Comfort bars or straight bars

[Dave Haime]

I am very excited as I have put a deposit down for a eXp R. []  Andy has been very helpful indeed in advising me as to my correct size frame.
I have ordered straight bars, as I would like to have Ergon GR2 bars end… I understand it is not possible to put these on the ends of comfort bars. Up untill now I have been riding a Thorn Audax  with my main hand position on top of the brakes.
As I suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome could I get feed back as to if I am on the right track or should I be going for comfort bars instead?[/font=Tahoma][/size=6][/size=2][/size=2]

[ians]

Hi

I think you can actually put bar ends on comfort bars - it's just the fashion police don't like it very much.  But then they don't tend to like Thorns so no loss there.

My wife had a lot of hand/wrist problems with her straight barred hybrid.  She changed to the Thorn carbon comfort bars and now she can ride all day (without bar ends I might add).  I've ordered comfort bars for my RST and will probably go with inboard bar ends.  I've also ordered the Ergon MP1 grips.

I have a Nitto moustache bar on my old MTB hack bike which I quite like and so if the comfort bars don't work for me I'll try the On-One Mary bars which have a 40 degree sweepback and will take the gripshifter.

Good luck

ian

[AndrewClark]

Hi Dave, my Nomad arrived on Friday. Comfort bars and Ergon GR2's as ordered. They feel very comfy.

From an email exchange with Adrian at SJS

<< The truth with the comfort bar / bar end issue is a liitle complex – The deciding factor is the width of the( trimmed )  RH grip / width of your hand . We trim the RH grips to 113mm to allow room for the hand not to interfere with the Rohloff shifter, this limits the amount of space we can leave to mount bar ends on the outside of the bar -as the brake lever cannot move much further inboard ( due to the bend in the bars ) – If you do not mind having a shorter RH grip OR having your hand resting on the Rohloff shifter – it is possible to have bar ends fitted. The Ergon grips with built in bar ends are certainly a good option allowing a full 113mm grip length to be used.>>

[julk]

Dave,
Another vote here for the thorn carbon comfort bars with ergon grips.

The 18º backward sweep back on the bars, plus the extended platform support from the grips makes for a relaxed ride.
This is compared this with my previous bike with 'straight' 5º swept bars and normal round grips.

Enjoy the eXp R.

Julian

[Swislon]

Hi Dave,

I have straight bars on my RST with Ergon MP1 grips and Cane Creek bar ends. I have also cut down the bars by about 1" either end. I prefer drops, however this setup I find pretty comfortable. Certainly the grips support your wrists and they make holding the bars very relaxing. The bar ends I use most of the time, trying to replicate riding on the hoods I suppose as it comes more naturally. Cutting the bar gives a narrower grip and profile which I prefer, however the brake levers are close together and although various people in our cycle group have commented I don't have a problem with it at all in use. Fitting a bar bag might be difficult though.
I saw some GR2 grips over the weekend in our local Edinburgh Bike shop but they didn't seem as comfortable as the Cane Creeks to me or as versatile. The Creeks give you a couple of different extra positions, which I'm getting used to now and like.

[Dave Haime]

Thank you for all your helpful comments... much appreciated.
Andrew, how are you getting on with your new Nomad?
A bit cheeky of me I know ...but could you post some photos of your new bike.
Look forward to seeing them.
Thanks again.
Dave

[daviddd55]

The comforts with carbon bar ends mounted inboard are extremely comfy - I have ridden drops all my life but quickly came to appreciate the new setup. I did tilt the bars back about 90 degrees though to get me a bit lower, less sit-up-and-beg.