Bars

The risers I have are 37cm, and I feel I hold them like a 36cm if you know what I mean, so I thought the 36cm on the b123 would be more suitable...

but you hold risers at the ends so your hands are 36cm apart measured outside to outside whereas on a track drop yours hand will be 25cm apart (outside to outside) at most when holding the flat top section. And that is about the only section that can be held comfortably for any time (other than the drop of course)

Track bars look lovely but they are the worst drops to use on the road by far!

the track racers i know prefer a wide bar (40-42) because it means there shoulders stay spread apart, place less stress on their arms, and it keeps their chest open better allowing better breathing (put your elbows together and feel the difference to having them at shoulder width)
BUT this all changes for time trials where aero/breathing has to make a tradeoff somewhere to maximize speed.

i have nitto's (i presume B123's) on my new bike and owing to being a larger chap with big old shovels i would prefer something with longer useable space on the drops and also maybe something made of wider diameter tubing making them easier to grip.

from checking out other peoples bikes the black Deda Pistas seem like a good choice. Anyone have any thoughts?

Nitto B123's have quite a long useable space on the drops.

Not everyone has tiny girls hands like you, Max.

Piss off, Piles...

My hands are quite big.

Why do the carbon fibre bars listed weigh more than the aluminium ones?

Because they are heavier.

ebenzo there is no standard track bar, therefore any manufacturer will have deeper or shallower drops, and other variations that would increase the weight of one compared to another. You would easily find handlebars made of the same material, being different weights to one another, even if the width measurement is the same. That is only one measurement, and doesn't include angles etc...

Hope that helped. Also, hippy was right. When it comes down to it, his short answer, is actually the best answer to the particular question. Too many variables were ignored in the question.

those pista stems have got some crazy big drop/rise on them. Use a thompson, i would.

I love my cinelli bars, perfect shape and drop for me, and stiff as anything.

@rpm - How are you getting on with the Cinelli's ?

Used Nitto B123AA's on my old bike with a quill stem, new bike is aheadset style. Unsure about getting either a suitable stem for the Nitto's, or swapping for Cinelli Pista's with an oversize stem I already have.

@rpm - How are you getting on with the Cinelli's ?

swapped them earlier this season for some steel Nitto 123s in 40cm as my position has changed quite a bit.

It's a shame they don't make the steel cinellis in 40 or 38 cm...

Do you prefer steel bars for reliability ? There isn't any standing starts in the track league that I do, so I'm not particularly worried about snapping them, and alu is plenty stiff enough for me. Steel Cinelli Pistas are double the weight of the alu ones too !

How do you find the Cinelli's compare in terms of reach and drop to the Nittos ?

I prefer steel for stiffness, haven't tried an alloy bar that hasn't flexed. Anyone over 80kg is going to find that in a standing start.

IIRC the cinellis are similar in drop and reach to nitto b125s

I find bar and grip width (thickness) make a big difference too.

I have switched from Nitto Cromo 123's to EC90 pro bend. The drop, reach and shape is almost identical, but they are a few mill larger diameter in the hand grip area and I find them less comfortable because of this.

Even though they are half the weight, I might switch back.

Yeah my Ergo EC things are quite hard on the hands. My hands ache lots after racing

Deda Velocita 31 OS 42cm, £53.95
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productdetail.asp?productcatalogue=DEDAHBAS250

now £48.41.

I don't edit these lists on a daily, or even weekly basis. I do it every so many months apart. But thank you for your reminders.

you're welcome.
thank you for doing these lists, they have already been pretty helpful.

New from Nitto OS B123 SSB in steel and alloy

where can you get them though?

Euro Asia Imports have brought them into US and mail order spots there have them now as of a couple of weeks ago.
e.g. http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=188_232_592_2119
http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=188_232_592_2175

and Alex Cycles in japan has them cheaper

Hubjub deal with EAI so they might be a source? I think Cavendish Cycles also get stock from them too.

^narrow bars, looks like the USA guys are trying them

The curve looks pretty cool, but how narrow is too narrow?

Why call them Scatto?...