Bars

Miss or Mr?

Miss, I reckon, although the Carry On people might get in there first with that one.

"Doctor" then?

I'm plumping for 'Reverend', and have cast Alastair Sim in the role.

^ oh goody, people can get numb and uncomfortable from locking into one position, but in the drops this time.

I'll buy 3, if it comes in different colours.

I would'nt describe them as a distance cycling bar. Still like the design though.

I ended up purchasing the X2 stem like so
However, as some of you know, the fucking thing creaks like hell as soon as I put any real force onto it so I can no longer wait until it cracks on my and am going to purchase the X4. I don't think I would recommend the X2 to anyone to be honest.

Your X2 creaks? Mine has never done that. Are you tightening to torque? What's your setup?

It's definitely the stem?

tried a different one?

I sent back one of those x2 stems. Nice looking item, but there were quickly stories circulating about it snapping, and I wasn't confident about the scant material in the steerer clamping area. Probably over-cautious, but there you go.

If I've got enough cash at the point of getting a new frame, I expect I'll get a x4 too.

Already got my new bars squirrelled away.

What bars have you got tucked away S?

Shit,I've been using the same bars for 9 months, that's rare for me!

I don't like 2-bolt stems. There you go.

I have them tightened to the right torque. Have the bolts nicely greased etc etc
They always have creaked since I first put them on. I am certain it is the bars. I am inclined to agree that 2 bolt stems are not up to the demands of the track.

If there's a slight variation on the surface of the bars it could cause creaking. I'd often get it after a bit of road grit got between bar and stem. Pull 'em down, clean, put together and the creak would be gone. If there's any kind of lip or bump etc on the bars though, you're fucked.

I'd recommend easton EA90 stem. May not be the prettiest, but plain enough and stiff enough for the big sprinters, yet lighter/cheaper than thomson. machined stems will always be heavier or more flexible than good forged stems.

@ y-s - definitely light (:O), but not necessarily cheaper. I've just got a Thomson inline seatpost on order for track deslackening duties, and will find it hard to resist going for the matching set.

@ RPM - not a 'track specific' bar. They've got too much reach/drop, and I don't like the slopey tops. I'm continuing with that sort of thing for now to make up for an ill-fitting frame. I'm not saying which bar, but it's a non-ergo affair in 145/90 that mysteriously went up in price by about 50% after I ordered it, as if the retailer had made a mistake.

Why not just use spacers to match your Nittos (25.4/26mm) with which ever oversize stem you're using?

anyone know of a deep drop round bend road bar with OS clamp? something with a drop of about 150mm...or some deep anatomic bars with a large enough diagonal bit for my hands, every pair I've tried so far has been too small, wtf?

I am a serial bar changer as I can never find anything that fits the bill perfectly, ie; like a criterium bar, but 42cm wide with a 31.8 clamp!

kinda want some I can use for long training sessions like HH, but can still sprint out the saddle without banging my wrists..

any ideas?

Why 42's?

Bit late to be asking that Lee!

Hey some of us have work to do rather than pouncing about on here all day ;-)

I'm making the most of a quiet winter! and the opportunity to train ;)

But you do make a good point, I find the 42s comfortable and stable, I have a pretty wide top. There's also the hang back from BMX where we use hugely wide bars.
If you take a look at my position next time we ride together and think I would benefit from using narrower ones then I'll happily listen, need to get every last 0.01s

Less weight, less wind resistance.

You need tape on those drops JC

Most of the top sprinters use 38cm these days, and 40's on their road bikes