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@jetski
Hi, after riding singlespeed for a long time I am building a bike with gears again.
But, I need a riser (old, stiff back) and I want the cockpit to be very narrow. I know I won't be able to maintain the 42cm width that I have on the Nitto B260AAs that I typically use, but I want to find out how narrow I can keep it.
I think what helps is having a shift/brake lever combination as they consume less clamp width compared to separate brake levers and shifter pods, and as I am using road brakes, I will have to look into what the mid 90's Shimano range was offering. Ideally the bike will have 2x8 gears, probably 600 Ultegra front/rear derailleurs. Is the XTR ST-M900 the only shift/brake lever combo that has 3x8 gears, no ugly gear indicator and is ok with canti/road brakes? Or did I miss one?
What I do not want is thumbies. If I use gears, it must be the proper way, Rapidfire style.
Also, I am not sure about the risers. These look quite close to what I need, but the brand is chinese unknown. Essentially I need a 22.2 riser that has a very narrow, steep rise (middle) section that does not consume too much width on its own, which would be the problem with most normal MTB risers. The Nitto B220AA would be good, but I think it's too short in total (480mm will probably not be enough to fit grips and shift/brake combo?). Perfect thing would be a Nitto B220A in a width like 520-540mm, i.e. with a (straight) grip area of 160-170mm on each side.
Let me know your thoughts!