I've had very good experiences over the past couple of years riding long distances (up to about 90 miles/day, and a week long, ~500 mile tour with plenty of climbing) with upright bars, mostly 58cm Boscos. I totally agree with Ron and Clayton: just like with drop bars, set up matters, and every body is different with regards to things like core strength, flexibility, limb and torso dimensions, etc. Definitely, for me, long top tubes and stems seem to help me get upright bars feeling nice and "roomy."
While I love my Boscos dearly, I've also had a pair of the current standard 55cm CrMo albatrosses that have moved between a couple of different bikes and umpteen different setups and the truth is, they haven't worked as well for me. I think a lot of this is down to width; the bit of extra width on the Boscos really helps me be in a relaxed yet-secure position. I was at Riv HQ this past weekend and riding one of their Hunqapillars with Alba's that felt better, and talking to Keven I discovered that in fact had one of the older, slightly wider (56cm) bars on it. I was surprised at the difference it made. I think the bend was subtly different was well, such that it maintained more if its width closer to the forward curve. In terms of climbing, I actually feel like I climb better with Boscos, especially long climbs, since the position doesn't put as much strain on my lower back and hip areas. My whole body is more relaxed, so more of my energy can be sent to power my legs. If i do need more leverage or to shift my weight forward for a steep bit, I can grab the boscos on the forward curves. Furthermore, sitting up and looking around while climbing is an awesome way to pass the time while climbing. I've done many rides on upright bars that I had only previously done on drops and have been amazed by how many new things I've noticed: cool trees, interesting houses, little vistas that only emerge momentarily in passing. I think that's especially nice when you're on tour and passing through new areas. The headwind thing I think is fair. Prior to the beginning of this year, I was living in a place where most rides involved a lot of climbing (Berkeley), but now I've moved to a flatter locale (Sacramento) where headwinds are more of a challenge, and I think about it a lot. If you're comparing my position to that of a racy drop bar bike I'm definitely presenting a larger surface area. However, if you are comparing my real-world Bosco position to a drop bar position I might actually ride, I'm not so sure. Over the weekend I was riding with a friend of similar height, whose bike was setup very similarly to my last drop bar position, before I sold my "road" bike: contemporary short-and-shallow drop bars setup roughly seat height and with a short stem. At one point I was riding behind him when he was in the drops and noticed that with my hands on the forward part of the bosco grip area and my elbows only slightly bent, that my head was basically level with his, so overall our cross sectional area couldn't have been that different. Even if there is a disadvantage to upright bars in terms of wind resistance, it's only a disadvantage in a headwind. The second you have a tailwind, you're flying! In general I don't really care about speed that much, although I appreciate being efficient. I feel like upright bars give me more confidence to ride longer distances with more comfort, so even if there is a speed penalty I think it's worth it overall. I do totally get how swept back bars can be bit tricky in tight, low speed turns. I've developed an instinct to deal with that: when I do have to go around a tight corner and rotate the bars a bunch, I kick out my inside knee, kind of like a moto GP rider, although I'm sure it looks funny since it's only at low speeds. On Friday, June 19, 2015 at 5:38:10 PM UTC-4, Clayton.sf wrote: > > Best "distance upright bar" for me is the bosco. You can get aero on them > or upright the range is huge. > > Personally I still like drops better for long spirited rides (200K plus), > but have no issue riding a century with upright bars. > > The other thing to consider is that bars don't exist in a vacuum. Distance > from saddle, saddle to bar drop, saddle set back, frame geometry, all play > a huge role in how a bar feels and fits.. > > A long toptube and long chainstays are nice with bosco bars as it won't > feel like the bar is in your lap and you will still have weight distributed > more "between the wheels" as you would on a short chainstay bike with a > short top tube. > > In additon, what is comfortable for 80 miles can be very different at 200 > miles. I have no problem riding in carhartt shorts and cotton boxers for 50 > miles or so, but would not think of doing a 300K brevet without "real" bike > shorts and chamois cream. > > The only way to figure it out for yourself though is to go further than is > comfortable. > > Also, make sure to make your changes and then ride them for a while. Some > things may not feel right immediately but once you spend some time with it > that can change. If you constantly fiddle with the setup you never get to > perfect because your body takes a little to adapt. When I first got my > Jones bike I loved it but hated the Jones bars and it was hard for me to > ride them without constantly wheely-ing the bike when climbing. Took a few > rides and Jeff Jones telling me to stick with it before it clicked. Now I > think the bars are great, but they were not great right away. > > Clayton Scott > SF, CA > > > > On Friday, June 19, 2015 at 1:23:04 PM UTC-7, Ron Mc wrote: >> >> What should be obvious is that virtually everyone posting on this thread >> has different experiences, and that is the only consensus. I have no use >> for noodles, and like Cinelli 64 as my favorite drops. >> There are two post adjacent posts where one says alba is more comfortable >> than drop on long distance and the next says the opposite. >> In the end, you're going to have to dial it in and figure out what works >> for you - but that's the way this always works. >> >> On Friday, June 19, 2015 at 2:56:37 PM UTC-5, Tim Gavin wrote: >>> >>> ... >>> >>> My experience with moustache bars parallels the experience of >>> Albatross/Albastache/Moustache users here. >>> ... >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
