I have ridden road and mountain bikes for a long time and am just getting into long gravel/bike path riding. Planning a trip this summer- riding 360 miles on the Erie Canal bike path in 7 days. Given that we'll do about 5-6 hours in the saddle every day, I'm wondering what kind of sweep is suggested in handlebars. My wife and I both have lower back issues and feel a lot of pain when using drop bars for even an hour, so those are out. I bought a used bike for this trip and it came with Velo Orange Klunker bars, which have a 45 degree sweep. That seems a bit much to me, as it turns like a bus. But it does feel comfy on the wrists. My wife is using her mountain bike, which has a flat bar with about 5 degrees of sweep. That's obviously got to go. I plan on replacing that with a riser bar (she's complained about the lack of rise as is), but am wondering how much sweep would be about right for 5-6 hours/day. Most riser bars seem to come in 5 to 15 degree sweeps, then there are some extreme ones like mine with 45.
Is it all just "what's right for you" and nobody can tell you? Trial & error?
Just speaking for myself, I find a totally flat bar extremely uncomfortable because my forearms have to be twisted near their limit to keep my wrists horizontal. That's also a weak position for climbing out of the saddle. Another issue is if the bar is too wide my shoulders get sore after a while. My preference is a bullhorn bar, which gives a feeling like riding on the brake hoods with a drop bar, but it sounds like my setup would be way too low to suit your needs.
I recently bought a cheap single-speed bike with a wide, fairly straight riser bar for errands. I replaced the bar with a $20 Dimension Mountain Flat Bar with zero rise, 9 degree sweep, and 720 mm width. I trimmed the bar from 720 mm to 500 mm and rotated it so it sweeps down rather than back. Also got a 130 mm Cinelli Pista stem but that's another story. The result is tolerable but I'd prefer a lot more sweep, maybe 30 degrees, which I would orient slightly back but mostly down. Unfortunately most of the more swept bars have double bends so they can't be narrowed much. If width isn't an issue you might consider the Origin8 Bat Wing or the Salsa Bend.
Another option is to install bar ends on your flat bar. Those give you extra hand positions, help with climbing, and some are even padded like grips. I didn't cut my flat bar narrower than 500 mm because I wanted to leave room for bar ends.
I ride only flared dropbars. Prefer 15-20 degrees of out sweep. Setup well (high enough, proper reach) and back pain should not be an issue. I can be hobbling around with lower back pain after being on my feet all day at work. The pain goes away on the bike—instantly
I guess all backs are different. I've had occasional lower back issues from lifting and rowing but never from cycling. I feel great using a bullhorn bar set at a low height and very long reach. I suppose the stretch helps.
Jumbo wrote:I know you said you're done with drop bars, but this might be a thought. They are stupid expensive, though: consideration: https://coefficientcycling.com/collections/coefficient-handlebars/products/ar-all-road-handlebar I'm using their RR bars, and they totally changed the way I ride and think about riding on the tops. Really, really comfy up there for the wrists and back.
I've already bought new bikes specifically for the trip. I think my wife will kill me if any replacement parts' description includes "stupid expensive". 😂 They do look cool though.
I still haven't decided on anything. Been super busy with other stuff. Looking at the Origin Batwing bars. (thanks stu!) I like the look of less sweep than my Klunkers. I might put the Klunkers on my wife's bike and take the Batwing for myself.
For long distances and days in the the saddle, I second that suggestion of a Salsa Bend bar with the 17 degree back sweep and a set of those really great Ergon GP1 grips for both you and your wife. And I believe the Bend bar comes in both a 710 and a 780mm width, and a 22 degree back sweep also but depending upon your shoulder widths, I wouldn't consider cutting anything off the bars, another but, if you went with a 780 you might also want to go with the 22 degree sweep to balance things out more. What were talking here is long haul comfort. High enough handlebars so you have a nice comfy upright riding position for the back and not hunched over, seat post and seats in the proper positions and your wrists at a nice neutral 90 degree perpendicular angle from the bars and grips to reduce wrist pain and numbness ( Ergon's help with that a lot). I'm speaking from experience here. My bar is about the same shape as the Salsa Bend bar, 720mm X 15 degree sweep. Not the same bar, close enough but no longer available. Check the Bend bar out at the Salsa cycles web sight.
