right bars is as important as sizing the frame right and choosing the right saddle. Good luck.

[Bill C]

wouldn't fancy the boomerangs your not going to be able to put bar end extensions on without them looking funky so you will only have one hand position
i use nitto albatross bars on one bike much the same as Northroads anything much over 20 miles and my triceps feel like i've been doing unassisted dips all day, and if I use Brooks poxy plump grips I can take the skin off my hands at the same time  but the upright position suits/works for me when my back is bad (i use ergon grips on them not the brooks)
straight bars are just as bad for me, hands  go numb really quick and riding is over when it happens
i prefer bars where i can get at least two or more hand positions, ie drops or old style brahma bars or something similar that can be taped rather than grips,
i find it less comfortable on short rides as there Isn’t much padding but longer rides i can keep shifting hand position so numbness and serious discomfort can be avoided,
the new xTc build I've gone with some old skool Scott at2 lf's un-ridden so far but i have high hopes they will prove comfortable
sjs did sell origin8 adventure bars would of liked to try a pair but never seen them in stock anywhere in the UK

it's each to their own on bars though, until you try a pair you'll never know, so if you think they will do the trick it's worth a try, I wouldn't pay much heed to other peoples opinion as they aren't you, so their needs, likes and dislikes will in all probability be different to yours

[julk]

The straight grip length at 165mm is quite short for a Rohloff changer and even a cut down grip.
I look for at least 180mm in a bar.

[franta]

... North Road bars ... offers adjustment to your preferred ergonomic angle in the vertical plane by rotating the bars... The difference is that the North Road bars rise up from the junction with the stem before sweeping back ...

Hi, just joined the forum to ask this:

I don't understand this: the Boomerang are listed as having a 50mm rise. Isn't this what you mean with "rise up from the junction with the stem" ?
(Also I don't understand why not having a rise would not allow you to change the angle by rotating the bars, of course on a taller stem).

Thanks

[Andre Jute]

Hi, just joined the forum

Welcome.

... North Road bars ... offers adjustment to your preferred ergonomic angle in the vertical plane by rotating the bars... The difference is that the North Road bars rise up from the junction with the stem before sweeping back ...

I don't understand this: the Boomerang are listed as having a 50mm rise. Isn't this what you mean with "rise up from the junction with the stem" ?

I don't know where you got the 50mm rise of the Boomerang from. But consider this question: Do you have your grips pointing upwards towards you? Of course you don't. Any rise that the Boomerang may have, even this 50mm you talk of, will be lost after you rotate the complete handlebar so the grips point a little downwards. Any rise in the Boomerangs is therefore lost in making them usable.

In the North Road bars, by contrast, the rise leads to a net gain because the grips already point downwards at an ergonomic angle from the rise, so no rotation of the complete bar is required.

The Boomerang sweepback of about 15% is also, in my opinion, ergonomically unsound.

(Also I don't understand why not having a rise would not allow you to change the angle by rotating the bars, of course on a taller stem).

I don't believe I said the rise interferes with rotating the bars. This is about angle of the grips in the horizontal plane to a line perpendicular through the stem clamp to the bar, what I'm calling the sweepback.

The Boomerang sweepback is at an angle of about 15%. There is a very limited arc of rotation through which such a sweepback can be rotated without straining the wrists.

By contrast the North Road bars are enabled by their much larger grip sweepback to work ergonomically at almost any angle of rotation; I've described in this thread how I turned my North Road grips just a couple of degrees off perfectly vertical for a speed record ride. You don't hear a whole lot about North Road bars giving anyone RSI! It's a bar with the wisdom of the ages behind it.

***

However, the bars on your bike is very personal choice. If you want to sit fairly upright and have your wrists at the most natural angle for long rides, or days on end on the road, the North Road is excellent. If you want smart modern handlebars (or more attachment space) and your rides are a few hours a couple of times a week, you'll probably get along fine with the Boomerang.

Hope this helps.

[franta]

Hi Andre, thank you very much for taking the time to explain.
I got the rise for the boomerang from this page http://bikeshed.johnhoogstrate.nl/bicycle/handlebar/ergotec_boomerang/ (where it is actually noted as 6 cm, not 5 as I erroneously quoted).
Unfortunately, this kind of handlebars is not common here in Norway and it is very difficult to understand their shape from a photo on the web. I am not sure that the 70deg sweepback of the Nitto would be good for me: my current butterfly are more or less that angle on the sides and I feel I'd like something more straight, around 45deg. Also, I can't get a north road for a tenner to just try it (delivery alone is 15 quid)

[Andre Jute]

Franta, I live in Ireland, so I know exactly how you feel about postage charges for desirable bike components!

A couple of points that could save you from an expensive mistake:

The Boomerang bar's backwards sweep on the grips is only 15%, according to data I saved when I bought a Utopia bicycle; they fit them as a free option and don't make mistakes about facts. It is therefore best thought of as a flat bar with very small pretensions to ergonomic grips.

The North Road bars on most of my bikes have the around the 45% sweep to the grips you say you want.

Hey, I'm not trying to persuade you use North Road bars, I'm just laying out the facts because you asked. I'd be delighted for you to discover some hitherto unknown handlebar that is fabulously ergonomic, or even to discover that the Boomerang, despite on paper not being quite there, in use soothes the wrists, and to let us know so we can try it too.

Good luck.

[John Saxby]

As another point of reference--slightly heretical for some, but hey, it's late-ish at night, so what would you expect after all:  I use drop bars on my bikes, but the most comfortable bars I ever used for a close-to-upright position were those fitted to a late-1950's Matchless G80. (I fitted them to my ex-comp AJS scrambler, kitted out for the street.) These had a rise of about 10 cms, a few cms either side of the clamp to the steering tube, and a few more cms after the rise, they swept back at about 35 degrees.

The practical ergonomic knowledge of the guys who designed these bars probably dates back to the period before and after the war, i.e., some 75-80 years ago.  They got it right, as far as I could tell, and have our bodies changed that much in the intervening years?

I'm not suggesting that you get a set of these for your bike (!!), but the design of the bars is worth checking. Depending on where you live, there may be a few blokes d'un certain age in the neighbourhood who know about old singles. Whoops! Just realized that you're in Norway, Franta! Just do a google search, and you'll generate several suppliers, I'm sure. If you're stuck, and if you think it's worth investigating, let me know, and I'll see if I can find you a photo.