What is the purpose?

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Permalink Reply by vxla on April 2, 2009 at 10:30am

David Travis said:

Those of us who ride in winter's snow need leverage, believe me. You need it for cyclocross as well.

I guess I'll tell those messengers that I don't see riding bikes in the winter that they shouldn't be riding with those bars because it's not good for them! ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Michael on April 2, 2009 at 11:12am

I'm surprised that this thread has gotten this far with no mention of countersteering.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on April 2, 2009 at 11:20am

I think it is hilarious that you called me gramps! My wife calls me grampa for similar reasons. I am a self-admitted stick-in-the-mud. I prefer vinyl records....steel bikes....old houses......and on and on and on. I can't argue with it, even if it is an embarassing truth. To the best that I can, I embrace it as one of my characteristics. Alas.

Having a blog or posting on a message board is very much about sharing your opinion and your viewpoint on things. That way people who wear their pants below their butt can tell us the rationale for doing so and people who think it is ridiculous can wax poetic about why that is. It is sort of the purpose of the format.

What is the alternative to speaking your mind on these things, or as you put it, "passing judgement"? Say nothing? Don't express your point of view? Why shouldn't a bike builder have opinions and express them? Isn't someone that is hands-deep into something in a position to have an opinion on it and express it?

Throughout history, we can look at the silly fashions that caught on and laugh about them from a safe distance. There is more or less an entire genre of comedy that thinks dressing people up in 70s garb and hairstyles is enough of a comedic tool that further use of jokes and funny dialog are unnecessary. Making fun of things in the present is just as valid and this post is very much about doing so.

I love to read the responses on both sides including those that disagree with any position I might have on a thing. Perhaps especially those, for example, describing painted-on tight jeans as comfortable.

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Permalink Reply by J on April 2, 2009 at 11:24am

I recently cut down my bars in an ode to Obree. It's neither permanent nor comfortable, but does have the added bonus of enabling bar spins. Of course, it's been more than a decade since I've (a) been able to spin my bars and (b) do a wheelie on a track bike. So that point is rather moot, I guess.

The bars previously were moustache, so I figured this kind of averages out over time.

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Permalink Reply by root on April 2, 2009 at 11:57am

I use risers because of the subtle sweep. Dead-straight flat bars hurt my hands, even at reasonable choppage (just a few inches off each end)

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Permalink Reply by Jon on April 2, 2009 at 1:01pm

my rabbi friend chops bars, but that's just out of habit.

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Permalink Reply by Ali on April 2, 2009 at 1:03pm

Hahaha! That was great!

-Ali

Jon said:

my rabbi friend chops bars, but that's just out of habit.

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Permalink Reply by Justin on April 2, 2009 at 1:04pm

kyle has the right answer!!!

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Permalink Reply by S on April 2, 2009 at 1:09pm

Lee Diamond said:

If you have never checked out Jason Ward's bike blog, bike curious, it is awesome. He is a good friend of mine and he builds some nice bikes, writes very well, and we like to argue with eachother about fixed gears....(I ride one....he thinks it is crazy!).

Having said that, one area of agreement we have is the stupidity of these stupid little bars. I don't think they look cool. They look foolish and too often are accompanied by no clips/straps, no brakes, no helmet, etc. Here is a nice post from bike curious about the fixie debate, but in particular, looking at these silly chopped bars.

http://bikecurious.blogspot.com/2008/07/to-fix-or-not-to-fix-and-th...

I am actually happy to see some folks that use them just fess up and say they are for looks, not function. That is the truth. They were developed not for NYC messengers trying to fit inbetween traffic, but for track sprinting in what is known as the "Egg" position. World record track sprinters like Graeme Obree use the narrow bars to force themself into extremely aerodynamic positions. Such as this:

Does that look COOL to you? Or comfortable? This makes sense if you need the power that these contorted positions demand, but think about the idea behind it....

1 - sprinters don't have to manuever. The old saying is turn left, go fast, therefore leverage and turning are not an issue.
2 - sprinters are going over 50 mph (!!!) in these record attempts, BUT comfort and control are the last things on their mind....the leverage of their legs and the aerodynamic tuck are what's driving the use of these bars.
3 - more recent world record attemtps are moving away from egg and extreme tuck positions in favor of
higher, wider bars that allow sprinters to fill their lungs more. Even the flying scottsman's later attempts were with wider bullhorns and aero bars.


Anyway, I have to laugh whenever I see these silly bars, just as i do with painted-on tight jeans, huge thrift-store sunglasses, and just about every other fashion trend there is.

The position changes later were due to the UCI outlawing those positions and requiring that handlebars meet certain size and shape specifications. The tuck and the superman positions were made illegal. It's the same reason why you won't see tri spokes in a UCI road race or disc brakes in a cyclocross race.

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Permalink Reply by yellow jello on April 2, 2009 at 3:13pm

narrow bars are like superhero capes.

they look cool and can be completely useless (see superman) or be useful (see batman).

they're cool (to some) until something bad happens as a result (see superheroes who died because their capes got caught in something).

anyway, back to the discussion of handlebar width and maneuvering. i liken it to stem length. most use different stem lengths as a way to comfortably fit on a bike, but the effective stem length also affects your handling. shorter effective lengths provide twitchier and faster handling, while longer effective stem lengths provide more precise, smoother handling. what is more important - comfort, or the desired handling? or *gasp* how good it looks?

oh yes, i almost forgot to mention that some people don't wear helmets because it messes up their hair (or covers up their thrift store purchased vintage hand-knit beanie).

now i'm waiting for someone to give me practical reasons to not wear a helmet. i always wear my helmet because it makes me look fast. i sacrifice the look a little bit tho, by taking off the visor so that it doesn't block the sun, thus making wearing my sunglasses practical instead of fashionable.

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Permalink Reply by Ali on April 2, 2009 at 5:55pm

Oh wait? How did I became the troll?

-Ali

EDIT: h wt? Hw dd bcm th trll?

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Permalink Reply by Vondo on April 2, 2009 at 11:35pm

I don't know about functionality of those chopped bars. If you do something for "cool factor", then just say that. I see people that never wear a helmet because they think it looks un-cool. I am guilty of this also, I mean I wear a helmet, but what I do is I never use those velcro straps to keep my pant leg out of the chain, I think they look kinda dorky. I am fully aware though, that sooner or later I will learn my lesson when the inevitable happens.

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