Mimic those who are better than you; this is the underlying principle of nearly everything I do in life, whether in my work, in sport, or hobbies. The less I know about something, the more inclined I am towards this, and the more faithfully I mimic. As my skill and knowledge develope, I mime less and reason more, applying my own mistakes as well as those of others to the process we commonly refere to as becoming ‘experienced’. This process continues until I grow into an opinionated sponge; while I continue to mop up any and every piece of information and advice I can get my hands on, I follow the path that is influenced still by advice, but dictated largely by the unique journey that lays behind me and the lessons I’ve learned along it. But still the underlying premise remains: The Pros must be onto something.
So it was that I became obsessed with classic-bend bars; Gilbert, Hushovd, Basso, Potato, Cadelephant, the Brothers Grimpeur – many of my favorite riders cruised into my heart aboard classic-bend bars. Not to mention the likes of Coppi, De Vlaeminck, Merckx, and Maertens – none of whom had a choice but rode them nevertheless. Over time, the swooping curve of a classic, round drop has found its place alongside the Quick Release, Delta Brake, and Record Hub as some of the Most Beautiful Bits of Kit.
I love the way the bars sweep up from the drops and position the hoods at an elegant, upward pitch as the bar continues it’s journey upward to meet the stem. Each classic-bend bar does this, yet the particular sweep of the 3T Rotundo does it more elegantly than any other; the exact radius of its bend and the pitch of its rise is perfection. I have another set of classic 3T bars which predate the Rotundo whose radius of the bend is within a millimeter of that of the Rotundo and yet the aesthetics are not it’s equal. Like all things of sublime beauty, there is something intangible about its curve that sets it appart from others.
But aesthetics are only skin deep, and the real measure of the bar is how comfortable it is. Since getting ahold of my first Rotundo, I’ve moved to classic bend bars on all my machines. I was apprehensive about the move from an ergo bend, which I’d always ridden, to the round bend of the Rotundos. Whereas I had always assumed that a flat section of bar would be more comfortable to grab hold of, this turns out not to be the case. Evidently, my hand is not straight and is in fact quite good at bending and forming to various shapes. Riding in the drops, wrists pointed inwards towards the V-Locus, my fingers grip the curved surface of the drops perfectly. The classic bend also reduces the reach from the drop to the brake lever, which means that long descents with frequent use of the brakes are also much more comfortable.
The positioning of the hoods is a slightly different matter and depends somewhat on the groupo. Bikes Number 1 and 2 both wear 10 speed Campa Record, while Bike Number 3 wears Dura-Ace 7700. The design of the Campa hoods resemble the Power Triangles of Merckx, while the design of the Shimano hoods more closely resemble pegs. The transition from the bar to the hoods on my Campa bikes is smooth like Keith Stone, allowing you to choose multiple positions along where bar meets hood. The design of the Shimano levers, on the other hand, cause them to stand up from the bar more abruptly, meaning that there are fewer comfortable positions available. It’s not really a significant issue, but it does provide less positions which can play a factor on longer rides.
As an aside, the matching 3T ARX stem meets nearly every expectation one can have of a stem; it’s light, stiff and simple. My only complaint is that it is only available in a 6 or 17 degree version; those of us who pay careful attention to how low or how high our bars are find that these two combinations don’t provide enough flexibility to dial in the position; I’m running the bars on Bike Number 3 and am stuck riding my bars about 5mm higher than on my other bikes. To be fair, this is not a shortcoming of the ARX stem in particular; very few manufacturers offer choices outside 6 or 17 degrees. However, for perfect positioning, 3T and others should add an 8 or 10 degree stem to the mix.
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@huffalotpuffalot, @sgt, @mouse
Not exactly true, though you're right in spirit. The Look Ergostem has been used to some pretty fucking glorious effect, not least aboard one of Obree's bikes. But - and this point is to be taken carefully - that is OBREE. Not just anyone. I am certain his arch enemy, Boardman, also used one, but I am not able to find the picture. Also LeMond, equally unable to find evidence.
@RedRanger
Not exactly sure what you mean, but yes and no. The Rotundo/ARX/Shimano setup is on the Bianchi XLEV2. The less sexy 3T classic bar that predates the Rotundo is on the Bianchi TSX. I have two Bianchis, which means I love it when I can act like that type of question confuses me.
@Marko
Welcome back, mate.
@Ron
Does the Newton come in a classic bend?
@sgt
Oval had some interesting stuff out there. On of the interesting points the founder made was that he asserted the 26.0 mm clamp diameter made for a stiffer bar than did the (now-common) 31.7mm. They also had that cool double-blad fork.
There was a lot of evidence that this was actually a much faster fork design than was the standard bladed fork, but somehow it didn't really take on. Strange how that kind of innovation falls by the wayside.
@Pedale.Forchetta, @Ron
Deda has historically been one of my favorite brands. The VMH rides a magnesium Deda Mag00 stem on one of her bikes, but that's the only Deda component we have left in the household, strangely. I love that they are still doing the 8 degree thing with the stem, and if I need to buy another stem, it will be the Deda 100; just think that's the bee's knees as far as looks goes, and I find the 8/10 degree stems to be much, much prettier than the 6 or 17's.
@DeltaMngo
Welcome. I recommend you take another look at your bike any time you get the chance. In fact, I'm going to head into the basement and take another look at mine as well!
I tried a set of these after your last article on them and I friggin love them. They are the handlebar equivalent of a fine Italian suit: They will make you look great and feel great.
Also I need to swap out to a 3T stem. The cutout logo against the white clamping surface is a great touch.
@frank @Pedale.Forchetta @Ron
I have a set of Deda Newton bars waiting in the wings, but I can't bring myself to pull the trigger on the matching stem"”do they have a plain black model? So much garish white (which doesn't feature anywhere else on the bike) on those stems (as sweet the 8 degrees are). (Of course, this becomes the working rationale that I need another bike: I already have the bars"”and need something that will accommodate more white in the color scheme...)
Ooooooo! Classic bends;
Can't let go of CINELLI 66-44 Campione Del Mondo's since 1996!
Before that Cinelli 64-42 Giro D Italia's!
And whilst talking about ergonomics, Franks observations about Campag levers as opposed to Shimano, I tend to agree.
I've always hated Shimano because I've found the ergonomics all wrong. I always used to ride the Belgian method and loved the way Campag (and later the Dia Compe BRS levers) came to hand.
I always found Shimano too large to get my hand around, and could never forgive them for the poor aesthetic solution of the cables coming out the side of the lever. That placement also interfered with my hand placement for out of the saddle efforts whilst on the levers.
At least Campag understood that the look was equally important to the function and so released a solution to market that both worked well AND looked good.
Of course I may just be talking out of my arse, it's one of my core skills.
This is really a sort of hipster nonsense. We saw the same thing with fixie kids installing track drops and then riding on the crossbar. Use the bar that fits you best, and that you are most comfortable with. Ergo, trad, or whatever. Make sure that it is adjusted properly. Don't use a bar that negatively affects your control, or causes you excessive discomfort.
@frank
I used to have a picture of a pursuit bike I rode with a Look ergostem. the drop from the top of the steerer to the base bar was about 10 cm. It may not be compliant but it still looked beautiful. It helps that the Look stem is nowhere near as hideous as that ritchey