Nitto handlebars?

[roguedog]

Hey, any of you have or have tried any of the Nitto handlebars? I'm considering them but have some questions. Feel free to answer all or any of the questions!

1) Is there anything special that they're Nitto?
2) Which of them are the most comfortable?
3) How do you know what size is for you?
4) What do all the specs mean and how do they translate to my size? What is flare? What is ramp? I think "drop" means the distance between the front and the part where your hands would be in the drops?

Anything else I need to know?

[xeney]

I have two sets of Nitto handlebars but neither are dropbars -- I have the Albatross bars and the bullhorns.

I know that some Nitto bars are supposed to be stronger/lighter/whatever, but mostly I like them because they are just pretty. I hate to cover them with bar tape. They tend to have a really elegant line and a nice finish.

(I'm not quite that shallow; in both cases the Nitto option was the one that worked best for me -- they had a much narrower bullhorn available than I could find elsewhere. But the pretty part sold me.)

[Zen]

I'm considering going Nitto as well (right now I'm just nutto).
What kind of shifters do you have on those?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have the Nitto Noodle bars. They are drop bars, and I have bar end shifters on them. I think they are swell. They also have beautiful engraved crest designs in the top on either side of the stem.

[SouthernBelle]

I have the Nitto Noodle bars. They are drop bars, and I have bar end shifters on them. I think they are swell. They also have beautiful engraved crest designs in the top on either side of the stem.

Lisa, I'm not looking to change anything on BeBe, but I'm really curious. Could you post some closeup photos?

[Veronica]

I have the Nitto Sobabar on my Legolas. I also have Nitto bars on my Rambouillet, but I'm not sure which ones.

http://tandemhearts.com/coppermine/albums/legolas/legolas_09.jpg

These are the Sobabars and I find them and my Campy brake hoods to be a bit more comfortable than what I have on my Rambouillet. There are a few more pictures of my handlebars on our website.

My Rambouillet is not uncomfortable, the Legolas is MORE comfortable. I did do three doubles on the Rambouillet last year. :D

V.

[Veronica]

Oh Rogue, if you are really interested in the Nitto bars, talk to Riv. They are really helpful. Mine are 41s.

V.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, I'm not looking to change anything on BeBe, but I'm really curious. Could you post some closeup photos?

This is the best photo I can offer right now:
http://harmonias.com/LisaBike_6.jpg
P.S. The egraved designs on mine are just that- engraved(carved in), not black etched design like Veronica's photo.

[roguedog]

I have the Nitto Sobabar on my Legolas. I also have Nitto bars on my Rambouillet, but I'm not sure which ones.

http://tandemhearts.com/coppermine/albums/legolas/legolas_09.jpg

These are the Sobabars and I find them and my Campy brake hoods to be a bit more comfortable than what I have on my Rambouillet. There are a few more pictures of my handlebars on our website.

My Rambouillet is not uncomfortable, the Legolas is MORE comfortable. I did do three doubles on the Rambouillet last year. :D

V.


Dang, V. That is one sexy picture of some bars. Makes me wanna run out and get 'em now! Love the wrap job.

MUST HAVE SOBA NOODLE. <giggle> That was fun to say.


I wanted to figure out why Nittos were the bomb, if they were the bomb, before calling Riv. What kinda stem do you have on the Legolas, V?

Lisa, that is one classy looking bike. I was thinking of getting tape like your color..but haven't figured it out yet.

I took a quick test drive on my Atlantis yesterday. COuldn't sit cuz they didn't ship the seat binder bolt but wanted to test it anyway after I spent the last couple mornings assembling & framesaving her. I dunno if one can tell from just standing on the bike. BUt she was fun, quick and smoooooooth. Wow, it was surprising. I expected the smooth from everyone's raving but I didn't expect it to quite so quick and fun. And I think those wheels are what's giving it that light feeling. Woo hoo. And I can't ride her to work like I wanted today cuz the seat bolt I got doesn't fit. :(

I wonder how diff the Bridgestone will ride.

[Veronica]

Mark at Rivendell put a LOT of time into my Legolas. That bike was a work of art when I got it. :) Now it has a few dings and is a bit dirty.

My rambouillet also has the engraved design on the bars. But I couldn't find a picture of it right off.

V.

[snapdragen]

I'll try to get some shots of Bleu's bars, she's wearing Nitto Noodles with Shimano short reach brakes.

[Veronica]

I'll have to look at the parts list when I get home for the stem. You might find a reference to it in our website under bicycling, in the section on the Legolas. I can't access my own website from work. Stupid blocking software...

V.

[roguedog]

Nm, V. Found it.

http://www.rivbike.com/webalog/handlebars_stems_tape/16163.html

Interesting that it's threadless since Riv doesn't seem to like threadless.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'll try to get some shots of Bleu's bars, she's wearing Nitto Noodles with Shimano short reach brakes.

