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Road bars with back sweep?

by IanEdward
Thu, Feb 12, 2015 21:16
11

So some experimenting with my sore wrist in the spin class today revealed that I can ride comfortably with my hand 'at an angle' to the bars, i.e. as if the bars were swept backwards. I've found two bars on the market with some backsweep, the Ritchey 'curve' range and the Oval 710 bars.

Anything else I should be aware of? These bars both offer 4deg sweep which doesn't seem all that much but they come at a reasonable enough price that I'd be willing to experiment, probably save weight over my stock bars anyway.

Ta

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11 comments

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IanEdward | 10 years ago
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Colin, you're absolutely right, and I have been looking into the cause of the pain, which has been diagnosed as ligament damage, possibly due to some over zealous off road riding in the drops. The bars won't solve it, think it will just take a few months to heal. Buying new bars is just an attempt to get riding sooner, plus retail therapy!

Those Syntaces look great, out of stock at Wiggle and not exactly 'trivial' price at £80 but still tempted...

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Colin Peyresourde | 10 years ago
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Have you tried dealing with the biomechanical side of things? Sure, getting something comfortable to rest on is important. But actually if you are getting pain you should see a physio and/or get a diagnosis for what you have so that you understand the pain.

More than likely a simple set of stretches around the wrist will sort you out and then you don't have to buy new bars.

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lennyparis | 10 years ago
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I have there bars also
What is advantage of sweep?
What is advantage of oval/flat tops?
Do you feel they are narrower than other bars esp. When on top?

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matthewn5 | 10 years ago
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If all else fails the Syntace Racelite range of bars have a 6º sweep back. You can often find the 7075 alloy Racelite CDR for a trivial amount. They are a brilliant bit of German engineering at that price.

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craig749 | 10 years ago
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Thanks for the feedback Ian. Ive got a set of the Evo Curve which I'm waiting to put on the bike. The shallow (128mm) drop was putting me off, but i think ill give them a go. Plus I'm hoping the compact drop will be an improvement over my current anatomic drop.

Cheers 1

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Yorkshie Whippet | 10 years ago
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Craig,

Have the alloy WCS Evo Curve on the summer bike and love 'em to bits. I also have a set of WCS Logic Curve on the winter bike and prefer the Evo curve.

Highly reccommend Evos as they do the job, lightish, strong enough, nicely shape for me. The tops have a sweep that mimics old style mtb bars. Spesh Roubaix tape and Fizik Gell pads on the tops, Flanders and Roubaix were relatively comfortable. Can not really say anymore, they are fitted and hopefully will remain there for quite some time.

Ian,
Have you tried Planet X? They had some Nitto stuff a while ago.

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IanEdward | 10 years ago
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That's interesting Yorkshie Whippet, because that's the position I adopted in the spin class, the bars have an additional 'D' shaped ring protruding forward around the stem clamp and I would find myself resting my thumb and fingers on this portion.

I've since found the Ritchey 'Streem' bars, a fraction more backsweep (4.7 degrees, why don't they just say 5 and be done with it!) and a flatter top. I got the cheapest set to experiment with and if I like them can transfer them to the touring bike and buy some blingier ones for the road bike.

Also going to play with the position of my hoods, at the moment they angle up ever so slightly which would promote a tiny bit more strain at the sore point of my wrist.

It was those Nitto bars that inspired my search MKUltra! I just couldn't find them on CRC or Merlin so forgot about them... Will check that link.

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Yorkshie Whippet | 10 years ago
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I've got both the Ritchey and Oval.

The Ritchey has a clear sweep back and a flatter top. Whilst the Oval doesn't seem to have as pronounced a back sweep, more that the front protudes forward and tapers back to a normal bar. It does move your fingers into a swept back position and twists the wrist, but also means that there is more bar between your thumb and fingers. Also I found the Oval felt like I was riding more over the front wheel, changed the stem for a shorter one and used thinner bar tape.

For me with small hands, the Oval was more uncomfortable than the Ritchey.

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craig749 replied to Yorkshie Whippet | 10 years ago
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Which Ritchey bars do you have Yorkshire Whippet? Is it the Evo Curve? If so what are your thoughts on them?

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MKultra | 10 years ago
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You may be looking for "Randonneur Bars"

http://hubjub.co.uk/index.php/store/handle-bars/nitto-b135-detail

Which have been around longer than Bruce Forsyth.

Just don't expect carbon fibre or an over size clamping area.

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craig749 | 10 years ago
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Ive got the Ritchey Evo Curve bars at home waiting to be fitted to the bike. Like you say the backsweep isn't that much. It's the ovalized top which should make the difference comfort wise. Do you ride much in the drops? They have a shallow drop (128mm) which is small compared to most bars so thats worth taking in to consideration.

I'm intrigued to see how people review the bars are as I cant find much about them on the web.

Thanks

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