budget bar and stem combos?

[aliasforme]

Hey guys:

looking to swap for some narrower bars (40cm centre to centre, don't care about reach or drop... yet) and get a 100mm 17 degree stem, however I do not want to drop alot of money in case its not 'right'. Does anyone have any recommendations for bars and stems that come in these specifications for around $100, for both the bar and stem? I've been looking at the Zipp Service Course stuff as it fits the budget, but I was wondering if there were any lighter/blingier (is that a word?) options out there for a similar price?

Thanks

[Ypsylon]

I've been happy with Ritchey and 3T.

Not sure if I'd make weight or bling a priority, especially for the stem.

[aliasforme]

so what would you make a priority? Fit? Quality?

[Ypsylon]

Price, shape and stiffness come to mind.

They are not too common anymore, but there were some models that were really light for the money, but pretty noodly, both stems and bars. But with a 100mm stem and 40cm bar, that might not be too bad either way.

I have small hands, so that might be more of a concern of mine, but being able to reach the brake levers and not hitting the bars while sprinting are very important to me.

It's a stab in the dark, but the -17° stem has me guessing, that you'd want a bar with a flat transition to the hoods, and that with a low position that is prone to hitting your forearms on the bars while in the drops.

[aliasforme]

It's a stab in the dark, but the -17° stem has me guessing, that you'd want a bar with a flat transition to the hoods, and that with a low position that is prone to hitting your forearms on the bars while in the drops.

So I want my drops to be lower if I have a flat transition? Also, which bars have a flat transition and which don't? My stock 'giant connect' bars seem to have the hoods titled slightly upwards, which I find more comfy. Is this just because its a bar designed to have the hoods titled upwards or is this a personal thing?

[Ypsylon]

I guess my recommendation would be to go to bikeradar, for example, and check out the pro bikes.

Not because they do it right, but because you''ll see that they are all very different and there are various personal preferences at play. I know Jens Voigt has a set-up that would get quite a bit of bashing on a certain German forum, while I remember Gustav Larsson being what you'd might consider mainstream right now. I believe Spartacus is somewhere right in between, but I could be wrong. None of those is better than another, just different.

Voigt and Sastre get a more upright climbing position, which might be good for them but not somebody else.

For most bikes you'd start putting your hoods where you like them to be, and then figure out how much lower you want to be in the drops and how much higher on top of the bar.

It gets complicated once you factor in all the variables, reach and drop of the stem, reach and drop of the handlebar, length and shape of your hoods and levers, some might say thickness of your bartape and gloves should be in there, too. I'd suggest not sweating a couple of mms either way, but you can get more than a cm difference, easily, and that's something to pay attention to.

It's all pretty simple geometry and you just calculate your way back from the hoods to the steerer.

So, if you are not sure what shape bars you like, I'd probably go for pretty much the cheapest you can find and just see how you like it.

[aliasforme]

So what are some indications that I like/dislike my current bar setup, I looked at a few set-ups and aprat from Voigt and Sastre they all look the same to me. The hoods all look like they have the same angle and even the drops look like they are in the same postion, relative. But the bars look like they are in different places. Is this where personal preferences kicks in? I find that I climb from the bars and the hoods. The reason why I want to go lower is that I find that I spend most of my time cycling in the drops. I find the hoods quite comfortable in the hands and I would like to spend more time there. I'm guessing from my current set-up that I would like more reach if I feel like I am pushing my hands too far into the hoods. Are there any indications that suggests I would prefer a set-up like Voigt's over Larsson's?

and thanks for taking the time to answer my Qs Ypsylon , very helpful to me.

[Ypsylon]

Well, the end of the drops should be parallelto the ground or pointing towards the rear hub. If they point more towards the bb, that *usually* means something's up.

If you sit up to climb and sorta reach for the tops of your bars, that might mean you want a setup like Voigt or Sastre, but you really should just find the perfect position for your hoods and then go from there.

"Pushing" on the hoods as in supporting weight with your arms would actually mean you need your bars closer and/or higher or something is not quite right with your saddle.

[aliasforme]

Pushing" on the hoods as in supporting weight with your arms

I don't feel like I'm putting any weight on my hands, just that I feel that they sit too deep, if that makes sense. It might just be because I'm not used to the Campy set-up (I can't believe that has only just occurred to me ), or it works differently to how I imagine it should.

[Fibre-Lyte]

That could be it. I spent many years riding Shimano hoods and I always ride on the hoods. When I built my newer bike up with Record the feel on the hoods was completely different. I actually preferred my Shimano set up from that point of view.