It starts with a casual observation. You hardly even noticed when it happened, but something shifted in your mind. A bit later the same observation is made again, this time in a slightly different context. It happens again and again and the observations layer atop one another like sheets of tracing paper that, when flattened together, form a complete picture.
And so, having gone almost completely unnoticed, an obsession is born.
My obsession over classic-bend bars has been developing slowly over the last two years or so, fueled by three principle factors (mimicking the pros, form, and function), and buffered by another (investment). The fuel for the fire included the observation that many of my favorite pros ride classic-bend bars, the FSA K-Wing bars I was riding didn’t allow for a very smooth routing of the cables from my Ergo shifters, and I was not satisfied with the quality if my shifting. On the other hand, I liked the scalloped area that the K-Wings offer, and I was reluctant to move away from a bar that I spent quite a bit of money on, especially for a bar that would also represent an investment and which I wasn’t sure I would like any better. However, those same scallops caused sharp bends in the cables which adversely effected shifting performance. Not to mention, I haven’t seen a pro riding K-Wings since, well, ever.
The classic-bend bars have been weighing heavier and heavier on my mind recently; my shifting has never been as good as I think it should be, and I have become increasingly convinced that the problem was the cable routing and that classic-band bars would likely resolve the issue. Also, both Brett’s and Marko’s latest build projects involved classic-band bars, and I love the look they offer. Add to that to the fact that I’ve recently grown especially tired of the angular look of the K-Wings, particularly in marriage with my 17-degree stem, and you’re asking for trouble.
Yesterday, a flurry of text message exchanges with Marko over bars sent my obsession over the precipice. That, combined with a particularly frustrating day at the office turned obsession into action; the Hand of Merckx guided me into a chance meeting wherein I ended up with a like-new 3T Rotundo Pro bar for less than half the retail value. No shipping, no waiting, just good-old-fashioned instant gratification. Impulse buy satisfied and bar experimentation available at a palatable cost, I disappeared into the basement to labor on my machine for a few hours to install the new bars. And, although rainy weather today will keep me from riding Bike Number One, shifting performance on the work stand showed a considerable improvement in the crispness and speed of the shifts, and sitting on the bike in the workshop seems to validate that the classic bend is indeed very comfortable. Both of those test seem pretty conclusive, obviously. And, most importantly, it looks Pro.
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Even the dirtiest white handlebar tape comes up grouse when you give it a scrub with some undiluted dishwashing liquid...just make sure you rinse well!
@Oli Brooke-White
Not sure how many velominati would be familiar with "grouse" but it should immediately find a place in the lexicon!
@Geoffrey Grosenbach
This whole thing about people and drops is making me crazy. Used to be drops were deep; and bars had three distinct positions - high (tops), low and aero (drops), and in between (hoods).
Among other things, this gave you a chance to work some other muscle groups, stretch your back, get up high to breathe nice and easy. Now, with compacts, it seems the goal is to make all three positions as identical as possible.
*sigh*
Wow, look what I missed this weekend. You all had me in stiches.
@frank I'm looking forward to the ride report as I've been eying the Rotundos myself for a while.
@Marko
I'm sure FSA is very serviceable stuff but the name as well as having no soul turns me off. It's kinda like Amelia Earhart luggage. Who in their right mind buys luggage with the moniker of someone lost, never to be seen again.
Compacts exist so us fatties can at least pretend we're getting low and aero...
Call me Lame-O, but I rarely use the drops. I seem to get my back just as flat ridng the hoods, plus I'm comfy. With Ultegra brakes, two fingers is also enough to lock the wheels - can do that from the hoods.
My back has never been flexible enough to use the drops for long. Either that, or the position I've used for 25+ years now isn't perfect. Or I'm just getting old.
My 'bar tape always looks lame - can tell I don't use the drops - no dirt or wear.
During my sport motorcycles days, a similar embarrassment - "chicken strips" - where the tires are not worn to the edges, meaning you're not fully leaning it over.
Pedal or fossil powered two wheels - I be lame...
@Dan O
What bars are you riding man? I ask because the bars I just stuck on Il Gruppo Progetto are much more comfy in the drops than the k-wings I have on #1. I've never been a fan of the k-wings in the drops for longer periods than hammering flats or downhills. This is why I'm going to try rotundos on bike 1 and ditch the k-wings to the c-x bike (not much drop riding there). Of course it could be more complicated than just bar design but I wonder how much that has to do with it.
As for the "chicken strip" comment, that's funny and takes me back. It's been 20+ years but I was never able to scrape a knee on the Interceptor I had in H.S. Of course that doesn't mean I didn't have heaps of fun on the thing.
@Marko
I'm running stock Ibis branded bars on the carbon Ibis, ancient Scott bars on my '97 Ibis Hakkalugi 'cross bike and '91 Brigestone RB-1. They all have a normal bend to 'em.
When it comes down it, it's not the bars themselves, more about where positioned relative to saddle height. Like many riders, I'd probably do better with the bars a few centimeters higher.
The only time I ever burned off my "chicken strips" was during a track class - never on the street. I was always a cautious rider and slowly built up to speed, a slow speed mind you, but still cool to see the tires actually worn. The track is a different universe from the street, and world's safer.
The last motorcycle I owned was a 2001 Aprilia Falco SL1000, sold off a few years ago. Before that a 1997 Triumph Speed Triple and a 1990 Honda CB-1 400F. Years earlier, a 1975 Yamaha RD350. Two of 'em actually, one stock, one modifed with rear sets, expansion chambers, etc. Mix in a pile of dirt bikes as well. I rode in the dirt quite a bit as a kid, including some motocross and hare scambles (cross-country) racing. Fast I was not, but cool experiences and memories.
@Dan O
I figured you'd weigh inventually. When you say "I never ride in the drops" it sounds less cool than "I only ride Belgian style."
Its not in The Rules but I do have a personal rule I live by, and that's absolutely no descending at speed on the hoods - only the drops. It's like hooking your thumbs under the bars to keep from Supermanning off your MTB. Not onły are you not able to brake as well, but your hands can fall off them very easily if you hit something unseen. I am convinced that if JENS! Was riding in the drops in '09 on the Saint Bernard he would not have crashed, or at least not so painfully. It's one of the little things that can help keeps the many risks of riding at a minimum.