I would like to see that picture! :)

[snapdragen]

My Noodles with their Shimano ST-R600 Brifters.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/snapdragen/Bleu/72e4e03f.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/snapdragen/Bleu/4f38cbe1.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/snapdragen/Bleu/1f2b970d.jpg

The engraving
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/snapdragen/Bleu/47ef6434.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/snapdragen/Bleu/4ed115e6.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/snapdragen/Bleu/60d440cc.jpg

[roguedog]

Snap - which Noodles are they?

All who have Noodles, do you have reach problems in the drops? I currently do.. I can get my tippy tips on the brakes but I'm certainly not comfortable doing this for any period of time since I wanna be sure I can stop when I need to.

How did you all decide on which Noodle??

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Isn't there only one "Noodle" bar?
The reach problem is more of a feature of the brake levers for me than the bars. I can ride in the drops quite comfortably. But my fingers are a bit short to wrap around my "regular" Shimano brake levers. Snap's brakes look more appropriate.

Snap- is that your dark blue Terry?----nice! It's steel, isn't it? :p

[snapdragen]

Yes Lisa, that's my Terry; she's steel.

Rouge - the brakes I have are ST-R600's - they're supposed to be for smaller hands. Since I've never had any others I don't know if they are smaller. I really haven't had a problem with reach though. Lisa is right, there is only one Noodle bar, they come in different sizes. I think mine are 42's.

[roguedog]

On the Riv site there's like 2 - Soba Noodle and then just plain Noodle (mod 177)...

Oh.. I was also reading Noodle but registering Nitto. Like the Dream bar (mod 176) and then there's the ones NOT on the Riv site like the randonneur and few others..

Ah.. so when you say Noodle you mean Mod 177. Got it. DING DING.

[snapdragen]

Ah.. so when you say Noodle you mean Mod 177. Got it. DING DING.

Yay!!

[madscot13]

Not that there is anything wrong with my handle bars...

But hey what about Terry short reach versus the Nitto bars?

I have troubles reaching my brakes with my fingers (this isn't normal right?) and I always wonder if there is anything I can do about that. hence the terry bar. I wish I could find a link, because now I wonder if it exists...


madscot

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We should keep in mind that we are actually discussing two different issues here.
Putting on short reach BARS is not in itself going to give you longer fingers to reach around your brake levers. Short reach bars will indeed help if your whole body/arm reach is too long on your bike, perhaps due to having a non-woman specific bike or a too long top tube. They also might help if you have trouble getting your hands into the drops for riding.
If your hands can comfortably reach your hoods and comfortably ride in the drops, but it's just your FINGERS having trouble getting around the brake levers, then you might want to get SHORT REACH BRAKE LEVERS (not necessarily short reach handlebars) to solve that problem.

Myself, I would be happy if I had slightly shorter reach brake levers, as I do have a bit of trouble grabbing fingers easily around the levers, but it's not drastic and I can make do until a convenient time in the future to change them. Next time I have a reason to take off my bar tape and such, I will try to swap the brake levers out.

[madscot13]

Hey thanks I thought that different bars would fix the issue. Thanks for clearing up the issue before I went out and bought something/ attached something and nothing changed. that would be a stab to my heart.



but still does anyone have any experience?

[snapdragen]

Looks like Terry is using Salsa Short and Shallow bars on their bikes now. I remember they used to sell a handlebar, but I don't know anything about it.

[Trekhawk]

Hey thanks I thought that different bars would fix the issue. Thanks for clearing up the issue before I went out and bought something/ attached something and nothing changed. that would be a stab to my heart.



but still does anyone have any experience?

If you are having problems reaching your brake levers and they are Shimano you could try these. I have them on my Trek and they work well.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqSection.jsp?sid=EquipComponentsRoadBrakeLevers

[Triskeliongirl]

I have tried the following 3 bars, always using the shimano short reach brifters and here are my impressions:

Terry T-bar, size 38cm: didn't like, felt too small for my hands in the drops, and too rapid a transition from flat to curvy.

Salsa Short and Shallow, size 40cm: Liked more than terry bar, but agin the ramp was too big and the ergo bump drove me crazy.

Nitto Noodle (original) size 41cm: My dream bar. The ramp is shorter, that is the brake levers are almost at the same level as the tops even with the bottoms parallel to the ground, which I like for comfort in all positions.

Don't confuse lever reach with bar reach. By that I mean the levers you use determine whether when you wrap your hands around the drops you can reach them. But, a short reach bar means the distance from the bar to levers is shorter. The noodle does have a longer reach than the other 2 bars above, which I like cuz it gives me one more hand position, but if you have a bike with a long top tube you may need a short reach bar.