Jim: If descending offroad is a consideration, I say there's no better bar than the bullmoose. Your weight will always be squarely behind your hands, and there's a sureness and confidence you get from that one- piece stem/bar construction. And they have a slight sweep to help you keep those elbows in. I love these bars.
BB On Dec 6, 12:24 pm, CycloFiend <cyclofi...@earthlink.net> wrote: > on 12/3/10 12:35 PM, Leslie at leslie.bri...@gmail.com wrote: > > > Interesting timing for this discussion, as I've been mulling similar > > questions. > > > I've got 48cm Noodles on my Ram, love 'em. > > > But I'm planning a Bombadil build. Originally had planned to just > > run w/ the Bullmoose. But, after seeing photos of Woodchippers on a > > Bomba, I started thinking about offroad drops. But, I'm not a > > hardcore offroader, mostly rails-to-trails... was starting to think > > that Rando bars might be the way to go. > > > So, I hope everyone else continues to pitch in on this discussion, > > experiences, etc., so I can mull it all over.... > > The WTB-type Dirt Drop bar style never really won me over. I'm talking about > the designs which pretty radically flair the hooks, such as the > Woodchippers. > > They've always felt too weirdly flared at the base (clearance on > singletrack) and too narrow to be useful at the top. > > What I've found (for me, my riding style and the topography I encounter) is > that if I'm in the drops on off-road descents, I like my elbows in and my > butt back. Keeping my elbows in keeps my mass and momentum hinged directly > behind my hands, so if the bicycle stops suddenly my weight pushes my hands > directly into the bars. Flared lower sections keep my elbows out, which > tends to make them pivot out if I suddenly stop, which has my mass twisting > my hands away from me, putting all the force into my thumbs - a recipe for > decoupling my hands from the bars. Bent elbows also moves my center o' > gravity forward. > > On the road, of course, drops is drops. For rails-to-trails, I don't know > that I'd change anything. If you physiology has your wrists or forearms > banging uncomfortably on the uppers when you are in the lowers, then the > slight flare of a rando-style bar would make some sense - just enough to > shift you out without sacrificing multiple positions. > > All of which have led me to stick with the Noodles/Soba design. But I do run > them at or slightly below saddle height. In a more upright position, I > don't mind a "flat" bar, as long as it has decent sweep - which again lets > me get my elbows slightly more tucked in. > > - Jim > > -- > Jim Edgar > cyclofi...@earthlink.net > > Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries -http://www.cyclofiend.com > Current Classics - Cross Bikes > Singlespeed - Working Bikes > > Gallery updates now appear here -http://cyclofiend.blogspot.com > > "I had to ride slow because I was taking my guerrilla route, the one I > follow when I assume that everyone in a car is out to get me." > -- Neal Stephenson, "Zodiac" -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