I got an Origin8 Batwing. It's fugly but the 25 degree sweep sounds good. I might have time to switch it today since we're supposed to get 4-8" of snow. Hoping it's comfy... Thanks for all the suggestions!
I've used a Surly Moloko bar (34 degree sweep) on both a hybrid bike (my first "gravel bike") and on my Surly ECR, which is a rigid fork steel all terrain tank. I am now using the steel Tumbleweed Persuader bars (30 degree sweep) on the ECR (Tumbleweed now offers an alloy model). I have used Ergon cork grips on both, the GC1 BioKork model. The 45 degree sweep of Jones bars, on a non-Jones bike, just seems too much to me (without actually trying them i have to admit).
Some of the bars listed at the bikepacking site include rise, which is nice. From fading memory, I think some of the custom bar makers like Doom, Defiance and Oddity allow customizations, including sweep degrees.
Would the Ergon grips work well with a sweep of 25 or 45? Almost seems too much to me overall, especially the 45. They're $30 so I might give it a try, but it just seems like it would force the hands to bend outwards and jam the outer wrist unless the bars are rotated downward a bit, which would probably hurt my back. Man, getting old is a pain! 😂
Chris18 wrote:Would the Ergon grips work well with a sweep of 25 or 45? Almost seems too much to me overall, especially the 45. ..... Man, getting old is a pain! 😂
Ergon makes several types of grips. Some are designed for an upright swept back bar design. Some are not. Some are for a more traditional MTB "straight" bar.
The GA3, GS1, GS2 and GS3 for example are designed for MTB/Endurance/DH if the marketing material on the website is to be believed.
Most of the “GP” models are listed in the Comfort/Touring section. As are my GC1 BioKork grips. The GC1 and the GC1 BioKork are described as “… developed for the ergonomic demands of riders using sweptback handlebars, usually found on city and touring bikes.“ I find my grips are very comfortable on my upright style bike. I'm over 50 years old. I now prioritize comfort.
Ergon really gets into the details, the ergonomic details. Just take a look at their saddle selections.
Having old, bad wrists from work and breakage over the years, I went in pursuit of wider, more comfortable flat bars. I tried 45, 35, and 25 degree sweeps and all of them turned out to be too narrow and or would leave your wrists bent in some in some weird, unnatural, uncomfortable position and it finally dawned on me the correlation between sweep and width of the bar. Now of course all of this depends on how your upper bod is built, shoulder width and how your arms and wrists fall out in that nice neutral position in front of you. As stated above mine turned out to be at a perfect 720-740mm width with a 15 degree sweep. That all being said, no matter what the width of your bar, I highly recommend Ergon grips, the modern day original and with all the copy cat ergo grips out there I think Ergon's are still the best. Most world touring types and long distance endurance riders / racers on the Great Divide, Baja Divide, Silk Road etc. use them these days. In a least the last 15 years or so, I've used various models of them on five different bikes and on my current sweep bar I am using the GC1 sweepback model, a little overkill on the sweep for 15 degrees but I should think they would work great on a 25 or 45 degree bar. And if you're a weight wienie I'd go with the Bio-Cork, probably lighter but just as comfortable.....
baric wrote:.... and it finally dawned on me the correlation between sweep and width of the bar...
Now that you mention it I think the width helps a lot. The bars angstrom posted seem short (and too straight) compared to the 735 and 800mm width of my Molokos and Persuader bars to take advantage of the ergon design. My Ergon grips feel fantastic. Moloko and Persuader bars below: btw, i don't think the BioKork grips can be considered lightweight. It uses a rubberized cork compound, quite dense, not typical lightweight cork.
I spend most of my time on drop bars in the 420-440 range, so a 700+ flat bar feels uncomfortably wide to me. I’ve done 60-mile dirt-road rides on setups like the one in the photo and felt comfortable.
After riding 400 miles in 7 days, I can say I'm not a fan of the 45 degree sweep. It's too much. I found myself resting my hands in a position to try to straighten the bar a bit. My wife loved hers with a 22.5 degree sweep. I may get myself a pair to match.
I really liked the back and out sweep or bend with low drop of Ritchey VentureMax I had on my Kona Sutra. I've been tempted to get them again but that's nothing against the product. Now the Fargo is more of a freighter, and my Route 45 more of a sh_tty road bike so some narrower bars are working on the latter. The VentureMax would be nice on the Fargo too.
